The 2019 NCAA Division I Baseball season, play of college baseball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, began February 15, 2019. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 2019 NCAA Division I baseball tournament and 2019 College World Series. The College World Series, consisting of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA tournament and held annually in Omaha, Nebraska, at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, ended on June 26, 2019. The Vanderbilt Commodores won the tournament, and were consequently named national champions.
Finally, one other Division I team changed its institutional and athletic identities immediately after the 2017–18 season. Indiana University and Purdue University dissolved Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) on July 1, 2018. IPFW's academic programs in health sciences transferred to the IU system as Indiana University Fort Wayne; all remaining academic programs were transferred to the Purdue system as Purdue University Fort Wayne (PFW). From 2018–19, the former IPFW athletic program represents only PFW, and its Summit League membership was assumed by PFW. Shortly before the dissolution took effect, but after the school's baseball season had finished, the athletic program announced that it would henceforth be known as the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons.[3] [4] [5]
On October 3, 2018, Long Island University announced that it would merge its two current athletic programs—the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds, members of the Northeast Conference (NEC), and LIU Post Pioneers, a Division II program in the East Coast Conference—into a single Division I program effective with the 2019–20 school year. The new program will compete under the LIU name with a new nickname. With both campuses sponsoring baseball, the unified LIU team will maintain LIU Brooklyn's NEC membership, but will be based on the Post campus in Brookville, New York.[6] [7]
Of the 31 Division I athletic conferences that sponsor baseball, 29 ended their regular seasons with a single-elimination tournament or a double elimination tournament. The teams in each conference that won their regular season title are given the number one seed in each tournament. Two conferences, the Big West and Pac-12, did not hold a conference tournament. The winners of those tournaments, plus the Big West and Pac-12 regular-season champions, received automatic invitations to the 2019 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.
| Conference | Regular season winner | Conference Player of the Year | Conference Pitcher of the Year | Conference Coach of the Year | Conference tournament | Tournament Venue • City | Tournament winner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Grande, Stony Brook[14] | Stony Brook | |||||||
| Kody Hoese, Tulane[15] | Jake Agnos, East Carolina | Cliff Godwin, East Carolina | Cincinnati | |||||
| Nate Fassnacht, George Washington[16] | Shawn Stiffler, VCU | Fordham | ||||||
| Bobby Seymour, Wake Forest[17] | Reid Detmers, Louisville | Danny Hall, Georgia Tech | North Carolina | |||||
| Jonathan Embry, Liberty[18] | Dave Tollett, Florida Gulf Coast | Liberty | ||||||
| Josh Jung, Texas Tech &<br>Davis Wendzel, Baylor[19] | Randy Mazey, West Virginia | Oklahoma State | ||||||
| Jake Holton, Creighton[20] | Mitch Ragan, Creighton | Ed Servais, Creighton | Creighton | |||||
| Chandler Redmond, Gardner–Webb[21] | Michael Horrell, Campbell | Rusty Stroupe, Gardner–Webb | Campbell | |||||
| Jordan Brewer, Michigan[22] | Andrew Saalfrank, Indiana | Jeff Mercer, Indiana | Ohio State | |||||
| Eric Yang, UC Santa Barbara[23] | Andrew Checketts, UC Santa Barbara | no tournament, regular season champion earns auto bid | UC Santa Barbara | |||||
| Greg Jones, UNC Wilmington[24] | Mike Kennedy, Elon | UNC Wilmington | ||||||
| Jake Sanford, Western Kentucky[25] | John McCormack, Florida Atlantic | Southern Miss | ||||||
| Peyton Burdick, Wright State[26] | Jacob Key, UIC (starting) Alex Padilla, UIC (relief) | Alex Sogard, Wright State | Regular season champion home stadium | UIC | ||||
| Harvard | Jake Suddleson, Harvard[27] | Bill Decker, Harvard | Campus sites | Harvard | ||||
| Jack Gethings, Fairfield[28] | Matthew Brash, Niagara (starting) Andrew Workman, Quinnipiac (relief) | Matt Mazurek, Canisius | Richmond County Bank Ballpark • Staten Island, NY | Quinnipiac | ||||
| Rudy Rott, Ohio[29] | Jordan Bischel, Central Michigan | Central Michigan | ||||||
| Corey Joyce, North Carolina Central[30] | Keith Shumate, Norfolk State | |||||||
| Joe Aeilts, Illinois State[31] | Brent Headrick, Illinois State | Steve Holm, Illinois State | Indiana State | |||||
| McCarthy Tatum, Fresno State &<br>Bryson Stott, UNLV[32] | Ryan Jensen, Fresno State | Mike Batesole, Fresno State | Fresno State | |||||
| Patrick Causa, Mount St. Mary's[33] | Steve Theetge, Bryant | Steve Owens, Bryant | Central Connecticut | |||||
| Kevin Strohschein, Tennessee Tech[34] | Garrett Farmer, Jacksonville State | Jim Case, Jacksonville State | Jacksonville State | |||||
| Adley Rutschman, Oregon State[35] | Ryan Garcia, UCLA | John Savage, UCLA | no tournament, regular season champion earns auto bid | UCLA | ||||
| Christian Hodge, Navy[36] | Noah Song, Navy | Paul Kostacopoulos, Navy | Campus sites | Army | ||||
| J.J. Bleday, Vanderbilt[37] | Ethan Small, Mississippi State | Tim Corbin, Vanderbilt | Vanderbilt | |||||
| Justice Bigbie, Western Carolina[38] | Chad Sykes, UNC Greensboro | Casey Dunn, Samford | Mercer | |||||
| Luis Trevino, Abilene Christian[39] | Corey Gaconi, Southeastern Louisiana | Patrick Hallmark, Incarnate Word | McNeese State | |||||
| Tyler LaPorte, Southern &<br> Yamil Pagan, Alabama State[40] | Darren Kelly, Alabama State | Kerrick Jackson, Southern | Southern | |||||
| Spencer Henson, Oral Roberts[41] | Payton Kinney, Omaha | Evan Porter, Omaha | Omaha | |||||
| Ethan Wilson, South Alabama[42] | Connor Reich, Texas State | Ty Harrington, Texas State | Coastal Carolina | |||||
| Brock Hale, BYU[43] | Codie Paiva, Loyola Marymount | Mike Littlewood, BYU | Loyola Marymount | |||||
| Joey Ortiz, Jr., New Mexico State[44] | Logan Rinehart, Jr., California Baptist | Derek Matlock, Texas–Rio Grande Valley | Sacramento State | |||||
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This table lists programs that changed head coaches at any point from the first day of the 2019 season until the day before the first day of the 2020 season.
| Team | Former coach | Interim coach | New coach | Reason | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bryant | Steve Owens | Ryan Klosterman | On June 25, Steve Owens accepted the head coaching position at Rutgers, leaving Bryant after nine seasons with a record of 328–184–2.[50] On July 29, Ryan Klosterman was named the new head coach for the 2020 season.[51] | ||
| Cal State Northridge | Greg Moore | Dave Serrano | On May 30, Greg Moore was fired after six seasons at Cal State Northridge, going 161–175 at the school. On June 23, Dave Serrano was named the new head coach for the 2020 season.[52] | ||
| Charlotte | Loren Hibbs | Robert Woodard | Hibbs announced his retirement after 27 seasons at Charlotte on June 14.[53] On June 29, Robert Woodard was named the new head coach for the 2020 season.[54] | ||
| Fairleigh Dickinson | Justin McKay | Rob DiToma | On May 20, Justin McKay was relieved of his duties after one season at Fairleigh Dickinson, going 15-37-1 at the school.[55] On June 20, Rob DiToma was named the new head coach for the 2020 season.[56] | ||
| Florida State | Mike Martin | Mike Martin Jr. | Following the Seminoles' elimination from the College World Series on June 19, Mike Martin retired after 40 seasons at Florida State, going 2,029-736-4 at the school. On June 21, his son Mike Martin Jr., a Seminoles assistant for 22 seasons, was promoted to head coach.[57] | ||
| Gardner-Webb | Rusty Stroupe | Jim Chester | Following the team's last game of the 2019 season on May 22, Rusty Stroupe retired after seventeen seasons at Gardner-Webb, going 479–475 at the school. On June 14, Jim Chester was named the new head coach for the 2020 season.[58] | ||
| Georgia State | Greg Frady | Brad Stromdahl | On May 31, Georgia State announced that head coach Greg Frady's contract would not be renewed.[59] On June 26, Brad Stromdahl was named the new head coach for the 2020 season.[60] | ||
| Incarnate Word | Patrick Hallmark | Ryan Shotzberger | On June 16, Pat Hallmark accepted the head coaching position at UTSA, leaving Incarnate Word after two seasons with a record of 66-48. On June 24, Ryan Shotzberger was named the new head coach for the 2020 season.[61] | ||
| Long Beach State | Troy Buckley | Greg Bergeron, Dan Ricabal | Eric Valenzuela | On April 11, Troy Buckley was fired in his ninth season after a 5–26 start to the season, going 260-231-1 at the school. Greg Bergeron and Dan Ricabal served as co-interim coaches for the remainder of the season.[62] On June 8, Eric Valenzuela was named the new head coach for the 2020 season.[63] | |
| Louisiana | Tony Robichaux | Matt Deggs | On July 3, Tony Robichaux died at the age of 57 due to a heart attack. He coached the Ragin' Cajuns for 25 seasons finishing his career with Louisiana with a 910–588–2 record.[64] On July 18, Matt Deggs was named the new head coach for the 2020 season.[65] | ||
| Loyola Marymount | Jason Gill | Nathan Choate | On June 14, Jason Gill accepted the head coaching position at USC, leaving Loyola Marymount after eleven seasons with a record of 322-286-1.[66] On June 25, Nathan Choate was named the new head coach for the 2020 season.[67] | ||
| Morehead State | Mike McGuire | Mik Aoki | On June 18, Mike McGuire accepted the head coaching position at USC Upstate, leaving Morehead State after seven seasons with a record of 228–191.[68] On June 25, Mik Aoki was named the new head coach for the 2020 season.[69] | ||
| Nebraska | Darin Erstad | Will Bolt | On June 3, Darin Erstad stepped down after eight seasons at Nebraska, going 267-193-1 at the school. On June 14, Will Bolt was named the new head coach for the 2020 season.[70] | ||
| New Mexico State | Brian Green | Mike Kirby | On June 3, Brian Green accepted the head coaching position at Washington State, leaving NMSU after five seasons with a record of 196-137-1.[71] On June 24, Mike Kirby was named the new head coach for the 2020 season.[72] | ||
| Notre Dame | Mik Aoki | Link Jarrett | On June 8, Notre Dame announced that head coach Mik Aoki's contract would not be renewed. Aoki went 248–253–1 in nine seasons with Notre Dame.[73] On July 12, Link Jarrett was named the new head coach for the 2020 season.[74] | ||
| Oregon | George Horton | Mark Wasikowski | On May 28, Oregon parted ways with George Horton, going 375–281–1 at the school.[75] On June 11, Mark Wasikowski was named the new head coach for the 2020 season.[76] | ||
| Oregon State | Pat Casey | Pat Bailey | Mitch Canham | Pat Casey retired at the end of the 2018 season. Pat Bailey served as interim head coach for 2019 season. On June 13, Oregon State announced the hiring of Mitch Canham as head coach.[77] | |
| Purdue | Mark Wasikowski | Greg Goff | On June 11, Steve Owens accepted the head coaching position at Oregon, leaving Purdue after three seasons with a record of 87–82. On June 13, Greg Goff was named the new head coach for the 2020 season.[78] | ||
| Purdue Fort Wayne | Bobby Pierce | Doug Schreiber | On July 2, Bobby Pierce stepped down after eleven seasons at Purdue Fort Wayne, going 188–390 at the school.[79] On July 23, Doug Schreiber was named the new head coach for the 2020 season.[80] | ||
| Radford | Joe Raccuia | Karl Kuhn | Raccuia resigned from Radford on August 15 after 12 seasons at the helm, effective August 31.[81] On August 22, Karl Kuhn was named the new head coach for the 2020 season.[82] | ||
| Rutgers | Joe Litterio | Steve Owens | On May 28, Rutgers announced that head coach, Joe Litterio's, contract would not be renewed.[83] On June 26, Bryant head coach Owens was announced as Litterio's replacement.[84] | ||
| Saint Mary's | Eric Valenzuela | Greg Moore | On June 9, Eric Valenzuela accepted the head coaching position at Long Beach State, leaving Saint Mary's after nine seasons with a record of 180–156.[85] On June 15, Greg Moore was named the new head coach for the 2020 season.[86] | ||
| Saint Peter's | Danny Ramirez | Lou Proietti | Ramirez resigned from Saint Peter's on May 23 after 3 seasons at the helm.[87] On June 20, Lou Proietti was named the new head coach for the 2020 season.[88] | ||
| Sam Houston State | Matt Deggs | Jay Sirianni | On July 18, Matt Deggs accepted the head coaching position at Louisiana, leaving Sam Houston State after five seasons with a record of 187–118.[89] On July 25, Jay Sirianni, a Bearkats assistant for 5 seasons, was promoted to head coach.[90] | ||
| Southern Illinois | Ken Henderson | Lance Rhodes | On June 3, Ken Henderson stepped down after nine seasons at Southern Illinois, going 229–286–1 at the school.[91] On June 20, Lance Rhodes was named the new head coach for the 2020 season.[92] | ||
| Tennessee Tech | Justin Holmes | Mitchell Wright | Steve Smith | On November 20, Tennessee Tech fired Justin Holmes after only one season for "conduct that is inconsistent with the expectations and standards Tennessee Tech has for all head coaches." Mitchell Wright was named as interim until Auburn pitching coach, Steve Smith, was hired on December 21[93] [94] | |
| Texas State | Ty Harrington | Steven Trout | Harrington announced his retirement after 20 seasons at Texas State on June 20.[95] On July 1, Steven Trout, a Bobcats assistant for 6 seasons, was promoted to head coach.[96] | ||
| Toledo | Cory Mee | Rob Reinstetle | On May 20, Cory Mee stepped down after sixteen seasons at Toledo, going 366-513-1 at the school.[97] On July 8, Rob Reinstetle was named the new head coach for the 2020 season.[98] | ||
| UMBC | Bob Mumma | Liam Bowen | Mumma resigned from UMBC on May 1 after 8 seasons at the helm. Liam Bowen was named acting head coach.[99] On May 22, Liam Bowen, a Retrievers assistant for 8 seasons, was promoted to head coach.[100] | ||
| UNC Greensboro | Link Jarrett | Billy Godwin | On July 12, Link Jarrett accepted the head coaching position at Notre Dame, leaving UNC Greensboro after seven seasons with a record of 215–166. On August 8, Billy Godwin was named the new head coach for the 2020 season.[101] | ||
| UNC Wilmington | Mark Scalf | Randy Hood | On February 13, Mark Scalf announced he would retire following the end of the 2019 season.[102] On April 29, Randy Hood, a Seahawks assistant for 18 seasons, was promoted to head coach.[103] | ||
| USC | Dan Hubbs | Jason Gill | On May 29, USC announced that head coach Dan Hubbs' contract would not be renewed.[104] The Trojans hired Gill away from fellow Los Angeles school Loyola Marymount, announcing him on June 14.[105] | ||
| USC Upstate | Matt Fincher | Mike McGuire | Fincher resigned from USC Upstate on June 4 after 22 seasons at the helm.[106] The Cougars hired Mike McGuire away from Morehead State, announcing him on June 18.[107] | ||
| UTSA | Jason Marshall | Patrick Hallmark | Marshall resigned from UTSA on May 27 after 7 seasons at the helm.[108] Like USC would do days later, the Roadrunners stayed local for their new coach, hiring Hallmark away from fellow San Antonio school Incarnate Word on June 11.[109] | ||
| Washington State | Marty Lees | Brian Green | On May 21, Marty Lees was fired after four seasons at Washington State, going 68–132–1 at the school.[110] The Cougars hired Green away from New Mexico State, announcing him on June 3.[111] | ||
| Western Illinois | Ryan Brownlee | ||||
| Wichita State | Todd Butler | Eric Wedge | On May 26, Todd Butler was fired after six seasons at Wichita State, going 169–180–1 at the school. On May 29, Eric Wedge was named the new head coach for the 2020 season.[112] |