Three Schools WVU Baseball Should Try to Schedule in the Future

Now that West Virginia has established itself as a consistent winner in baseball, it may be tougher for them to schedule non-conference games or series against other power conference teams. That said, I still like the idea of the Mountaineers getting two programs in particular on the schedule at some point in the future, along with one of the best mid-majors in the country.

Here are my three teams WVU should try to schedule, and not necessarily in 2027 or all in the same year.

Kentucky

Jun 9, 2024; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Nick Mingione during the fourth inning against the Oregon State Beavers at Kentucky Proud Park. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

A no-brainer, right? Usually, when people try to force a new rivalry between two schools, neither side buys into it. With the history that the Mountaineers and Wildcats have had on the diamond, playing one another in three of the last four regionals, something has certainly developed. Kentucky spanked WVU three years ago in the Lexington Regional, 12-0, and over the last two years, WVU has walked Kentucky off in dramatic fashion to advance to supers. Not to mention an unbelievable 9th inning comeback to force a game seven this year.

The regionality of it makes sense, but I'm not sure exactly how either side would feel doing a three-game series knowing the weather is far from ideal during the non-conference part of the year. Maybe WVU plays one in Lexington and one in Morgantown, taking the place of Penn State, which always seems to have a game canceled with the Mountaineers.

Coastal Carolina

Jun 22, 2025; Omaha, Neb, USA; Coastal Carolina Chanticleers second baseman Blake Barthol (7) throws to first base against the LSU Tigers during the seventh inning at Charles Schwab Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images | Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

West Virginia usually schedules a Sun Belt Conference or C-USA opponent or two early in the year, mainly because they know they'll get good weather. To help with the RPI, scheduling a tougher opponent like Coastal Carolina would do wonders, with all due respect to Georgia Southern, Kennesaw State, etc.

Although Kevin Schnall is now the head coach at South Carolina, the Chanticleers will remain highly competitive, as they always have been. They replaced him with former Mississippi State head coach Chris Lemonis, who won a national title there in 2021. Plus, you know West Virginia fans flock to the Myrtle Beach area all of the time. Who wouldn't want a nice weekend getaway in February?

Virginia

I don't know that I would suggest doing a series or set of games with Kentucky and Virginia in the same season, but a WVU-UVA matchup would be entertaining as hell. According to WVUSports.com, the Mountaineers and Cavaliers have never met on the diamond. How crazy is that? 135 years of baseball in Morgantown and not a single date with a school that is a bus trip away? Wild.

The Cavaliers are always near the top of the ACC and have been to the College World Series seven times — all since 2009. They won the national championship in 2015, just one year after losing it to Vanderbilt.

Add us as a preferred source on Google