1961 NCAA University Division baseball tournament

1961 NCAA University Division
baseball tournament
Season 1961
Teams 25
Finals site
Champions Southern California (3rd title)
Runner-up Oklahoma State (5th CWS Appearance)
Winning coach Rod Dedeaux (3rd title)
MOP Littleton Fowler (Oklahoma State)

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. 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.

Tournament

District 1

Games played at Springfield, Massachusetts.

First Round Semi-Finals Finals
Boston College 11
Springfield 8
Boston College 4
Connecticut 1
Connecticut 15
Colby 1
Boston College 2 14
Connecticut 3 4
Lower round 1 Lower final
Connecticut 3
Springfield 9 Springfield 1
Colby 2

District 2

Games played at Syracuse, New York.

Semifinals Finals
       
St. John's 10
Villanova 4
Syracuse 12
St. John's 5
Syracuse 2
Delaware 0

District 3

Games played at Gastonia, North Carolina.

Upper round 1 Upper final Final
Duke 7
Florida State 3 Florida State 2
West Virginia 1
Duke 7 —
Lower final
West Virginia 3 —
Florida State 3
West Virginia 4

District 4

Games played at Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Upper round 1 Upper final Final
Western Michigan 3
Detroit 1
Western Michigan 8
Cincinnati 1
Cincinnati 310
Michigan 1
Western Michigan 414 –
Michigan 3 –
Lower round 1 Lower final
Cincinnati 1
Detroit 3 Michigan 2
Michigan 610

District 5

Games played at Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Finals
       
Oklahoma State 10 11 —
Northern Iowa 0 8 —

District 6

Games played at Austin, Texas.

Finals
       
Texas 8 5 —
Arizona 2 4 —

District 7

Games played at Laramie, Wyoming.

Upper round 1 Upper final Final
Air Force 10
Wyoming 3 Wyoming 12
Colorado State College 2
Wyoming 12 1
Lower final
Colorado State College 16 12
Air Force 6
Colorado State College 10

District 8

Semifinals
Los Angeles, California 		Finals
Pullman, Washington
               
Southern California 4 4 10
Fresno State 1 6 6
Southern California 13 10 —
Washington State 6 4 —

College World Series

Participants

School Conference Record (conference) Head coach CWS appearances CWS best finish CWS record
Boston College Independent 16–4 Ed Peligrini 2
(last: 1960) 		4th
(1953) 		3–4
Colorado State College RMC 28–6 (14–0) Pete Butler 7
(last: 1960) 		5th
(1955) 		2–14
Duke ACC 15–9 (11–3) Ace Parker 2
(last: 1953) 		5th
(1952, 1953) 		2–4
Oklahoma State Big 8 24–1 (18–1) Toby Greene 4
(last: 1960) 		1st
(1959) 		12–7
Syracuse Independent 16–3 Ted Kleinhans 0
(last: none) 		none 0–0
Texas SWC 22–4–2 (11–3) Bibb Falk 5
(last: 1957) 		1st
(1949, 1950) 		14–7
Southern California CIBA 31–7 (12–4) Rod Dedeaux 6
(last: 1960) 		1st
(1948, 1958) 		14–10
Western Michigan MAC 18–6 (11–0) Charlie Maher 4
(last: 1959) 		2nd
(1955) 		8–8

Results

Bracket

Upper round 1 Upper round 2 Upper final Semifinals Final
Oklahoma State 3
Duke 2
Oklahoma State 12
Syracuse 9
Syracuse 12
Colorado State College 5
Oklahoma State 2
Southern California 4
Boston College 3
Oklahoma State 8
Western Michigan 2
Boston College 3 Syracuse 0
Southern California 10
Southern California 8
Texas 6
Oklahoma State 0
Lower round 1 Lower round 2 Southern California 1
Boston College 410
Duke 15 Duke 3
Southern California 4
Colorado State College 3
Boston College 3
Syracuse 6
Western Michigan 8 Western Michigan 0
Texas 2

Game results

Date Game Winner Score Loser Notes
June 9 Game 1 Oklahoma State 3–2 Duke
June 10 Game 2 Syracuse 12–5 Colorado State College
Game 3 Boston College 3–2 Western Michigan
Game 4 Southern California 8–6 Texas
June 11 Game 5 Duke 15–3 Colorado State College Colorado State College eliminated
Game 6 Western Michigan 8–2 Texas Texas eliminated
Game 7 Oklahoma State 12–9 Syracuse
Game 8 Southern California 10–3 Boston College
June 12 Game 9 Boston College 4–3 (10 innings) Duke Duke eliminated
Game 10 Syracuse 6–0 Western Michigan Western Michigan eliminated
Game 11 Southern California 4–2 Oklahoma State
June 13 Game 12 Oklahoma State 8–0 Syracuse Syracuse eliminated
Game 13 Southern California 4–3 Boston College Boston College eliminated
June 14 Final Southern California 1–0 Oklahoma State Southern California wins CWS

All-Tournament Team

The following players were members of the All-Tournament Team.

Position Player School
P Littleton Fowler (MOP) Oklahoma State
Larry Hankhammer USC
Jim Withers USC
C Larry Himes USC
1B William Ryan USC
2B Bruce Andrew Oklahoma State
3B Dave Sarette Syracuse
SS Don Wallace Oklahoma State
OF Ron Davis Duke
Art Ersepke USC
Bill Tomb Western Michigan

Notable players