By: James Gravley | WV Sports Chat
We are still several months away from the 2027 baseball season opener, but that won’t keep me away from predicting the Mountaineers’ Big 12 record for next season.
The 2027 schedule is a 30-game Big 12 slate: Houston and Arizona are both road series, while Kansas, Arizona State, Baylor, Cincinnati and Oklahoma State are home series. WVU also travels to UCF, BYU and TCU.
Below is my record prediction inside the Big 12 for WVU.
The Houston and Arizona wins are particularly important. Houston was only 7–23 in Big 12 play in 2026, while Arizona finished 9–21.
Taking both road series would give WVU a huge boost.
On top of that, I really like the middle of WVU’s schedule:
- Arizona State — 2–1: ASU went 19–11 in 2026, but WVU gets them in Morgantown.
- Baylor — 3–0: This is the series I’d have WVU favored most heavily in.
- Cincinnati — 2–1: Cincinnati was 17–13 last year, but WVU gets the home-field advantage.
- Oklahoma State — 2–1: OSU went 18–12 in 2026, but this is another home series.
- Kansas — 2–1: This is the biggest swing series. Kansas went 22–8 in Big 12 play in 2026 and won the regular-season championship, but WVU swept Kansas 3–0 in Lawrence last season.
Even though West Virginia takes care of Arizona State and Kansas, I do believe those two teams finish No. 1 and No. 2 with WVU finishing third in the Big 12 and Cincy finishing fourth.
The two series I’d be most worried about are UCF and TCU on the road. UCF went 19–11 and TCU 17–13 in 2026, so dropping both of those series is very plausible.
What makes this prediction interesting is that WVU doesn’t need to dominate the Big 12.
If they simply:
Win: Houston, Kansas, Arizona State, Baylor, Cincinnati, Arizona, Oklahoma State = 7 series
Lose: UCF, BYU, TCU = 3 series
That’s 21–9 if every series is 2–1/3–0.
I’m giving them 20–10 because I think one of those seven wins turns into a split-ish 1–2 series while another goes 3–0.
My range in the Big 12 for WVU:
- Ceiling: 23–7 — WVU wins one of UCF/BYU/TCU and sweeps a couple home series.
- Most likely: 20–10
- Good season: 19–11
- Floor: 16–14 — *ONLY if the pitching transition after the 2026 team hurts more than expected.*
And 20–10 would probably put WVU right around the top three of the Big 12 as mentioned above, with a very strong case for another NCAA Tournament appearance. The conference sent six teams to the 2026 NCAA Tournament, and WVU finished 21–9 in league play in 2026. And I do see another six teams being in the NCAA Tournament at the end of the year.
Photo: WVU Baseball
