Dawson Montesa, Owen Henne Officially Turn Pro With Cardinals

A couple of players are now officially out of the plans for the Mountaineers in 2027.

WVU Athletics Communications

Earlier this week, West Virginia right-handed pitcher Dawson Montesa told me that he had intentions of signing with the St. Louis Cardinals, passing up on the opportunity to return to West Virginia in 2027.

We were also told that it was very unlikely that Seton Hill transfer shortstop Owen Henne would make it to Morgantown after also being selected by the Cardinals in last week‘s draft, taken in the sixth round.

Now, both are under contract with the Cardinals, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Montesa was probably on the verge of having to return next season before he rattled off a few strong outings, particularly in postseason play. His start against Wake Forest, brief relief appearance against Kentucky, and his start against Troy in the College World Series each contributed to him ultimately becoming a top draft pick. When he was taken as early as he was, the writing was on the wall that his time in a Mountaineer uniform was over.

In 19 outings (15 starts), Montesa posted a 5.39 ERA, a whip of 1.429, and struck out 92 batters while walking 44 in 77 innings. The high velocity fastball and nasty breaking ball should allow him to have success at the next level and be a quick riser through the Cardinals’ system. As the story was with him for much of the 2026 campaign, pitching more efficiently and pounding the strike zone will be the key to unlocking his full potential.

From my understanding, Henne was not expected to be selected as early as he was, so that completely changed his plans for 2027. When you go that high, there’s really not a ton of benefit to return to school for another year to potentially move up a few rounds in next year's draft. There’s a lot of risk involved when you go back to school, as opposed to being in someone’s farm system, and knowing that you are a part of their plans for the foreseeable future, even if a serious injury pops up.

I believe Henne would have been the Mountaineers’ starting shortstop, which would’ve allowed Matt Ineich to move over to second base. Sliding him over to the right side of the infield could still be in play, depending on how Steve Sabins chooses to deploy Tyrus Hall, Armani Guzman, Ryan Piekutoski, and Colton Sims/Matthew Robaugh. For now, I still have Ineich at short.