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With the decade winding down in just a matter of weeks, we’ve done
our part in bringing you the best of the decade for several categories
in college baseball. It doesn’t stop now, though. In our latest best of
the decade feature, we rank the national champions of the decade.
10. Fresno State (2008)
Key players. Danny Muno, Tom Mendonca, Erik Wetzel, Steve
Susdorf, Steve Detwiler, Brandon Burke, Holden Sprague, Clayton
Allison, Justin Wilson, Justin Miller
Analysis. Bulldogs reliever Brandon Burke said it best in the
locker room after his team won the national title. He said the Bulldogs
were the worst team to win the national title. That probably isn’t
entirely true, but the Bulldogs certainly were a true Cinderella story.
They surprised everyone by winning the Long Beach Regional before
shocking Arizona State in the Tempe Super Regional. In Omaha, though,
Fresno played like a team possessed. It was one of the more exciting
set of performances we’ve ever seen in Omaha. This team will forever be
known as the “Wonderdogs”. Fresno finished the campaign with a 46-31
record.
9. Oregon State (2007)
Key players. Mitch Canham, Mike Lissman, Jordan Lennerton, Darwin Barney, Eddie Kunz, Jorge Reyes, Joe Paterson
Analysis. The Beavers didn’t play like a national champion
for much of the season, but come postseason time they switched gears
and went to another level. The Beavers got through the Charlottesville
Regional before taking care of Michigan in super regional play. Once in
Omaha, the Beavers were just fantastic. The only hit .287 with Canham,
Lissman, Lennerton and Barney leading the way. On the mound, Jorge
Reyes had a fantastic freshman campaign and Eddie Kunz was fabulous out
of the bullpen. This team overachieved and gave the Beavers
back-to-back national titles.
8. Texas (2005)
Key players. Seth Johnston, Taylor Teagarden, Drew Stubbs, Chance Wheeless, J. Brent Cox, Kenn Kasparek, Kyle McCulloch, Adrian Alaniz
Analysis. The Longhorns finished third in the Big 12 behind
Nebraska and Baylor, but still managed to storm through the NCAA
postseason and make yet another CWS appearance. The Longhorns didn’t
disappoint. They got through Baylor in the bracket title game and made
easy work of Florida in the title series. UT finished the season with a
.302 batting average. Seth Johnston, Taylor Teagarden and Drew Stubbs
led the way at the plate. On the mound, Kyle McCulloch, Kenn Kasparek
and Adrian Alaniz formulated a fantastic weekend rotation. J. Brent
Cox, meanwhile, was one of the nation’s best relievers. It was UT’s
sixth national title.
7. Oregon State (2006)
Key players. Cole Gillespie, Bill Rowe, Darwin Barney, Mitch Canham, Jonah Nickerson, Kevin Gunderson, Dallas Buck, Kunz
Analysis. After surprising us by reaching the CWS in ’05, the
Beavers showed that was no fluke by returning to Omaha in ’06 and
winning the national title with a thrilling series win over North
Carolina. The Beavers finished the campaign with a .302 batting average
and were led at the plate by Cole Gillespie, Bill Rowe, Darwin Barney
and catcher and leader Mitch Canham. The pitching staff also impressed
with fiery reliever Kevin Gunderson and weekend starters Jonah
Nickerson and Dallas Buck as the main headliners. This team put OSU on
the map for good.
6. LSU (2000)
Key players. Brad Cresse, Brad Hawpe, Mike Fontenot, Wally Pontiff, Blair Barbier, Brian Tallet
Analysis. The Tigers dominated the national stage in the
previous decade and got this decade started on the right foot with a
national title win over Stanford. The Tigers had an excellent ace
pitcher in Brian Tallet, but this team still was all about offense. The
Bayou Bengals finished the campaign with an amazing .340 batting
average. Brad Cresse led the lineup and batted .388 with 30 homers and
106 RBIs. Brad Hawpe, Mike Fontenot, Wally Pontiff and Blair Barbier
also had great offensive campaigns. The ’00 Tigers were fun to watch.
5. Cal State Fullerton (2004)
Key players. Kurt Suzuki, Sergio Pedroza, Felipe Garcia, Jason Windsor, Ricky Romero, Vinnie Pestano
Analysis. What an amazing team this was. The Titans appeared
to be down and out in the middle of the regular season. But they turned
everything around and eventually put on an impressive display in Omaha.
Ace pitcher Jason Windsor was phenomenal and catcher Kurt Suzuki was
the headliner at the plate. The Titans finished the campaign with an
impressive .326 batting average and compiled a 3.72 ERA. Fullerton won
its first national title since ’95 this season. It was the fourth
national title overall.
4. LSU (2009)
Key players. Ryan Schimpf, Jared Mitchell, DJ LeMahieu, Blake Dean, Louis Coleman, Anthony Ranaudo, Matty Ott
Analysis. The Tigers took a step forward two seasons ago with
a trip back to Omaha. Well, the Tigers accomplished the ultimate goal
and won their sixth national title in ’09 with a thrilling title series
win over Texas. The Tigers were extremely athletic with players such as
DJ LeMahieu and Jared Mitchell leading the way in the field. On the
mound, you couldn’t get much better than starting pitchers Louis
Coleman and Anthony Ranaudo in addition to reliever Matty Ott. The
Tigers restored order in Baton Rouge and set the tone for more national
titles in the near future.
3. Miami (2001)
Key players. Javy Rodriguez, Kevin Howard, Mike Rodriguez, Charlton Jimerson, George Huguet, Tom Farmer
Analysis. One of the more athletic teams to go through the
gates at Rosenblatt Stadium this decade, the Hurricanes dazzled
observers in ’01 by finishing the campaign with a 53-12 record and
dominant 12-1 win over Stanford in the national title game. UM recorded
double digit run totals in three of its four games in Omaha. The ‘Canes
also finished the season with a .308 batting average and a 3.87 ERA.
This was an excellent club from top-to-bottom and will go down as one
of the best ever to win a national title.
2. Texas (2002)
Key players. Dustin Majewski, Tim Moss, Omar Quintanilla, Jeff Ontiveros, Huston Street, Justin Simmons, Brad Halsey
Analysis. The Longhorns put together an exceptional campaign
and won their first national title since ’83 with a plethora of
outstanding players. Reliever Huston Street was the headliner of a
pitching staff that finished the season with an amazing 2.82 ERA. Frank
Anderson, who now is the head coach at Oklahoma State, was pitching
coach. The Longhorns also had some firepower at the plate with
Majewski, Moss and Quintanilla leading the way. Still, this team always
will be known as one with a wealth of pitching and fantastic team
chemistry.
1. Rice (2003)
Key players. Enrique Cruz, Vincent Sinisi, Jeff Niemann, Wade Townsend, Philip Humber, David Aardsma
Analysis. The Owls won their first national title in ’03 and
the goal couldn’t have been accomplished with a better team. The Owls
had the three-headed monster on the mound with starting pitchers
Niemann, Townsend and Humber. They also had the services of stud
reliever David Aardsma, who finished that campaign with 12 saves. At
the plate, Enrique Cruz, Chris Kolkhorst and Vincent Sinisi were the
fire starters. There’s a good chance this team always will be known as
the best in Rice history.