West Virginia baseball got back to their winning ways last week, going 3-1, including taking two of three from Kansas State.
Now, the Mountaineers find themselves on the verge of the last series of the regular season, hoping that this year is a lot different than last.
This time last year, WVU baseball was projected to be a host or at least had the opportunity to host a regional in 2023. Entering the final series of the regular season on the road against Texas, the Mountaineers needed just one win to secure an outright Big 12 regular season title. They would be swept, then go 0-2 in the Big 12 Tournament, leading them to be a two-seed, and then have an early exit in the Lexington Regional last year.
This time around, WVU seems to be firmly in the field, but they have three games against a hungry TCU squad, and then they stay in the state of Texas for the Big 12 Tournament, as they hope to pick up a win in the tournament for the first time since 2021.
As of Wednesday, WVU is a No. 2 seed in both D1Baseball’s and Baseball America’s latest postseason projections.
D1Baseball has the Mountaineers headed to No. 2 overall seed Tennessee, facing Xavier in what would be the opening round game. The Vols are coming off two College World Series appearances in the last three seasons (2021, 2023), and has hosted two regionals in that span (2021, 2022). Tennessee is currently 43-10 and are ranked No. 6 in the RPI.
WVU’s potential first round matchup in Xavier, is No. 26 in the RPI, and are currently fourth in the Big East.
Baseball America has West Virginia heading to their border state neighbor, Virginia, to face off in the Charlottesville Regional. UVA is projected as the No. 14 national seed, and the Mountaineers would face SEC power Vanderbilt in the first round, with the fourth seed of the regional being Columbia.
Virginia is 37-14 overall, and are ranked No. 13 in the current RPI rankings. Vanderbilt is currently ranked No. 28 in the RPI, with a 12-15 record in the SEC.
West Virginia baseball hits the road this weekend for a three-game series against TCU starting on Thursday night. The Horned Frogs are 13-14 in Big 12 play this season, and are No. 39 in the RPI rankings. WVU has a lot to play for this weekend, as they are in a dead heat to get the second seed in the Big 12.
The second seed gets a bye in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament, as WVU is tied with Texas in the standings and is a 1/2 game back of Oklahoma State in the standings. WVU likely needs to sweep and Oklahoma State to lose their series in order to gain control of the No. 2 seed in the league standings.
