WVU picked 3rd, Meyer named Preseason All-Big 12

By Adam Grossman, WVU Sports

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (Feb. 4, 2026)– The West Virginia University baseball team was picked third in the 2026 Big 12 Preseason Poll as voted on by the league’s head coaches. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own team.

It is the highest predicted finish for WVU since joining the Big 12 in 2013.

Junior right-handed pitcher Chase Meyer represented the Mountaineers on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team. In 2025, Meyer went 9-2 with a 3.94 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 48.0 innings while holding opponents to a .192 batting average.

The Mountaineers are the reigning Big 12 champions, wining their second regular-season title in the last three seasons. WVU also swept the 2025 Clemson Regional, advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals for the second consecutive year.

TCU was selected as the preseason favorite, receiving 13 of 14 first-place votes with Arizona behind them and receiving the only other first-place vote. Following West Virginia in third was Arizona State while Kansas and Oklahoma State tied for fifth. Kansas State and Cincinnati, both regional teams in 2025, were seventh and eighth. Texas Tech, UCF, Baylor, Houston, BYU, and Utah rounded out the poll.

Sawyer Strosnider of TCU was named the Preseason Player of the Year while his teammate Tommy LaPour took home Preseason Pitcher of the Year. Arizona State’s Dean Toigo, a UNLV transfer, and TCU’s Noah Franco were named Preseason Newcomer and Freshman of the Year, respectively.

The 2026 season begins on February 13, when West Virginia opens a three-game series at Georgia Southern.

2026 Big 12 Baseball Preseason Poll

	Team	Points
1.	TCU (13)	169
2.	Arizona (1)	157
3.	West Virginia	137
4.	Arizona State	128
T5.	Kansas	112
T5.	Oklahoma State	112
7	Kansas State	87
8.	Cincinnati	85
9.	Texas Tech	78
10.	UCF	66
11.	Baylor	54
12.	Houston	42
13.	BYU	29
14.	Utah	18

2026 Big 12 Baseball Preseason Team

Pos.	Player	Team
C	Jack Natili	Cincinnati
IF	Landon Hairston	Arizona State
IF	Austen Roellig	Arizona State
IF	Travis Sanders	Baylor
IF	Brady Ballinger	Kansas*
IF	Robin Villeneuve	Texas Tech
OF	Andrew Williamson	UCF
OF	Chase Brunson	TCU
OF	Sawyer Strosnider	TCU*
OF	Logan Hughes	Texas Tech
DH	Dariel Osoria	Kansas
UTL	Noah Franco	TCU
SP	Owen Kramkowski	Arizona
SP	Nathan Taylor	Cincinnati
SP	Dominic Voegele	Kansas
SP	Tommy LaPour	TCU*
RP	Tony Pluta	Arizona
RP	Cole Carlon	Arizona State
RP	Chase Meyer	West Virginia

*- unanimous selection

2026 Big 12 Preseason Yearly Awards

Player of the Year: Sawyer Strosnider, TCU

Pitcher of the Year: Tommy LaPour, TCU

Newcomer of the Year: Dean Toigo, Arizona State

Freshman of the Year: Lucas Franco, TCU

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