| Year: | 1961 |
| Division: | University Division |
| Teams: | 25 |
| Collegeworldseriesballpark: | Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium |
| City: | Omaha, NE |
| Champions: | Southern California |
| Titlecount: | 3rd |
| Runner-Up: | Oklahoma State |
| Cwscount: | 5th |
| Coach: | Rod Dedeaux |
| Coachcount: | 3rd |
| Mop: | Littleton Fowler |
| Mopteam: | Oklahoma State |
| Tournament Link: | NCAA Division I Baseball Championship |
The 1961 NCAA University Division baseball tournament was played at the end of the 1961 NCAA University Division baseball season to determine the national champion of college baseball. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the College World Series, a double-elimination tournament in its fifteenth year. Eight regional districts sent representatives to the College World Series with preliminary rounds within each district serving to determine each representative. These events would later become known as regionals. Each district had its own format for selecting teams, resulting in 25 teams participating in the tournament at the conclusion of their regular season, and in some cases, after a conference tournament.[1] The College World Series was held in Omaha, NE from June 9 to June 14. The fifteenth tournament's champion was Southern California, coached by Rod Dedeaux. The Most Outstanding Player was Littleton Fowler of runner-up Oklahoma State.
Games played at Springfield, Massachusetts.
Games played at Syracuse, New York.
Games played at Gastonia, North Carolina.
Games played at Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Games played at Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Games played at Austin, Texas.
Games played at Laramie, Wyoming.
| School | Conference | Record (conference) | Head coach | CWS appearances | CWS best finish | CWS record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | 16–4 | 2 (last: 1960) | 4th (1953) | 3–4 | |||
| 28–6 (14–0) | 7 (last: 1960) | 5th (1955) | 2–14 | ||||
| 15–9 (11–3) | 2 (last: 1953) | 5th (1952, 1953) | 2–4 | ||||
| 24–1 (18–1) | 4 (last: 1960) | 1st (1959) | 12–7 | ||||
| Independent | 16–3 | 0 (last: none) | none | 0–0 | |||
| 22–4–2 (11–3) | 5 (last: 1957) | 1st (1949, 1950) | 14–7 | ||||
| 31–7 (12–4) | 6 (last: 1960) | 1st (1948, 1958) | 14–10 | ||||
| 18–6 (11–0) | 4 (last: 1959) | 2nd (1955) | 8–8 |
| Date | Game | Winner | Score | Loser | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 9 | Game 1 | 3–2 | ||||
| June 10 | Game 2 | 12–5 | ||||
| Game 3 | 3–2 | |||||
| Game 4 | 8–6 | |||||
| June 11 | Game 5 | 15–3 | Colorado State College eliminated | |||
| Game 6 | 8–2 | Texas eliminated | ||||
| Game 7 | 12–9 | |||||
| Game 8 | 10–3 | |||||
| June 12 | Game 9 | 4–3 (10 innings) | Duke eliminated | |||
| Game 10 | 6–0 | Western Michigan eliminated | ||||
| Game 11 | 4–2 | |||||
| June 13 | Game 12 | 8–0 | Syracuse eliminated | |||
| Game 13 | 4–3 | Boston College eliminated | ||||
| June 14 | Final | 1–0 | Southern California wins CWS |
The following players were members of the All-Tournament Team.
| Position | Player | School | |
|---|---|---|---|
| P | Littleton Fowler (MOP) | style= | Oklahoma State |
| style= | USC | ||
| style= | USC | ||
| C | style= | USC | |
| 1B | style= | USC | |
| 2B | style= | Oklahoma State | |
| 3B | style= | ||
| SS | style= | Oklahoma State | |
| OF | style= | Duke | |
| style= | USC | ||
| style= | Western Michigan |