Has there ever been College World Series perfect game? Gage Wood going for history

USA Today

6 hours ago

Has there ever been College World Series perfect game? Gage Wood going for history
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4 MLB prospects to watch during the 2025 Men's College World Series
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A college baseball team making it to the College World Series is a humongous achievement, one that can define the program in the years that follow and put it firmly on the national stage. Once there, rising above the seven other teams to win a national championship is an even more Herculean feat, an accomplishment that immortalizes players and coaches in a school and program's lore.
Being perfect at the CWS, though? That's something unprecedented.
In his team's elimination game against Murray State, Arkansas pitcher Gage Wood has been untouchable — literally — surrendering no hits or walks through the first seven innings as his team holds on to a 3-0 lead. While it's sacrilegious for such discussions to take place in a dugout during a game, Wood's early brilliance has prompted chatter about whether he could notch a perfect game.
REQUIRED READING: Arkansas vs Murray State live updates: College World Series score, highlights
From those conversations comes a natural question: Has anybody ever thrown a perfect game at the CWS?
With Wood rolling, here's a look at the history of perfect games in the CWS:
Has there ever been a perfect game in the College World Series?
If Wood is able to finish the job, he'll make history.
Since at least 1959, when there was the first recorded perfect game in college baseball, there has never been a perfect game at the College World Series.
The first CWS was played in 1947 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, but the first perfect game wasn't recorded until Maryland's Dick Reitz managed the accomplishment in a win against Johns Hopkins in April 1959. Through the first seven innings, Wood has been overpowering and shown few, if any, signs of weakness. Of the first 21 batters he faced, he struck out 14 of them.
Wood's perfect game bid is the longest in the CWS since at least 1999, when play-by-play data first becomes available.
How many perfect games have there been in college baseball history?
There have been 39 recorded perfect games in Division I college baseball history since the first one in 1959, according to the NCAA.
The most recent one came in March, when UNC Wilmington freshman Cam Bagwell had a perfect game in a 12-0 victory against Campbell, needing only 80 pitches to do so in a run-rule, seven-inning win.
It was actually the second perfect game of the 2025 season, with Portland's Ryan Rembisz giving up no hits or walks while striking out 12 in a win against Seattle.
Perfect games have become more common in recent years. Of the 39 all-time perfect games in Division I history, 15 have come since 2011, including five since 2022.