Maybe the Arizona Wildcats qualify as a surprise to reach the College World Series based on their wobbly regular-season finish, but not if you go back more than a month or two.
Like, maybe 13 years back. Or 50. Or even 75 years.
Arguably, no Arizona sport has enjoyed more sustainable success since 1950 than its baseball program.
On June 25, 2012, the Arizona Wildcats won the College World Series. It was the fourth national championship for the UA baseball program.
The Wildcats not only have four national championships but they are making their 19th appearance in College World Series history. UA last won the NCAA title in 2012, last reached the CWS Championship Series in 2016, and last appeared in the CWS just four seasons ago.
It all started not long after the CWS moved permanently in 1950 to Omaha, Nebraska, and went to a double-elimination format with eight teams, largely the same format of today except for the 1999 addition of Super Regionals that feed into the CWS and the 2003 addition of a best-of-three championship series between the winners of two four-team brackets.
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Arizona debuted in 1954 and made five total appearances in the ‘50s. The Wildcats showed up three times each in the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s, while winning the 1976, 1980 and 1986 titles. Then came a slump of just one appearance between 1986 and 2012, though the program has reached the CWS four times since then.
Here’s how UA’s CWS history has played out:
1954: Arizona tied for fifth in its first College World Series, beating Oregon 12-1 but then losing to Michigan State 2-1 and Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) 5-4. The Wildcats lost their final game in the 14th inning on an RBI single by pitcher Tom Borland.
1955: The Wildcats lost to Western Michigan 4-1 in their first game, but pitching ace Carl Thomas threw a two-hitter in UA’s 6-0 win over Springfield and the Wildcats thumped Northern Colorado 20-0 before Oklahoma A&M sent them home again with a 5-4 loss.
1956: The Wildcats won four games, including a 10-4 victory over eventual champion Minnesota to force a winner-take-all game against the Gophers, but lost that one 12-1. Coincidentally, it was a rare error from Minnesota shortstop Gerald Kindall that led to UA’s lone run; 20 years later, Kindall (then known as Jerry) coached UA to its first NCAA title.
1958: Arizona made a quiet appearance, losing 4-1 to Clemson and 4-0 to eventual champion USC.
1959: The Wildcats finished second after winning their first three games — over Clemson (3-2), Fresno State (5-1) and Oklahoma State (5-3) — then losing 2-0 to Fresno State and again to Oklahoma State (5-3) in the championship game.
1960: The Wildcats earned revenge on Oklahoma State with a 2-1 win in their first game but lost to Minnesota 8-5. Then, after beating St. John’s 11-4, USC pummeled the Wildcats 13-1. Shortstop Charles Shoemaker (who played in the 1959 and 1960 CWS) and catcher Alan Hall (1958-59-60) were both named to the “CWS all-decade team†of the 1940s and ‘50s.
1963: Arizona neared a breakthrough by winning its first four games — over Penn State, Florida State, Missouri and Texas — but finished second for the third time after losing twice to champion USC. The Star’s Abe Chanin wrote that “this Arizona club went much further than its basic ability. It was carried to a remarkable season by a tremendous spirit and desire.â€
1966: USC sent the Wildcats home again, scoring twice in the first inning and winning 8-4. Earlier, UA had lost to Texas but beat Northeastern.
1970: Another quiet appearance for Arizona, which lost 4-0 to Florida State and 7-1 to Iowa State during what turned out to be the final CWS appearance for coach Frank Sancet, who died in 1985 and was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012.
1976: The 10th time was finally the charm for Arizona, which won its first major national title in school history despite losing to ASU 7-6 in the opener. The Wildcats battled back by beating Clemson, Maine, Eastern Michigan and avenging their loss to the Sun Devils — and then beating Eastern Michigan again in the championship game, Steve Powers hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning that Kindall said was a turning point.
1979: The Wildcats opened with a 5-1 win over Miami (Florida) but were pummeled by Arkansas (10-3) and Cal State Fullerton (16-3).
Arizona head baseball coach Jerry Kindall, with wife Georgia, carry the 1980 NCAA College World Series trophy at Tucson International Airport on June 7, 1980, after UA won the CWS.
1980: Arizona won another NCAA title the hard way, losing 6-1 to St. John’s in their opener but winning five straight elimination games, finishing with an 11-10 win over California and a 5-3 championship game win over Hawaii. Terry Francona was named the CWS’ most outstanding player, leaving UA afterward to become a first-round major league pick. He later collected two World Series championship rings as the Boston Red Sox’ manager.
1985: Two eventual major-league all-star pitchers made it a rough trip for the Wildcats. Greg Swindell pitched Texas to a 2-1 win in the opener while Stanford’s Jack McDowell threw a complete game in the Cardinal’s 9-2 win over UA.
Chip Hale of the University of Arizona crosses home plate during the NCAA Championship game against Florida State in June 1986.
1986: The Wildcats ran away with their third title under Kindall, beating Maine, LMU and Florida State before coming back from a 4-2 loss to Miami to beat Florida State again in the championship game. The Wildcats received two-run homers from Mike Senne and Gar Millay in their 10-2 title victory.
Georgia’s Justin Holmes throws to first base after forcing out Arizona’s Richard Mercado at second base in the seventh inning of Georgia’s 3-1 win in the College World Series June 22, 2004.
2004: The Wildcats made an improbable return to Omaha after an 18-year absence, going just 12-12 in Pac-10 play, and beat Arkansas 7-2 in their second game. But losses to Georgia in their first and last games ended the run. Georgia won 3-1 in the second game after reliever Will Startup allowed just one hit in the final three innings.
2012: Arizona romped undefeated through the entire NCAA Tournament, winning five games at home during the Regionals and Super Regionals, then beating Florida State twice and UCLA once in the CWS before defeating South Carolina 5-1 and 4-1 in back-to-back games to win the title. Robert Refsnyder was named most outstanding player after collecting two hits and scoring the go-ahead run in the final game.
Arizona’s Zach Gibbons gets consoled by director of operations Ray McIntire after the Wildcats fell to Coastal Carolina 4-3 in the deciding game of the final series at TD Ameritrade Park in the College World Series, June 30, 2016, Omaha, Neb.
2016: Arizona went 4-1 to win its half of the bracket before suffering a heartbreaking Championship Series against Coastal Carolina. They beat Coastal 3-0 in the first game of the best-of-three series, before dropping the next two games — including a 4-3 finale in which they stranded a runner at third base in the final inning.
Nik McClaughry (11) in action for the Arizona Wildcats vs. Stanford in Game 2 of the 2021 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha on June 21, 2021.
2021: UA lost its opener 7-6 in 12 innings to eventual runner-up Vanderbilt and did not recover. Stanford beat the Wildcats 14-5 two days later, and coach Jay Johnson left after the season to take over at LSU.

