After a historic season which saw a share of the Big 12 regular season championship, the West Virginia Mountaineers are ready to take on the NCAA Tournament at the Lexington Regional. The Mountaineers will start their NCAA Tournament journey on Friday against the Indiana Hoosiers out of the Big 10.
While the season had plenty of highs, the Mountaineers struggled near the finish line by getting swept in the final regular season series against Texas. The three game series carried over into the Big 12 Tournament, as the Mountaineers went 0-2 against Texas Tech and Oklahoma State.
Before the Mountaineers take on Indiana, let’s take a look back at the history WVU has had in NCAA Tournament play.
West Virginia’s baseball program has been in the NCAA Tournament 13 times before 2023, with the most recent appearances in 2019 and 2017 under current head coach Randy Mazey.
The 2019 Mountaineer squad, which featured Alek Manoah of the Toronto Blue Jays, hosted the NCAA Regional in Morgantown, but could not advance to the NCAA Super Regional. The 1-seeded Mountaineers opened the regional with a 6-2 win over Fordham, but a 4-0 loss to Duke, and a 11-10 loss to Texas Tech after leading 9-1 in the seventh inning, sent Mazey’s group home.
In 2017, West Virginia traveled to Winston-Salem, North Carolina for the NCAA Tournament. Mazey and the 2017 team found some success in the regional by defeating Maryland twice, but two losses to the 1-seeded Wake Forest Demon Deacons eliminated the Mountaineers in the regional final.
WVU was not exactly a prominent program before the Mazey era, as the Mountaineers failed to reach the NCAA Tournament from 1997-2016. Before the Mazey era started in 2012, WVU reached NCAA Tournament play just one time under 18-year head coach Greg Van Zant.
Despite reaching the NCAA Tournament 13 times since 1955, the West Virginia baseball program has never made it past regionals. The Mountaineers have reached the Regional Finals a total of three times in program history, but have failed to advance to Super Regionals thus far.
The 2023 Mountaineers will look to change that as they travel to Lexington for the NCAA Tournament. West Virginia will take on Indiana on Friday, June 2, from Kentucky Proud Park in Lexington, Kentucky. The Mountaineers will play their second game on Saturday, June 3. With a win on Friday, WVU will play at 6 p.m. on Saturday, but a loss on Friday will put them playing at noon.
