2021 NCAA Division I baseball season

• Four schools began transitions from NCAA Division II to Division I on July 1, 2020.
• Bellarmine, already a D-I member in men's lacrosse, joined D-I for all other sports as a new member of the ASUN Conference.{{cite web |url=https://athletics.bellarmine.edu/news/2020/7/1/general-bellarmine-knights-celebrate-july-1-rise-to-ncaa-division-1.aspx |title=Bellarmine Knights celebrate July 1 rise to NCAA Division 1 |date=July 1, 2020 |website=Bellarmine Knights |access-date=January 31, 2021}}
• Dixie State{{cite press release |url=https://www.idahostatejournal.com/members/dixie-state-accepts-invitation-to-wac-transitions-into-division-i/article_e602df5e-90d3-5fec-bcde-be7a7d291723.html |title=Dixie State accepts invitation to WAC; transitions into Division I athletics |date=January 12, 2019 |access-date=January 12, 2019}} and Tarleton State{{cite press release|url=https://wacsports.com/general/2019-20/releases/20191112oz7aee |title=Tarleton State University to Join Western Athletic Conference in 2020–21 |publisher=Western Athletic Conference |date=November 12, 2019 |access-date=December 1, 2019}} joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
• UC San Diego, already a de facto D-I member in men's volleyball and women's water polo (which do not have D-II championship events) as an associate member of the Big West Conference, moved the rest of its athletic program to the Big West.{{cite press release|url=http://www.bigwest.org//story.asp?story_id=20127 |title=CSU Bakersfield, UC San Diego to Join Big West Conference |publisher=Big West Conference |date=November 27, 2017 |access-date=December 11, 2017}}
• Boise State dropped baseball when the season was canceled after the COVID-19 pandemic was declared leading to baseball's second elimination because the athletic department's budget was reduced by $3 million.{{cite news |title=Boise State baseball players 'heartbroken' after university's decision to cut program |url=https://www.idahostatesman.com/sports/college/mountain-west/boise-state-university/article243988167.html |access-date=December 18, 2020 |work=Idaho Statesman |date=July 4, 2020}}
• Chicago State dropped baseball in June 2020, effective immediately.{{cite web|url=https://www.gocsucougars.com/news/2020/6/23/general-chicago-state-university-board-of-trustees-announces-discontinuation-of-baseball.aspx|title=Chicago State University Board of Trustees Announces Discontinuation of Baseball|date=June 23, 2020 |publisher=Chicago State University Athletics|work=www.gocsucougars.com |access-date=June 25, 2020}}
• Furman announced in May 2020 that the Paladins baseball team would be terminated due to budget concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic.{{cite web|first=Matt|last=Connolly|url=https://www.thestate.com/sports/college/article242819861.html|title=Furman cuts two sports, including baseball, amid coronavirus budget hits|work=The State|date=May 18, 2020|access-date=May 18, 2020}}
• La Salle and North Carolina Central dropped baseball after this season.{{cite press release|url=https://goexplorers.com/news/2020/9/29/general-an-open-letter-to-the-la-salle-and-explorer-athletics-community.aspx |title=An Open Letter to the La Salle and Explorer Athletics Community |publisher=La Salle Explorers |date=September 29, 2020 |access-date=January 24, 2021}}{{cite press release|url=https://nccueaglepride.com/news/2021/2/11/baseball-nccu-athletics-announces-sport-sponsorship-change.aspx |title=NCCU Athletics Announces Sport Sponsorship Change |publisher=NCCU Athletics |date=February 11, 2021 |access-date=February 28, 2021}}
• NJIT moved from the ASUN to the America East Conference.{{cite web |title=NJIT Joins America East Conference |url=https://www.njithighlanders.com/news/2020/6/15/general-njit-joins-america-east-conference.aspx |website=New Jersey Institute of Technology Athletics |access-date=May 29, 2021 |location=Newark, New Jersey |language=en |date=June 15, 2020 |quote=Highlanders will become the 10th full member institution of the America East, effective for the 2020–21 academic year.}}
• Cal State Bakersfield moved from the WAC to the Big West.

The following schools changed conferences effective with the 2022 season:

• Five schools left the Southland Conference. Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston, and Stephen F. Austin joined the WAC,{{cite press release|url=https://wacsports.com/general/2020-21/releases/20210121f62s76 |title=WAC Announces Expedited Entrance for Four Texas Institutions |publisher=Western Athletic Conference |date=January 21, 2021 |access-date=January 25, 2021}} and Central Arkansas joined the ASUN.{{cite press release|url=https://asunsports.org/general/2020-21/releases/20210126nthmsg |title=ASUN Conference Announces Three New Institutions; Adds Football as 20th Sport |publisher=ASUN Conference |date=January 29, 2021 |access-date=January 29, 2021}}
• The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference lost three members. Bethune–Cookman{{cite press release|url=https://swac.org/news/2020/6/25/general-swac-announces-addition-of-bethune-cookman-as-full-member.aspx |title=SWAC Announces Addition of Bethune-Cookman as Full Member |publisher=Southwestern Athletic Conference |date=June 25, 2020 |access-date=June 27, 2020}} and Florida A&M{{cite press release|url=https://swac.org/news/2020/6/4/general-swac-adds-florida-am-as-full-member.aspx |title=SWAC Announces Addition of Florida A&M as Full Member |publisher=Southwestern Athletic Conference |date=June 4, 2020 |access-date=June 8, 2020}} joined the Southwestern Athletic Conference, and North Carolina A&T joined the Big South Conference.{{cite press release|url=https://bigsouthsports.com/news/2020/2/6/general-big-south-adds-north-carolina-a-t-university-as-full-member.aspx |title=Big South Adds North Carolina A&T University as Full Member |publisher=Big South Conference |date=February 7, 2020 |accessdate=March 4, 2021}}
• The Ohio Valley Conference lost Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State to the ASUN.
• Northern Colorado, a WAC baseball associate through the 2021 season, left for single-sport membership in the Summit League.{{cite press release|url=https://thesummitleague.org/news/2020/7/14/northern-colorado-to-join-the-summit-league-as-a-baseball-affiliate.aspx |title=Northern Colorado to join The Summit League as a baseball affiliate |publisher=The Summit League |date=July 14, 2020 |access-date=July 15, 2020}}
• St. Thomas, formerly of NCAA Division III's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, also joined the Summit League after successfully obtaining an NCAA waiver for a direct transition to D-I.{{cite news |title=St. Thomas receives NCAA waiver to join The Summit League in 2021–22 |url=https://thesummitleague.org/news/2020/6/17/general-st-thomas-receives-ncaa-waiver-to-join-the-summit-league-in-2020-21.aspx |work=The Summit League |location=Sioux Falls, South Dakota |date=July 15, 2020 |access-date=May 30, 2021}}

• The 2021 season was the first for UConn at Elliot Ballpark, replacing J. O. Christian Field.{{cite web |last1=McFarland |first1=Shawn |title=UConn rings in brand new Elliot Ballpark with 2–0 win over Central Connecticut |url=https://www.courant.com/sports/hc-sp-uconn-baseball-open-new-stadium-with-win-ccsu-20210324-zwy3l6bb4ndfpk6ancds4ehb44-story.html |website=Hartford Courant |access-date=May 29, 2021 |location=Storrs, Connecticut |language=en |date=March 23, 2021}}
• Oklahoma State began play in O'Brate Stadium, replacing Allie P. Reynolds Stadium.{{cite web |last1=Scott |first1=Marshall |title=Cowboys Finally Moved into O'Brate, as New Era In OSU Baseball Begins |url=https://pistolsfiringblog.com/cowboys-finally-moved-into-obrate-as-new-era-in-osu-baseball-begins/ |website=Pistols Firing |access-date=May 29, 2021 |location=Stillwater, Oklahoma |language=en |date=September 4, 2020}}
• Florida began play in Florida Ballpark, replacing Alfred A. McKethan Stadium.{{cite web |last1=Dirlam |first1=Zach |title=Gators Open Florida Ballpark with Electric Win Over Miami |url=https://floridagators.com/news/2021/2/19/baseball-gators-open-florida-ballpark-with-electric-win-over-miami.aspx |website=Florida Gators |access-date=May 29, 2021 |location=Gainesville, Florida |language=en |date=February 19, 2021}}
• Omaha began play in Tal Anderson Field, replacing J. J. Isaacson Field at Seymour Smith Park.

{{further|2021 NCAA Division I baseball rankings}}

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Of the 32 Division I all-sports athletic conferences, 31 sponsor baseball, with the Big Sky Conference the only exception. All but one of these conferences played in the 2021 season; the Ivy League opted out of the season due to COVID-19 concerns. Several conferences canceled or modified their conference tournaments for 2021, with the Big Ten, Mid-American, Mountain West and West Coast joining the Big West and Pac-12 in forgoing a tournament to end the regular season. For those conferences holding a tournament, the teams in each conference that won their regular season title were given the top seeds in each tournament. The winners of these tournaments received automatic invitations to the 2021 NCAA Division I baseball tournament. Conferences that do not hold a tournament award their automatic bids to the regular-season champion.

This table lists programs that changed head coaches at any point from the first day of the 2021 season until the day before the first day of the 2022 season.

{{Reflist}}

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