West Virginia might’ve lost its chance to win the program’s first Big 12 championship on Saturday after the Kansas Jayhawks ran away with a 9-0 victory. Read more: One door closes, another opens for WVU Baseball.
While that obviously stings for the team, the coaching staff and the fans who poured their hearts and souls into the possibility of this team making history, the Mountaineers’ season is far from over.
In fact, the opportunities still sitting in front of WVU are ones that could continue to put this program in position to make history.
Before diving into that, though, let’s first assess the 2026 Big 12 Baseball Tournament from multiple angles.
Tournament/WVU MVP
Kansas shortstop Tyson LeBlanc was named the tournament MVP, voted on by media members at the tournament. The junior utility player finished the tournament with eight hits, seven RBI’s, and two home runs.
In the championship game against WVU, Leblanc recorded three hits and one RBI. He was dominant from start to finish against the Mountaineers.
That goes for the whole tournament as well, it was easy to see that LeBlanc deserved to be named the MVP of the whole tournament.
As for West Virginia’s MVP, my opinion is that it has to go to either Maxx Yehl or Sean Smith. Honestly, you could consider both those guys as 1A and 1B.
Related: WVU Baseball: look past the trees to see the forest
For Yehl, he dominated against Kansas State in the first game of the tournament. He finished with seven punch outs and allowed just two runs in 6.1 innings. He also gave up just three hits.
The Big 12 Pitcher of the Year did not disappoint in his only appearance in the Big 12 tournament.
Smith finished with six hits, including a double across all three games. More often than not, the DH/outfielder was consistently producing quality at-bats.
Unfortunately, marquee players like Gavin Kelly and Matt Ineich had rough showings at the tournament. Two of the most consistent players for WVU this season at the top of the lineup just simply didn’t have a very good three-game stretch.
If that doesn’t happen, who knows if the outcome of the championship game would’ve been different.
My personal experience
As someone who attended this tournament as an unbiased reporter, the whole week showcased a lot of fun games. From the early games on Thursday, to the ultra competitive semifinal games on Friday, nearly every game delivered some type of spark.
Funny enough, it was the championship that was the least enjoyable watch in terms of a competitive matchup. However, it wasn’t until the later innings that the Jayhawks started to blow it open.
With that being said, each game had its moments. And the weather at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona allowed for a lot of home runs to be smacked over the fence.
I could hear some of what I assume to be locals say something along the lines of that is normal when it starts to get really hot. No matter the reason, it created very entertaining baseball to watch.
Also the fans for most teams showed out and were loud for their respective teams. Teams like Kansas, WVU, Arizona State, and Oklahoma State had very passionate and loud fans that just added to the enjoyment in the ballpark.
The weather was beautiful all week. Low to high 90’s and sunny. It wasn’t terribly hot so it allowed the fans to stay the whole day if they chose to, which a lot did.
It was nice to see fans of different teams show up for the other teams just for the love of baseball and seeing competitive teams go up against each other.
One thing the Big 12 tournament showed is that the Big 12 is not just a basketball conference. The baseball this conference offers is also at an elite level and one that can rival even the best conferences in the sport like the SEC and the ACC.
And it’s safe to say that it’s only going to keep growing up and getting better each year. Teams like West Virginia, Kansas, and Oklahoma State are here to stay as one of the nation’s elite.
Hosting odds
Let’s now look at the rest of the season for WVU. Let’s get one thing out of the way: this team will certainly be hosting a NCAA Regional in Morgantown.
That was almost certain before the Big 12 tournament. Even without winning the championship, making it that far all but solidifies WVU has one of the regional hosts.
Related: How No. 2 West Virginia Baseball is inspiring pride across the state
West Virginia will know for sure on Monday, May 25 when the NCAA Baseball Selection Show starts at 12:00 p.m. ET.
Once West Virginia learns it will be hosting a regional, the team will play that weekend. If they can get through that, there is also a strong chance that they may host a super regional.
That would be the first time in program history that the Mountaineers hosted a NCAA Super Regional as well.
With all that being said, I know the loss in the Big 12 championship stung, but with regionals starting soon, there is a lot to still look forward to with West Virginia baseball.
