2020 NCAA Division I baseball season explained
The 2020 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 on February 14, 2020. On March 12, it was announced that the 2020 NCAA tournament would be canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The decision whether to continue with an abbreviated season was left to individual schools and conferences.[1]
Realignment
Format changes
- The MEAC dissolved its divisions.
Ballpark changes
- The 2020 season was to be the first for UConn at Elliot Ballpark, replacing J. O. Christian Field. The team was originally scheduled to play its first game there on March 29 against Seton Hall.
- Oklahoma State originally planned to inaugurate O'Brate Stadium on March 20, 2020, replacing Allie P. Reynolds Stadium after the first 14 home games of the 2020 season. The first scheduled game at the new ballpark was against the TCU Horned Frogs. Oklahoma State's season was canceled on March 13.
- The 2020 season was the last for Florida at McKethan Stadium, before the season was canceled on March 17. The team's last game at the venue was on March 10, a loss against the rival Florida State Seminoles.
- The 2020 season was expected to be the last that Marshall would play off-campus. The Thundering Herd scheduled most of its 2020 home games at Kennedy Center Field, part of a YMCA recreation camp about 7 miles from its Huntington, West Virginia campus; the remainder were at Appalachian Power Park in Charleston, West Virginia, more than 50 miles from campus. Ground was broken on a new on-campus ballpark in October 2019, and the new facility is scheduled to open for 2021.[5]
Season outlook
Conference standings
Aborted conference tournaments
The below conferences would have ended their regular seasons with a single-elimination tournament or a double-elimination tournament; all were cancelled when the NCAA ended the spring sports season on March 12.
| Conference | Tournament
Venue (City) |
|---|
| LeLacheur Park • Lowell, MA |
| Spectrum Field • Clearwater, FL |
| The Diamond • Richmond, VA |
| BB&T Ballpark • Charlotte, NC |
| Swanson Stadium • Fort Myers, FL |
| Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark • Oklahoma City, OK |
| Prasco Park • Mason, OH |
| Segra Stadium • Fayetteville, NC |
| TD Ameritrade Park • Omaha, NE |
| No tournament; regular-season champion would have earned automatic bid |
| Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park • Harrisonburg, VA |
| MGM Park • Biloxi, MS |
| Regular-season champion home stadium |
| Campus sites |
| |
| Sprenger Stadium • Avon, OH |
| Jackie Robinson Ballpark • Daytona Beach, FL |
| Duffy Bass Field • Normal, IL |
| William Peccole Park • Reno, NV |
| Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium • Norwich, CT |
| Rent One Park • Marion, IL |
| No tournament; regular-season champion would have earned automatic bid |
| Campus sites |
| Hoover Metropolitan Stadium • Hoover, AL |
| Fluor Field at the West End • Greenville, SC |
| Whataburger Field • Corpus Christi, TX |
| Wesley Barrow Stadium • New Orleans, LA |
| J. L. Johnson Stadium • Tulsa, OK |
| Springs Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC |
| Banner Island Ballpark • Stockton, CA |
| Hohokam Stadium • Meza, AZ | |
College World Series
See main article: 2020 College World Series.
The 2020 College World Series was scheduled to start on June 12 in Omaha, Nebraska, but was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic and the NCAA prematurely ending spring sports for the 2019-2020 academic year.
Coaching changes
This table lists programs that changed head coaches at any point from the first day of the 2020 season until the day before the first day of the 2021 season.
Notes and References
- Web site: NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships. NCAA.org. March 13, 2020.
- Web site: University of Akron to bring back baseball; add women's lacrosse. Karen. Farkas . . . September 19, 2017.
- Web site: Savannah State plans to move athletics down to Division II. Heath. Donald. Savannah (GA) Morning News. April 18, 2017. January 26, 2018.
- Web site: SSU moves to Division II Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Savannah State University. December 7, 2017. January 26, 2018.
- News: Marshall University to break ground on baseball stadium . Andrew . Colegrove . . October 22, 2019 . February 16, 2020.
- Web site: Baseball Coaches Poll. January 23, 2020. Baseball America. January 29, 2020.
- Web site: Collegiate Baseball Div. I Poll - Pre-season. December 16, 2019. Collegiate Baseball. December 16, 2019.
- Web site: 2020 D1Baseball Preseason Top 25. D1Baseball. January 13, 2020. January 13, 2020.
- Web site: College Top 25. January 22, 2020. Baseball America. January 22, 2020.
- Web site: VANDERBILT TOPS 2020 PRESEASON NCBWA POLL. NCBWA. February 3, 2020. February 4, 2020.
- News: Boise State baseball players 'heartbroken' after university's decision to cut program . December 18, 2020 . Idaho Statesman . July 4, 2020.
