WVU Climbs Top 25 Rankings, Sneaks Inside Top 15 of One Poll

After two weeks of Big 12 Conference play in the books, the West Virginia Mountaineers are in a two-way tie for first place at 5-1 with the UCF Knights.

This past weekend, Steve Sabins' squad fought hard to take the first two games of the series from BYU, including erasing an 8-3 deficit in game two. On Saturday, they packed their brooms and put them to use, cruising to an 11-1 win behind yet another gem from big lefty Maxx Yehl, who tossed seven strong innings of one-run ball, punching out 11 batters and issuing no walks while giving up five base knocks.

Thanks to the sweep, West Virginia has made a nice move up the rankings in two of the top polls out there, securing a spot in the top 15 of one of them.

Baseball America Top 25 Rankings

1. UCLA
2. Texas
3. Georgia Tech
4. Georgia
5. Arkansas
6. Auburn
7. Oklahoma
8. Mississippi State
9. Virginia
10. Florida State
11. North Carolina
12. USC
13. Oregon State
14. North Carolina State
15. West Virginia
16. Southern Miss
17. Ole Miss
18. Arizona State
19. Oregon
20. Tennessee
21. Kentucky
22. Alabama
23. Coastal Carolina
24. Clemson
25. Cincinnati

D1Baseball Top 25 Rankings

1. UCLA
2. Texas
3. Georgia Tech
4. Arkansas
5. Auburn
6. Mississippi State
7. Georgia
8. Oklahoma
9. Virginia
10. Florida State
11. Southern Miss
12. USC
13. North Carolina
14. North Carolina State
15. Coastal Carolina
16. Oregon State
17. West Virginia
18. Ole Miss
19. Kentucky
20. Oregon
21. Tennessee
22. Arizona State
23. Notre Dame
24. Nebraska
25. Texas A&M

What's up next for the Mountaineers?

West Virginia University head coach Steve Sabins | Christopher Hall – West Virginia on SI

WVU will play a must-win midweek game on Tuesday against in-state "rival" Marshall, who enters this one with a 13-9 mark on the year. The Herd is coming off a three-game series against Georgia Southern that they somehow found a way to win while allowing a total of 39 runs. The Mountaineers have dominated this series, holding a 20-6 advantage, but Marshall currently holds bragging rights, having defeated WVU in their third and final matchup last season by a 7-6 score. West Virginia won the first two games 7-0 and 5-4.

This weekend, WVU will be on the road for its conference clash against Arizona State in what could be a big determining factor in the Big 12 standings later this season. Currently, the Sun Devils are 17-6 (4-2), sitting in a three-way tie for second place with Kansas and Texas Tech. Winning this series would go a long way for the Mountaineers and their quest to defend their Big 12 title.

Game one is set for Friday at 9:30 p.m. ET.