Steve Sabins is the first WVU head coach to lead the Mountaineers to an NCAA Regional in his first season.
MORGANTOWN — The West Virginia University baseball team earned an at-large bid to the 2025 NCAA Baseball Championship on Monday and will head to Clemson, South Carolina, as the No. 2 seed.
The Mountaineers will open with No. 3 Kentucky on Friday afternoon.
It will be the 16th NCAA appearance for West Virginia and third straight, the first time earning three consecutive selections since four straight from 1961-64.
Steve Sabins becomes the first WVU head coach to lead the Mountaineers to an NCAA Regional in his first season.
Overall, the Mountaineers are 15-27 in regional play, which includes going 3-0 in the Tucson Regional a season ago.
Submitted photos
WVU outfielder Jace Rinehart is shown during a recent game. The second-seeded Mountaineers face third-seed Kentrucky Friday at Clemson in NCAA tourney play.
Friday’s first pitch between West Virginia and Kentucky will be at noon, with the game airing on ESPNU.
Host and No. 11 national seed Clemson and No. 4 seed USC Upstate will play the second game of the day on Friday at 6 p.m. ET.
All-session tickets will go on sale at the Clemson Ticket Office and online at www.clemsontigers.com to the general public on Wednesday, May 28, at 10 a.m. ET.
Vanderbilt, which gave up just three runs over three games in the SEC Tournament, was awarded the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and was among a record 13 teams from the conference to be selected to the 64-team field.
The tournament opens Friday with 16 double-elimination regionals. Winners advance to eight best-of-three super regionals. Those winners move on to the College World Series in Omaha beginning June 13.
Vanderbilt has won eight straight games and 13 of its past 16 to earn the No. 1 seed for the second time, and first since 2007.
“It’s amazing, it’s cool, it’s great, I love it,” shortstop Jonathan Vastine said. “The team was excited about it. After today, that No. 1 seed kind of goes out the door because anything can happen.”
The Commodores, who play Wright State in the opener of the Nashville Regional, are in the tournament for the 19th straight time for the longest active streak.
“We understand we have a goal at the end of the year to get to the middle of the country,” pitcher JD Thompson said, referring to Omaha. “You can’t de-value anybody coming into a regional like this. It’s all good teams, so you respect everybody. If we play good baseball and keep the trend of what we’re doing right now, then we have a good chance.”
The national seeds following Vanderbilt (42-16) are Texas (42-12), Arkansas (43-13), Auburn (38-18), North Carolina (42-12), LSU (43-14), Georgia (42-15) and Oregon State (41-12-1). Those eight teams would be in line to host super regionals if they win their regionals.
Seeds Nos. 9 through 16: Florida State (38-14), Mississippi (40-19), Clemson (44-16), Oregon (42-14), Coastal Carolina (48-11), Tennessee (43-16), UCLA (42-16) and Southern Mississippi (44-14).
The last four teams to get at-large bids, in alphabetical order, were Arizona State, Kansas State, Oklahoma State and Southern California.
The first four teams left out were Southeastern Louisiana, Troy, UConn and Virginia.
The SEC’s 13 teams in the tournament are two more than its record 11 that made it in 2024.
The Atlantic Coast Conference has nine teams in the field followed by the Big 12 with eight and the Big Ten with four. The American Athletic, Big West, Conference USA and Sun Belt all have two teams in the tournament.
First-year SEC member Texas, which opened 38-5 overall and 19-2 in conference play, appeared to be a lock for the No. 1 seed before finishing 5-7 with a loss to Tennessee in its conference tournament opener.
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