2021 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament facts for kids

The 2021 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament was a big event in college baseball. It was the 74th time this championship was held. Sixty-four teams competed to be the best in the country. The tournament started on June 4, 2021. It ended with the exciting 2021 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.

In the final games, Mississippi State played against Vanderbilt. Mississippi State won the series, earning their first national championship ever!

Teams got into the tournament in two ways. Some teams won their conference tournaments, which gave them an "automatic bid." Other teams were chosen by a special committee, called "at-large" selections. The 64 teams were first split into 16 groups of four. Each group played a "double-elimination" tournament. This means a team had to lose twice to be out. The winners of these groups then played in "Super Regionals." These were best-of-three game series. The eight winners of the Super Regionals went on to the College World Series.

Some teams made history in 2021. Grand Canyon, NJIT, Norfolk State, and Presbyterian played in the NCAA tournament for the very first time. They all won their conference tournaments to get there. Other teams returned after a long break. Nevada last played in 2000. Rider was back for the first time since 2010. Charlotte hadn't been in the tournament since 2011.

How the Tournament Worked

Sixty-four teams entered the tournament. Thirty teams got in by winning their conference tournaments. The other 34 teams were chosen by the NCAA Selection Committee. The Ivy League conference did not send a team this year. This was because they canceled all spring sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NCAA committee announced 20 possible locations for the first round of games. This was done to help with health safety during the pandemic. Usually, the top 16 teams get to host games at their home fields. But this year, if a top team wasn't on the list of 20 sites, they had to play their games somewhere else. This happened to Old Dominion. Even though they were a top team, they played their games in Columbia, South Carolina.

Game Locations and Dates

On May 30, the NCAA announced the 16 places that would host the first round of games. The Southeastern Conference (SEC) had the most host sites, with seven. The Big 12 Conference and Pac-12 Conference each had three. Other conferences like the Conference USA, Atlantic Coast Conference, and American Athletic Conference each had one host.

Texas hosted games for the 28th time, which is a lot! Louisiana Tech hosted for the first time ever. The locations for the Super Regionals were announced on June 8. This was after the first round of games finished.

Regional Games

• June 4–7
• UFCU Disch–Falk Field, Austin, Texas (Host: University of Texas at Austin)
• Founders Park, Columbia, South Carolina (Host: University of South Carolina)
• PK Park, Eugene, Oregon (Host: University of Oregon)
• Baum–Walker Stadium, Fayetteville, Arkansas (Host: University of Arkansas)
• Lupton Stadium, Fort Worth, Texas (Host: Texas Christian University)
• Florida Ballpark, Gainesville, Florida (Host: University of Florida)
• Clark–LeClair Stadium, Greenville, North Carolina (Host: East Carolina University)
• Lindsey Nelson Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee (Host: University of Tennessee)
• Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park, Lubbock, Texas (Host: Texas Tech University)
• Hawkins Field, Nashville, Tennessee (Host: Vanderbilt University)
• Swayze Field, Oxford, Mississippi (Host: University of Mississippi)
• J. C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park, Ruston, Louisiana (Host: Louisiana Tech University)
• Frank Eck Stadium, South Bend, Indiana (Host: University of Notre Dame)
• Klein Field at Sunken Diamond, Stanford, California (Host: Stanford University)
• Dudy Noble Field, Polk–DeMent Stadium, Starkville, Mississippi (Host: Mississippi State University)
• Hi Corbett Field, Tucson, Arizona (Host: University of Arizona)

Super Regional Games

• June 11–13
• Baum–Walker Stadium, Fayetteville, Arkansas (Host: University of Arkansas)
• Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park, Lubbock, Texas (Host: Texas Tech University)
• Hi Corbett Field, Tucson, Arizona (Host: University of Arizona)
• Hawkins Field, Nashville, Tennessee (Host: Vanderbilt University)
• June 12–14
• UFCU Disch–Falk Field, Austin, Texas (Host: University of Texas at Austin)
• Dudy Noble Field, Polk–DeMent Stadium, Starkville, Mississippi (Host: Mississippi State University)
• Founders Park, Columbia, South Carolina (Host: University of South Carolina)
• Lindsey Nelson Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee (Host: University of Tennessee)

College World Series

• June 19–30
• TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska (Host: Creighton University)

Teams in the Tournament

Out of the 64 teams that played, 35 had also been in the last tournament in 2019. As mentioned, Grand Canyon, NJIT, Norfolk State, and Presbyterian were new to the NCAA tournament. They all won their first conference championships.

Some teams returned after many years away. Nevada hadn't played since 2000. Rider was back for the first time since 2010. Charlotte last played in 2011. Interestingly, Auburn and Louisville, who both made it to the College World Series in 2019, did not qualify this year.

Top Teams (National Seeds)

The NCAA announced the top 16 teams, called "national seeds," on May 31, 2021. These teams were considered the strongest. Teams listed in italic letters made it to the Super Regionals. Teams in bold letters made it to the College World Series.

College World Series

The final part of the tournament, the College World Series, was held at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska. This is where the best teams played for the national title.

Awards

The best player in the 2021 College World Series was pitcher Will Bednar from Mississippi State. He was named the Most Outstanding Player. A special All-Tournament team was also chosen, featuring the top players from the College World Series.

Final Results

Here's how the top teams finished in the tournament:

Watching the Games

Radio

You could listen to the College World Series games on the radio. NRG Media provided coverage through its Omaha station KOZN. This was also available online at westwoodonesports.com, on Tunein, and on SiriusXM.

Television

ESPN showed every game from the Regionals, Super Regionals, and the College World Series on its different channels.

TV Announcers

Many different announcers called the games. Here are some of the people who helped bring the baseball action to viewers:

Regionals

Super Regionals

College World Series

CWS Championship Series