John D. Diesing, Sr., known to most as Jack Sr., created College World Series of Omaha, Inc., in 1967 as the local non-profit organizing committee and acted as Chairman of the Board for more than 30 years. Under his leadership, the NCAA® Men’s College World Series® saw tremendous success in Omaha and has since become a fixture of the community. Upon retirement, his son, John D. Diesing, Jr. was elected to lead CWS, Inc.
The NCAA’s deep respect for Diesing’s contribution to the success of the event is evident by its endorsement of the JOHN D. DIESING, SR. AWARD®, given annually since 1999 by CWS of Omaha, Inc. to the most outstanding player of the Series. Players earning the award receive a miniature bronze replica of The Road to Omaha sculpture at Rosenblatt Stadium.
John D. Diesing, Sr., passed away on Wednesday, March 31, 2010, at the age of 92.
| Year |
Name |
Position |
School |
| 1949 |
Tom Hamilton |
First baseman |
Texas |
| 1950 |
Ray Van Cleef |
Outfielder |
Rutgers |
| 1951 |
Sidney Hatfield |
Pitcher / First baseman |
Tennessee |
| 1952 |
James O'Neill |
Pitcher |
Holy Cross |
| 1953 |
J. L. Smith |
Pitcher |
Texas |
| 1954 |
Tom Yewcic |
Catcher |
Michigan State |
| 1955 |
Tom Borland |
Pitcher |
Oklahoma A&M |
| 1956 |
Jerry Thomas |
Pitcher |
Minnesota |
| 1957 |
Cal Emery |
Pitcher / First baseman |
Penn State |
| 1958 |
Bill Thom |
Pitcher |
Southern California |
| 1959 |
Jim Dobson |
Third baseman |
Oklahoma State |
| 1960 |
John Erickson |
Second baseman |
Minnesota |
| 1961 |
Littleton Fowler |
Pitcher |
Oklahoma State |
| 1962 |
Bob Garibaldi |
Pitcher |
Santa Clara |
| 1963 |
Bud Hollowell |
Catcher |
Southern California |
| 1964 |
Joe Ferris |
Pitcher |
Maine |
| 1965 |
Sal Bando |
Third baseman |
Arizona State |
| 1966 |
Steve Arlin |
Pitcher |
Ohio State |
| 1967 |
Ron Davini |
Catcher |
Arizona State |
| 1968 |
Bill Seinsoth |
First baseman |
Southern California |
| 1969 |
John Dolinsek |
Outfielder |
Arizona State |
| 1970 |
Gene Ammann |
Pitcher |
Florida State |
| 1971 |
Jerry Tabb |
First baseman |
Tulsa |
| 1972 |
Russ McQueen |
Pitcher |
Southern California |
| 1973 |
Dave Winfield |
Pitcher / Outfielder |
Minnesota |
| 1974 |
George Milke |
Pitcher |
Southern California |
| 1975 |
Mickey Reichenbach |
First baseman |
Texas |
| 1976 |
Steve Powers |
Pitcher / Designated hitter |
Arizona |
| 1977 |
Bob Horner |
Third baseman |
Arizona State |
| 1978 |
Rod Boxberger |
Pitcher |
Southern California |
| 1979 |
Tony Hudson |
Pitcher |
Cal State Fullerton |
| 1980 |
Terry Francona |
Outfielder |
Arizona |
| 1981 |
Stan Holmes |
Outfielder |
Arizona State |
| 1982 |
Dan Smith |
Pitcher |
Miami |
| 1983 |
Calvin Schiraldi |
Pitcher |
Texas |
| 1984 |
John Fishel |
First baseman / Outfielder |
Cal State Fullerton |
| 1985 |
Greg Ellena |
Designated hitter |
Miami |
| 1986 |
Mike Senne |
Outfielder |
Arizona |
| 1987 |
Paul Carey |
Outfielder |
Stanford |
| 1988 |
Lee Plemel |
Pitcher |
Stanford |
| 1989 |
Greg Brummett |
Pitcher |
Wichita State |
| 1990 |
Mike Rebhan |
Pitcher |
Georgia |
| 1991 |
Gary Hymel |
Catcher |
LSU |
| 1992 |
Phil Nevin |
Third baseman |
Cal State Fullerton |
| 1993 |
Todd Walker |
Second baseman |
LSU |
| 1994 |
Chip Glass |
Outfielder |
Oklahoma |
| 1995 |
Mark Kotsay |
Outfielder / Pitcher |
Cal State Fullerton |
| 1996 |
Pat Burrell |
Outfielder |
Miami |
| 1997 |
Brandon Larson |
Shortstop |
LSU |
| 1998 |
Wes Rachels |
Second baseman |
Southern California |
| 1999 |
Marshall McDougall |
Second baseman |
Florida State |
| 2000 |
Trey Hodges |
Pitcher |
LSU |
| 2001 |
Charlton Jimerson |
Outfielder |
Miami |
| 2002 |
Huston Street |
Pitcher / Infielder |
Texas |
| 2003 |
John Hudgins |
Pitcher |
Stanford |
| 2004 |
Jason Windsor |
Pitcher |
Cal State Fullerton |
| 2005 |
David Maroul |
Third baseman |
Texas |
| 2006 |
Jonah Nickerson |
Pitcher |
Oregon State |
| 2007 |
Jorge Reyes |
Pitcher |
Oregon State |
| 2008 |
Tommy Mendonca |
Third baseman |
Fresno State |
| 2009 |
Jared Mitchell |
Outfielder |
LSU |
| 2010 |
Jackie Bradley Jr. |
Outfielder |
South Carolina |
| 2011 |
Scott Wingo |
Second baseman |
South Carolina |
| 2012 |
Rob Refsnyder |
Outfielder |
Arizona |
| 2013 |
Adam Plutko |
Pitcher |
UCLA |
| 2014 |
Dansby Swanson |
Shortstop |
Vanderbilt |
| 2015 |
Josh Sborz |
Pitcher |
Virginia |
| 2016 |
Andrew Beckwith |
Pitcher |
Coastal Carolina |
| 2017 |
Alex Faedo |
Pitcher |
Florida |
| 2018 |
Adley Rutschman |
Catcher |
Oregon State |
| 2019 |
Kumar Rocker |
Pitcher |
Vanderbilt |
| 2021 |
Will Bednar |
Pitcher |
Mississippi State |
| 2022 |
Dylan DeLucia |
Pitcher |
Ole Miss |
| 2023 |
Paul Skenes |
Pitcher |
LSU |
| 2024 |
Dylan Dreiling |
Outfielder |
Tennessee |
| 2025 |
Kade Anderson |
Pitcher |
LSU |
