College Baseball: A History of Back-to-Back National Champions

As Mississippi State looks to win a second consecutive national title in baseball, here's a history of a few teams that managed to win back-to-back championships.

Mississippi State's baseball team finally won their first national championship in 2021, but can they do it again?

Surely, the Bulldogs will win more national championships down the road. However, winning back-to-back titles-- especially with players constantly coming and going due to the MLB Draft and the transfer portal-- is rare nowadays. MSU has a chance to win again this year, but the team will have to face off against some tough opponents to get there.

How many times has a defending national champion gone on to win the national title in consecutive years? Six times, to be exact. Here is every team that has won back-to-back titles since the College World Series began in 1947.

Texas (1949, 1950)

As the first national champion to win titles in consecutive years, Texas set the precedent for other teams to follow. Under head coach Bibb Falk, they defeated Wake Forest in 1949 and Washington State in 1950. The Longhorns also became the first team to win the national title in Omaha. Since the team's initial two victories, they have won four more championships and are the among the favorites to win a fifth this season.

Southern California (1970, 1974)

USC's team outdid everyone when they won five consecutive national championships in the early 1970s. The Trojans claimed the first of these titles in a tough, 15-inning battle against Florida State, which they eventually won 2-1. USC was led by head coach Rod Dedeaux to four more consecutive national titles against various opponents. Dedeaux won an additional national title as the head coach of his team in 1978.

Stanford (1987, 1988)

Despite struggling more in 1988 than in 1987, Stanford was able to win a championship in both seasons. The Cardinal finished the latter season with a 46-23 record-- six games worse than the 1987 season in which they finished 53-17. Those are the only two national titles that the team has won, but that span of years must have been quite the time to be a fan of the Stanford Cardinal.

LSU (1996, 1997)

Near the turn of the millennium, the Tigers pulled together their own pair of national championships. The two victories happened to be the first consecutive titles in program history under head coach Skip Bertman, but he previously led LSU to championship titles in 1991 and 1993. Fun fact: the Tigers' 1997 victory came in an all-SEC matchup against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Oregon State (2006, 2007)

Since winning back-to-back championships in 2006 and 2007, the Beavers have been a force to be reckoned with in the college baseball world. Both of Oregon State's victories came over North Carolina; they won the first title 3-2 and their second 9-3. Safe to say that a sort of postseason rivalry has formed between the two powerhouses, but unfortunately, they haven't met in the championship series since 2007.

South Carolina (2010, 2011)

The Gamecocks have struggled for a few years, but they were once a tough test for any opponent. Despite falling in a few previous championship appearances, South Carolina finally overcame the hump in 2010. They defeated UCLA in 11 hard innings of play for their first title and easily handled Florida the next year. The Gamecocks could have had a third-consecutive national title, but they lost to Arizona in the championship series in 2012.