Following a third loss in the past five games, the No. 12 West Virginia Mountaineers (39-8, 18-4) will visit the Kansas State Wildcats (28-20, 14-10). The upcoming series will be the final road series of the regular season for West Virginia, and the penultimate series before tournament play begins in the Big 12 Conference. Read more WVU Baseball Faces Final Road Challenge of Regular Season
Setting the Scene
West Virginia is coming off a brutal loss at the hands (or paws, if you will) of the Pitt Panthers on Tuesday evening. In the loss, the Mountaineers surrendered a 9-5 lead in the ninth inning and fell to their rival by a final tally of 10-9. Despite the lull in the Mountaineers’ winning ways over the past week, WVU still possesses the top spot in the Big 12 with an 18-4 record in conference play and has only lost one conference series all season.
This weekend will serve as a chance for West Virginia to dish out some revenge, as Kansas State was the squad that eliminated the Mountaineers in the Big 12 tournament in 2024. In the tournament loss, WVU went up 3-0 before allowing seven runs in a single inning and could never fully climb back into the game, a contest that the Wildcats won 8-4 in Arlington, Texas. The Mountaineers have reloaded in the year following the season-ending loss and have already eclipsed the 2024 team’s impressive record, even with two weekend series still to be played. A lot is at stake beyond team pride, as West Virginia can pull away further in the current conference standings.
READ: How Has Brett Yormack Done for the Big 12
Kansas State currently sits in sixth place in the Big 12 standings with a conference record of 14-10. The Wildcats have won back-to-back games, taking the second and third games of their most recent weekend tilt against the BYU Cougars. In the two victories, Kansas State amassed 31 total runs and outscored BYU 37-19 in the three-game series. The Wildcats were scheduled to play host to Omaha on Tuesday, but inclement weather had other plans. By the time game one of the upcoming series against the Mountaineers gets underway on Friday, KSU will have had almost a full week of rest. That time off could have a great impact on the series, but only time will tell.
Players to Watch
Jace Rinehart put on another clinic at the plate against Pitt on Tuesday, collecting three hits in five appearances and two RBI. Rinehart has been listed as a player to watch in previous preview articles, but the senior outfielder puts on a show as often as anyone else on the WVU roster. The USC-Upstate transfer has a batting average of .340 in 2025 and is tied with three other Mountaineers for first place in the home run category this season, going yard seven times.
Maximus Martin, a junior for the Wildcats, is one of many offensive threats in the KSU lineup. While batting .337 in 2025, Martin leads Kansas State in hits (58), runs (48), doubles (15), and RBI (53). The Georgia State transfer is also second on the team in home runs (14) and is a mainstay of the Kansas State outfield, making 131 catches so far this year.
Tune In
West Virginia’s final road test against Kansas State starts with game one on Friday at 7 p.m., followed by a 5 p.m. start on Saturday. Sunday’s matinee matchup is scheduled for a 2 p.m. first pitch. Kansas State will defend its home diamond on ESPN+, and the radio stream can be found, as always, on 100.9 FM The Torch and its nine affiliate stations.
