He’s done it. No. 15 WVU Baseball‘s left-handed Friday night starter Maxx Yehl pitched his first career complete game, coming against No. 7 Kansas. If you’re not blown away by this redshirt junior, I don’t know what to tell you. Read more: The pitching machine: Maxx Yehl.
Yehl threw a casual 124 pitches against a top-10 team, on the road, in the biggest series of the season. If that’s not enough, take a look at the overall stat line.
9.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K (W, 7-1)
Unreal.
Shining star
The victory improves the New York native’s record to 7-1 in 2026, and 10-1 overall across three seasons at WVU. When Yehl steps to the mound, it’s a sure sign for Mountaineer success.
Run support may have bolstered Friday’s win, but Yehl walks away from that pivotal game the undisputed MVP. Depending on the rest of the series, coming up Saturday and Sunday, Kansas may have nightmares of the man that killed its momentum.
Related: Maxx Yehl’s complete game propels WVU to win on the road in Kansas
It should tell you something if the pitcher tied for the most starts on WVU’s roster this season (12) has the lowest ERA (2.04) among all pitchers on the team, save for two arms with less than one inning.
Overall prowess
The ace lives up to his calling. Among the three weekend starters (Chansen Cole, Dawson Montesa), Yehl has allowed the least earned runs (15) in the most innings pitched (66.1). That’s compared to Cole’s 19 ER in 64.2 innings and Montesa’s 37 ER in 58 innings.
Even when allowing hits, Yehl limits the damage. His doubles allowed (6) and home runs allowed (2) are lower than his fellow starters. Yehl’s also yet to allow a triple on the season.
Role in the (potential) road to Omaha
While WVU is notoriously bad in the Big 12 Conference tournament (more on that in a later column), Yehl gives WVU a chance to go far in the postseason. Not that back-to-back Super Regional appearances are any small feat, but this team has College World Series potential.
That potential starts with pitching.
Pair solid outings from the likes of Yehl and company with competent coaching, you have a winning formula.
If this team makes it far in any sense of the imagination, I’d venture to say this arm will sit at the heart of the run.
And if you can go into Hoglund Ballpark and throw more than 120 pitches against the No. 7 team in the country, who you trail by four games in the conference standings, you’re pretty damn good in my book.
Mountaineer fans can only hope this carries into the final weekend of the regular season and into the wilderness of the postseason.
I say all of this to say, give the man a tip of the cap. If you see him out, maybe buy his dinner. But why, you ask?
Because Maxx Yehl just kicked WVU into the next gear.
What’s next
WVU Baseball returns to action against Kansas Saturday and Sunday, with first pitch times (EST) listed here;
- Saturday 3 p.m.
- Sunday 12 p.m.
Tune in to 100.9 FM The Torch or any of its nine affiliate stations across the John Fredericks Media Network for play-by-play coverage. ESPN+ carries the TV broadcast.
Stay up to date with WV Sports Nation for more WVU Athletics coverage.
