Eight regional competitions were held to determine the participants in the final event.
[1] The forty-sixth tournament's champion was Pepperdine, coached by Andy Lopez.
The Most Outstanding Player was Phil Nevin of Cal State Fullerton.
As of 2023, this is the last tournament in which no SEC teams have managed to advance to the College World Series.
The opening rounds of the tournament were played across eight regional sites across the country, each consisting of a six-team field.