GRANVILLE, W.Va. — Shortly after the Mountaineers defeated TCU, 6-4 in their regular season finale to complete a run of eight wins in their last nine Big 12 games, WVU’s second-year head coach Steve Sabins was asked how many wins in the conference tournament his team may need to secure NCAA Tournament hosting rights for the first time since 2019.
Sabins did not provide an exact number because in his view, WVU’s 50-game resume isn’t missing any requirements to play more baseball at Kendrick Family Ballpark.
“I find it really hard to believe that one of the top three conferences in the country with no doubt, and a team that set a program record for conference wins with 21, a team that finishes second in the league, a team that has the best pitcher in one of the top three leagues in the country, is not hosting,” Sabins said.
“We have won every series but two and have multiple sweeps in a Power 4 league that is well-respected with a good strength of schedule and the team that won the league [Kansas], we swept on the road. If that is not a hosting resume, I have no idea what is. We have absolutely earned that, up to this point. This place should be rocking, sold out, packed and be one of the best venues in the country.”
“I think it would be crazy,” said WVU senior Brodie Kresser. “I think the boys would be pretty fired up to have that. It would be sweet. But wherever we go, we’re going to play hard, keep the same approach. We’re used to it.”
West Virginia (37-13, 21-9 Big 12) has earned the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 Conference Tournament in Surprise, Arizona. They will begin play in the quarterfinal round on Thursday. The tournament switched to a single-elimination format in 2025. 12 of the league’s 14 teams qualify to compete.
“It is going to keep us ready and we get the double bye for the Big 12 Tournament,” Kresser said. “Three games to win it, so hopefully we can treat it like a normal weekend series.”
“It is really nice if you are in the top six and you are guaranteed a regional and you should be hosting. So for us, it is a great situation because if you are going to travel across the country, if you were to lose a game, then you come back and get ready for a regional. You have time to recover and play. If you are one of those teams fighting for your life and you have to win five games in over 100-degree weather, you are basically smoked. You are getting the raw end of the deal a little bit, in my opinion,” Sabins said.
“But the top six teams in this format in our league should be regional-bound every year. It really plays up to the teams that play well in the regular season, which I am OK with. I think it is kind of a fair deal.”
West Virginia will compete in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive season. The Mountaineers have advanced to Super Regional play in each of the last two years.
“There’s a lot of difference when the season is on the line and you don’t know whether it is the last time you are going to wear that jersey or you are going to chase the championship,” Kresser said. “Like the guys were saying, these last couple of games kind of feel like postseason. We kind of brought that approach to Kansas and we played well and took care of business there. Even here, they’re not stepping away from us.”
“We’ve got one of the best pitchers in the country, Maxx Yehl. We’ve got probably the second-best pitcher in the country in Chansen Cole. We’ve got Ian Korn, who can throw a hundred innings. We have an offense where if Matty Ice [Ineich] goes 0-for-3, [Gavin] Kelly probably went 3-for-3. And if he went 0-for-3, Paul [Schoenfeld] probably went 3-for-3,” said WVU senior pitcher Reese Bassinger.
“It is a team built on picking each other up. And then the days that we click, like Kansas and [Saturday], everyone is firing on all cylinders. It is just a great team to be around. I feel like we are never out of a game.”
“It always falls back on culture and the kids and the expectations. It always ends up being the players. It is always the players’ team,” Sabins said. “How motivated they are to win, how much they love showing up to the yard every day, the confidence they bring, at this point you coach and you make suggestions. But at this point, it is the boys kind of running with it for the most part.”
2026 Big 12 Baseball Tournament presented by Allstate Schedule
Tuesday, May 19
Game 1 – No. 9 BYU vs. No. 12 Texas Tech – 4:30 p.m. – ESPN+
Game 2 – No. 10 Utah vs. No. 11 Kansas State – 8 p.m. – ESPN+
Wednesday, May 20
Game 3 – No. 8 Baylor vs. Game 1 winner- 4:30 p.m. – ESPN+
Game 4 – No. 7 TCU vs. Game 2 winner – 8 p.m. – ESPN+
Thursday, May 21
Game 5 – No. 4 UCF vs. No. 5 Oklahoma State – 9 a.m. – ESPNU
Game 6 – No. 1 Kansas vs. Game 3 winner – 12:30 p.m. – ESPNU
Game 7 – No. 2 West Virginia vs. Game 4 Winner – 4:30 p.m. – ESPNU
Game 8 – No. 3 Arizona State vs. No. 6 Cincinnati – 8 p.m. – ESPNU
Friday, May 22
Game 9 – Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner – 4:30 p.m. – ESPN+
Game 10 – Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner – 8 p.m. – ESPN+
Saturday, May 23
Game 11 – Championship Game – 4:30 p.m. – ESPN2
All times listed in MST.