The 2026 Big 12 Baseball Tournament officially gets underway May 19 when No. 9-seed BYU takes on No. 12-seed Texas Tech.
For No. 2-seed West Virginia, they will be traveling to Arizona on Wednesday to prepare for Thursday’s matchup against the winner of No. 7-seed TCU and the winner between No. 10 Utah and No. 11 Kansas State.
As for travel to and from Arizona, it is no easy trip for the Mountaineers. However, an anonymous donor graciously covered the flight back. Read more: WVU helped by anonymous donor for 2026 Big 12 Baseball Tournament.
What this means
According to head coach Steve Sabins, WVU will be able to immediately leave Arizona after its last game of the tournament via a charter flight fully taken care of by an anonymous donor.
Whether WVU loses on Thursday or plays all the way until the championship game on Sunday, a private jet will be waiting to take them back to Morgantown right away.
This gift will greatly help the team’s preparations for regional play and is deeply appreciated. Instead of having to spend an extra day getting a commercial flight together, the team can just get back to Morgantown as soon as possible.
Related: Expectations as bright as the Arizona sun for No. 2 seed WVU
Not only that, according to Coach Sabins, this will be the team’s first charter flight of the season. It comes at the perfect time as well.
It may not seem that important, but when traveling across time zones, it gives the players an extra day to adjust, settle in, and get their minds right for regionals.
Considering the Mountaineers have a good shot of hosting a regional with a good performance at the Big 12 tournament, they will need to be at their ideal strength.
What’s next
As for the tournament, WV Sports Nation will be reporting on the scene throughout the whole tournament. Make sure to stay up to date with every game.
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 of WVU Baseball action. ESPN is carrying the tournament across different sub-channels, varying depending on the game.
The Mountaineers are scheduled to take the field at 4:30 p.m. MST/ 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, May 21.
