Tennessee Baseball's history at the College World Series in Omaha

Tennessee Baseball is headed back to the College World Series for just the seventh time in program history after beating Evansville 12-1 Sunday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Game 3 of the Knoxville Super Regional.

It’s the second straight trip to Omaha for the Vols (55-12) and the third in the last four years under head coach Tony Vitello. 

Evansville (39-26) forced the decisive Game 3 Sunday after rallying to win 10-8 on Saturday, becoming the first No. 4 regional seed to beat a No. 1 overall seed. Tennessee won 11-6 on Friday before having to answer on Sunday. 

Tennessee went to the College World Series just four times in 70 years before Vitello was hired. Former Tennessee coach Rod Delmonico took the Vols to Omaha three times in an 11-year span between 1995 and 2006.

Here’s a look back at Tennessee’s complete history at the College World Series:

2023

Tennessee’s road to Omaha went on the road last season, with the Vols having to go to No. 14 Clemson to play as the No. 2 seed in the Clemson Regional. After going 38-19 in the regular season, and after being one-and-done at the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Tennessee swept its way through the regional, beating Charlotte twice and upsetting Clemson on its home field.

The Vols then went to Southern Miss for Super Regional play and dropped Game 1 5-3, but punched back with an 8-4 win in Game 2 and a 5-0 win in Game 3 to clinch the return to the College World Series. 

LSU beat Tennessee 6-3 in the CWS opener for the Vols, but they answered with a 6-4 win over Stanford, Tennessee’s first win in Omaha since 2001. LSU got in the way again the next day, winning 5-0 to send the Vols home.

2021

Tennessee three years ago went to Omaha sitting on 50 wins after winning an SEC Eastern Division championship, playing for an SEC Tournament championship and sweeping its way through both regional and super regional play in Knoxville. 

Tennessee, playing as the No. 3 overall seed, beat Wright State and Liberty twice in the Knoxville Regional, then swept LSU 15-6 in the Super Regional to return to the College World Series for the first time since 2005.

The magic ran out at Charles Schwab Field, though. Tennessee lost to Virginia 6-0 in its first game in Omaha, then was eliminated by Texas after an 8-4 loss two days later. 

2005

Tennessee was in the College World Series for the third time in 11 years in 2005, but it was another 0-2 stop in Omaha. Florida beat Tennessee 6-4 in the opening round and the Vols were then eliminated by Arizona State, 4-2.

Tennessee finished 46-21 and second in the SEC East at 18-11 in conference play. The Vols hosted and won the Knoxville Regional to start the NCAA Tournament, then swept Georgia Tech on the road in the Atlanta Super Regional.

2001

It was a high-scoring stay in Omaha in 2001. Tennessee scored 13 in its CWS opener against Miami, but the No. 2-seed Hurricanes played 21 of their own to start their run to a national championship. The Vols beat Georgia 19-12 in the loser bracket, then beat USC 10-2. 

Miami bounced Tennessee with a 12-6 win before going on to beat Stanford in the best-of-three series for the national title. The Vols finished the season went 48-20 in 2001, finishing second in the SEC East with an 18-12 record in conference play.

1995

After a 44-year wait, Tennessee Baseball went back to the College World Series for the second time in 1995. The Vols won a six-team Mideast Regional at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, beating Oklahoma State 3-1 in 11 innings to head to Omaha.

Tennessee beat Clemson in its first World Series game in 1995, but lost to Cal State Fullerton in the next round. The Vols beat Stanford, but Cal State Fullerton, which would go on to win the national championship, again got in the way and sent Tennessee home. 

The 1995 season finished with a 54-16 record. Tennessee went 22-8 in SEC play to win a conference championship. 

1951

Tennessee went 16-1 during the regular season — the schedule didn’t start until March 15 and finished on May 12 — and had a month off before playing six games in five days at the College World Series.

It started with a 7-1 loss to Utah, but the Vols played their way out of the loser bracket with four straight wins, beating Princeton and Springfield over the next two days, then beating USC and Utah in a doubleheader to go to the championship game. There, Oklahoma won 3-2. The runner-up finish for Tennessee remains the best in program history.