Aug. 1, 2005

The Omaha World-Herald recently ranked the top College World Series Teams of all-time. In the rankings, Missouri was No. 16. The Tigers have advanced in the CWS six times in the program's history, highlighted by a National Championship in 1954.

Southern California earned the top ranking from the World-Herald. Here are the top 25 College World Series programs of all-time, as selected by the Omaha World-Herald:

THE TOP 25 PROGRAMS OF ALL TIME

1. SOUTHERN CAL
CWS appearances: 21
National championships: 12 (1948, 1958, 1961, 1963, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1978, 1998)
Runner-up finishes: 2
CWS record: 74-26 (.740)
Record in championship games: 12-2
Championship coaches: Sam Berry, Rod Dedeaux, Mike Gillespie
CWS MVPs: Bill Thom (1958), Bud Hollowell (1963), Bill Seinsoth (1968), Russ McQueen (1972), George Milke (1974), Rod Boxberger (1978), Wes Rachels (1998)
Comment: Trojans lose some points because they've made just four appearances since 1978 and won just one championship (1998). But there's no denying that for the first three decades of the CWS, no team could match USC's level of excellence. Trojans' streak of five straight titles from 1970 through 1974 is a feat that, in these days of reduced scholarships and increasing parity, will never be matched. USC backers like to point out that the Trojans' run came during a time when it arguably was more difficult to get to Omaha because only teams that won their conference championships were allowed to advance to postseason play.

2. TEXAS
CWS appearances: 31
National championships: 5 (1949, 1950, 1975, 1983, 2002)
Runner-up finishes: 4
CWS record: 73-53 (.579)
Record in championship games: 5-5
Championship coaches: Bibb Falk, Cliff Gustafson, Augie Garrido
CWS MVPs: Tom Hamilton (1949), J.L. Smith (1953), Mickey Reichenbach (1975), Calvin Schiraldi (1983), Huston Street (2002)
Comment: No team knows Omaha better than the Longhorns, who rank first in CWS appearances and in games played (126). Texas also is second to USC in victories with 73 and could have broken the Trojans' record had it not faltered in last season's championship series. Under Falk, Gustafson and Garrido, the Longhorns have established a record of consistency that is unmatched in college baseball. Texas has made it to the final four in Omaha at least once in each decade of the CWS, and it has played in the last game of the season in the 1940s, 1950s, 1970s, 1980s and in the 2000s.

3. ARIZONA STATE
CWS appearances: 31
National championships: 5 (1965, 1967, 1969, 1977, 1981)
Runner-up finishes: 5
CWS record: 55-30 (.647)
Record in championship games: 5-5
Championship coaches: Bobby Winkles, Jim Brock
CWS MVPs: Sal Bando (1965), Ron Davini (1967), John Dolinsek (1969), Bob Horner (1977), Stan Holmes (1981)
Comment: Some of the greatest individual stars to play in Omaha have worn Arizona State uniforms, including Barry Bonds, Rick Monday, Bando and Horner. The Sun Devils' glory days spanned almost 25 years, when they made the CWS field 15 times from 1965 through 1988 and won all five of their titles. That haul could have been greater had it not been for a pair of one-run losses to USC in the 1972 (1-0) and 1973 (4-3) championship games. While Arizona State has made it to Omaha just once in the past decade, the Sun Devils always will be remembered for being a part of one of the least memorable championship games when they lost by a touchdown (21-14) to USC in 1998.

4. LOUISIANA STATE
CWS appearances: 13
National championships: 5 (1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000)
Runner-up finishes: 0
CWS record: 29-17 (.630)
Record in championship games: 5-0
Championship coaches: Skip Bertman
CWS MVPs: Gary Hymel (1991), Todd Walker (1993), Brandon Larson (1997), Trey Hodges (2000)
Comment: If there is a coach that can rival Miami's Ron Fraser in turning nothing into something special, it's Bertman. He took a bunch of toothless Tigers and turned them into the Bayou Bombers. Many consider LSU's five championships in 10 years a feat to rival USC's streak of five straight titles, given the changed landscape of the collegiate game. He adapted the Tigers' game to Rosenblatt after renovations made the park play small, loading his lineup with heavy hitters capable of turning the best pitchers into batting-practice hurlers. Still, it was the wiry Warren Morris who supplied the Tigers with their most memorable homer in Omaha: a game-winning two-run shot to give LSU a 9-8 victory over Miami.

5. MIAMI
CWS appearances: 21
National championships: 4 (1982, 1985, 1999, 2001)
Runner-up finishes: 2
CWS record: 45-34 (.570)
Record in championship games: 4-2
Championship coaches: Ron Fraser, Jim Morris
CWS MVPs: Dan Smith (1982), Greg Ellena (1985), Pat Burrell (1996), Charlton Jimerson (2001)
Comment: Fraser took a program with no tradition, no budget and no players and turned it into a perennial championship contender. Since first making it to Omaha in 1974, the Hurricanes have failed to make it back just 10 times in 31 seasons. Master promoter Fraser proved he could coach a little, too, in leading Hurricanes to its first two titles. The Hurricanes suffered no slip under Morris, who has brought Miami to Omaha in nine of his 11 seasons and produced championship seasons in 1999 and 2001 as well as the most memorable finish to a title game. That came in 1996, when Warren Morris' two-run homer on the game's final pitch stunned Miami 9-8 and gave Louisiana State the national title.

6. CAL STATE FULLERTON
CWS appearances: 13
National championships: 4 (1979, 1984, 1995, 2004)
Runner-up finishes: 1
CWS record: 32-21 (.603)
Record in championship games: 4-1
Championship coaches: Augie Garrido, George Horton
CWS MVPs: Tony Hudson (1979), John Fishel (1984), Phil Nevin (1992), Mark Kotsay (1995), Jason Windsor (2004)
Comment: The Titans have given Omaha plenty to remember, least of which is a handful of visits by Fullerton's most famous alum, actor Kevin Costner. Garrido turned a commuter school with limited resources into one of the game's heavyweights. Horton, who played on Fullerton's first CWS team in 1975, has kept the Titans among the game's elite in spite of an operating budget that some schools would consider petty cash. Perhaps it was fitting that Horton led Fullerton to last season's title by besting his mentor and his big-bucks Texas program in the championship series.

7. STANFORD
CWS appearances: 15
National championships: 2 (1987, 1988)
Runner-up finishes: 3
CWS record: 38-27 (.585)
Record in championship games: 2-3
Championship coaches: Mark Marquess
CWS MVPs: Paul Carey (1987), Lee Plemel (1988), John Hudgins (2003)
Comment: The Cardinal have shown they can hit the curveball as well as they can hit the books in being among the final four teams playing in Omaha 10 times since 1987. Stanford made it to the final game in three of the past five seasons, losing to LSU and Miami in 2000 and 2001 and coming up short in the first best-of-three championship series vs. Rice in 2003. Few teams can match the impressive array of arms that Stanford has brought to Omaha over the past two decades, a list headed by Mike Mussina and Jack McDowell. It was Stanford's skill on the hill that allowed the Cardinal to become the first back-to-back champions in 1987 and 1988 since USC won five straight titles.

8. ARIZONA
CWS appearances: 15
National championships: 3 (1976, 1980, 1986)
Runner-up finishes: 3
CWS record: 33-27 (.550)
Record in championship games: 3-3
Championship coach: Jerry Kindall
CWS MVPs: Steve Powers (1976), Terry Francona (1980), Mike Senne (1986)
Comment: Frank Sancet set the foundation in the 1950s and '60s that produced championships in the '70s and '80s under Kindall, one of college baseball's true nice guys. Ironically, it was Kindall, the only man to hit for the cycle in a CWS game, that kept Sancet from winning the 1956 championship as Minnesota routed Arizona 12-1 in the title game. Arizona also placed second under Sancet in 1959 and 1963. Thirty years later, Kindall directed an Arizona team that was an also-ran in its conference race to the school's third national title. Arizona didn't make it back to Omaha until 2004, the same year that Francona, the star of its 1980 championship team, led the Boston Red Sox to the World Series title.

9. OKLAHOMA STATE
CWS appearances: 19
National championships: 1 (1959)
Runner-up finishes: 5
CWS record: 38-36 (.514)
Record in championship games: 1-5
Championship coaches: Toby Greene
CWS MVPs: Tom Borland (1955), Jim Dobson (1959), Littleton Flowers (1961)
Comment: The Cowboys hold the CWS record for most consecutive appearances, having made it to Omaha seven straight years in the 1980s under coach Gary Ward. Oklahoma State twice lost in the championship game in that span, falling to Arizona State 7-4 in 1981 and dropping a 9-5 decision to Stanford in 1987. It was Greene who established Oklahoma State as a title contender, leading the school to four top-four finishes in five visits from 1954 through 1961. The Cowboys are one of two teams to have two players (Borland, Flowers) to win the tournament's outstanding player award and not win a national title.

10. OKLAHOMA
CWS appearances: 9
National championships: 2 (1951, 1994)
Runner-up finishes: 0
CWS record: 14-14 (.500)
Record in championship games: 2-0
Championship coaches: Jack Baer, Larry Cochell
CWS MVPs: Chip Glass (1994)
Comment: The Sooners went from unranked in the preseason in 1994 to national champions under the guidance of Cochell, one of three coaches who have brought three different schools to Omaha. Oklahoma's best run came in the 1970s, when the Sooners made five consecutive appearances (1972-76). That ties Miami, Stanford, Southern California and Texas for third in consecutive trips to Omaha. Baer's 1951 title team went unbeaten in Omaha, clipping Tennessee 3-2 in the championship game.

11. WICHITA STATE
CWS appearances: 7
National championships: 1 (1989)
Runner-up finishes: 3
CWS record: 16-11 (.593)
Record in championship games: 1-3
Championship coaches: Gene Stephenson
CWS MVP: Greg Brummett (1989)
Comment: Few coaches in any sport can equal the dramatic success that Wichita State has achieved under Stephenson. Since taking over the program in 1978, Stephenson has led the Shockers to more than 1,500 wins and seven trips to Omaha. Four have ended with Wichita State playing in the final game. The Shockers won it all in 1989, when Brummett became one of the eight pitchers to win three games in one CWS, and finished second in 1982, 1991 and 1993. They were participants in what many consider the most memorable game in CWS history, the 3-2, 12-inning victory over Creighton in the 1991 tournament.

12. FLORIDA STATE
CWS appearances: 18
National championships: 0
Runner-up finishes: 3
CWS record: 25-36 (.410)
Record in championship games: 0-3
Championship coaches: None.
CWS MVPs: Gene Ammann (1970), Marshall McDougall (1999)
Comment: No team has been to Omaha more times and left disappointed more than Florida State, which has never celebrated a championship in 18 visits to Rosenblatt Stadium. Two of the Seminoles' three championship game appearances have ended in bitter defeats - 2-1 in 15 innings to Southern California in 1970 and 6-5 to Miami in 1999. Florida State also made the final game in 1986, losing 10-2 to Arizona. Ammann, the pitching star of the 1970 team, and McDougall, the Seminoles' leading hitter in 1999, each earned outstanding player awards on runner-up teams.

13. MINNESOTA
CWS appearances: 5
National championships: 3 (1956, 1960, 1964)
Runner-up finishes: 0
CWS record: 17-7 (.708)
Record in championship games: 3-0
Championship coaches: Dick Siebert
CWS MVPs: Jerry Thomas (1956), John Erickson (1960), Dave Winfield (1973)
Comment: Golden Gophers challenged Southern California for the title of most dominant team of the first two decades of the CWS, winning championships in their first three appearances in Omaha. Minnesota came close to making it 4 for 4 when it returned in 1973 but fell one win short of the title game when USC rallied for seven runs in its final at-bat to pull out an 8-7 victory. That game marked the final mound appearance of Winfield, who went on to star as an outfielder in professional baseball. Winfield still ranks fourth on the CWS chart for most strikeouts in a series with 29.

14. MICHIGAN
CWS appearances: 7
National championships: 2 (1953, 1962)
Runner-up finishes: 0
CWS record: 12-12 (.500)
Record in championship games: 2-0
Championship coaches: Ray Fisher, Don Lund
CWS MVPs: None
Comment: Wolverines went 2 for 2 in their first two visits to the CWS, winning the 1953 and 1962 national championships. Michigan didn't make it back to Omaha until 1978, starting a run that saw the Wolverines earn a CWS berth in five of seven seasons. Michigan's final four visits came under the direction of Bud Middaugh, whose team included future professional stars Barry Larkin and Chris Sabo. Middaugh eventually was forced to resign in the wake of charges of misappropriating athletic department funds, and Michigan hasn't been back to Omaha since.

15. SOUTH CAROLINA
CWS appearances: 8
National championships: 0
Runner-up finishes: 3
CWS record: 17-16 (.515)
Record in championship games: 0-3
Championship coaches: None
CWS MVPs: None
Comment: The other "USC" is still searching for its first title but has finished second three times, third once and fourth once. South Carolina made its first visit to Omaha a memorable one, advancing to the 1975 championship game before losing to Texas 5-1. The Gamecocks' other runner-up finishes came in 1977 and 2003, when Texas again dashed their title hopes with a 12-6 win in the final winner-take-all national championship game. After dropping its first game in Omaha last season, South Carolina battled back to push eventual champion Fullerton to a second bracket championship game before bowing out.

16. MISSOURI
CWS appearances: 6
National championships: 1 (1954)
Runner-up finishes: 3
CWS record: 18-11 (.621)
Record in championship games: 1-3
Championship coaches: Hi Simmons
CWS MVPs: None
Comment: Under Simmons, Mizzou was a force in the early years of the CWS. The Tigers' .621 winning percentage still ranks fifth all-time. Missouri's 1954 title ruined one of the CWS' true Cinderella stories as the Tigers defeated Rollins, a private Florida school with a male enrollment of 300, in the championship game. Missouri fell one win short of titles in 1952, 1958 and 1964, and also finished third in 1963. Missouri's 1964 appearance, its sixth in the first 15 years the event was held in Omaha, also proved to be the Tigers' last.

17. CALIFORNIA
CWS appearances: 5
National championships: 2 (1947, 1957)
Runner-up finishes: None
CWS record: 10-6 (.625)
Record in championship games: 2-0
Championship coaches: Clint Evans, George Wolfman
CWS MVPs: None
Comment: It was fitting that the Bears won the first CWS title in 1947 as Evans was among the movers and shakers to get the event off the ground. The first CWS, played in Kalamazoo, Mich., brought together Yale, with a first baseman named George Herbert Walker Bush, to play Evans' Cal team. The Bears swept the best-of-three series, holding the future president hitless in seven at-bats. Cal won its second title a decade later in Omaha, posting a 1-0 championship game win over a Penn State team that brought a 19-0 record to town. Cal's three trips to Omaha since have produced one third-place finish in 1980.

18. GEORGIA
CWS appearances: 4
National championships: 1 (1990)
Runner-up finishes: 0
CWS record: 6-7 (.462)
Record in championship games: 1-0
Championship coaches: Steve Webber
CWS MVP: Mike Rebhan (1990)
Comment: In the third year of the two-bracket double-elimination format, the Bulldogs showed that having two strong starters can take a team a long way. Future professional Dave Fleming and future computer programmer Mike Rebhan each earned spots on the all-tournament team for pitching the Bulldogs through the bracket and into the title game. The Bulldogs then turned to freshman Stan Payne and Fleming to beat Oklahoma State, which had pounded its way through its bracket by outscoring opponents 35-8, in a 2-1 thriller in the championship game. The Bulldogs' other appearances came in 1987, 2001 and 2004.

19. CLEMSON
CWS appearances: 10
National championships: None
Runner-up finishes: None
CWS record: 9-20 (.310)
Record in championship games: 0-0
Championship coaches: None
CWS MVPs: None
Comment: Tigers' 10 trips to Rosenblatt Stadium is tied for 11th on the CWS all-time appearance list, but they've done little once they've hit town. Clemson's best finishes came in 1996 and 2002, when the Tigers came within one win of advancing to the title game. Weird things seem to happen when Clemson makes it to Omaha. First-round draft picks pitch like little leaguers, heavy hitters can't get the ball out of the infield, and a left fielder throws a live ball into the stands, thinking it was foul, to allow an opposing runner to circle the bases.

20. RICE
CWS appearances: 4
National championships: 1 (2003)
Runner-up finishes: None
CWS record: 6-7 (.462)
Record in championship games: 1-0
Championship coaches: Wayne Graham
CWS MVP: None
Comment: The Owls' first three trips to Omaha produced just one win until they rode four heat-throwing pitchers and an opportunistic offense to the first CWS title decided by a championship series. Rice backed up Phillip Humber, Wade Townsend and Jeff Niemann, considered by some the finest starting staff in collegiate history, with an All-America closer in David Aardsma. All were first-round draft picks - Aardsma in 2003, the other three in 2004. After advancing unbeaten in bracket play, Rice won the first and third games of its championship series against Stanford to claim the school's first national title in any sport.

21. ALABAMA
CWS appearances: 5
National championships: None
Runner-up finishes: 2
CWS record: 11-10 (.524)
Record in championship games: 0-2
Championship coaches: None
CWS MVPs: None
Comment: The Crimson Tide haven't been a frequent visitor to Omaha, but they have shown well in three of five trips to Rosenblatt. Alabama played for national championships in 1983, losing to a pitching-rich Texas team that featured a right-hander named Roger Clemens, and in 1997, when fellow Southeastern Conference member LSU pounded out a 12-6 win in the title game. The Tide also finished third in 1999.

22. OHIO STATE
CWS appearances: 4
National championships: 1 (1966)
Runner-up finish: 1
CWS record: 9-7 (.563)
Record in championship game: 1-1
Championship coaches: Marty Karow
CWS MVP: Steve Arlin (1966)
Comment: Arlin was selected as one of the two pitchers on the CWS' 50-year anniversary team for his work in the 1965 and 1966 tournaments. Arlin still holds the CWS career record for ERA (0.96), and his four victories and 47 innings pitched are tied for the all-time lead. In leading the Buckeyes to the 1966 title, Arlin finished all five of their wins - two on complete games. His most memorable performance might have come the year before, when he pitched a 15-inning, 1-0 victory over Washington State after lasting just one-third of an inning in his first CWS start against Arizona State.

23. PEPPERDINE
CWS appearances: 2
National championships: 1 (1992)
Runner-up finish: 0
CWS record: 7-2 (.778)
Record in championship games: 1-0
Championship coaches: Andy Lopez
CWS MVPs: None
Comment: Waves have made some in two visits to Omaha. Pepperdine finished third in 1979, then carted home the championship trophy in 1992 with the help of two big plays by second baseman Steve Rodriguez. His grand slam in the bottom of the seventh produced a 5-4 win over Texas that put the Waves into the championship game. Rodriguez then provided Pepperdine with a game-saving defensive play in the title game against Fullerton to preserve a 3-2 victory. In spite of his heroics, Rodriguez saw Fullerton's Phil Nevin win the outstanding player award.

24. HOLY CROSS
CWS appearances: 4
National championships: 1 (1952)
Runner-up finishes: None
CWS record: 9-7 (.563)
Record in championship games: 1-0
Championship coaches: Jack Barry
CWS MVPS: James O'Neill (1952)
Comment: The Crusaders never made a substitution in their six-day, seven-game drive to their national championship in 1952. O'Neill, Ron Perry and Jack Lonergan pitched complete games, and Barry stuck with his same lineup even when the Crusaders were forced to play a doubleheader in 100-degree heat four days into the tournament. Holy Cross became the first team from east of the Mississippi to win the championship, and O'Neill became the first pitcher to win three games in a series. The Crusaders finished third in 1958, and returned in '62 and '63.

25. MISSISSIPPI STATE
CWS appearances: 7
National championships: 0
Runner-up finishes: 0
CWS record: 7-14 (.333)
Record in championship games: 0-0
Championship coaches: None
CWS MVPs: None
Comment: The Bulldogs have made five of their seven trips to Omaha under Ron Polk, one of three coaches to bring three schools to Rosenblatt Stadium. Once Mississippi State gets here, it rarely sticks around long. The Bulldogs have won more than one game just once, and that came in 1985 with a roster that included future major leaguers Will Clark, Rafael Palmiero, Bobby Thigpen and Jeff Brantley. Even with that collection of talent, Mississippi State had to settle for third place behind Miami and Texas.