Eight regional competitions were held to determine the participants in the final event.
Seven regions held a four team, double-elimination tournament while one region included six teams, resulting in 34 teams participating in the tournament at the conclusion of their regular season, and in some cases, after a conference tournament.
[1] The thirty-first tournament's champion was Arizona State, coached by Jim Brock.
The Most Outstanding Player was Bob Horner of Arizona State.
[2] The winners of each Regional advanced to the College World Series.