West Virginia’s Chansen Cole delivers a pitch during a college baseball game earlier this season in Morgantown. (Photo by David Pennock)

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Before West Virginia even steps onto Charles Schwab Field on Friday, the Mountaineers have already made World Series history.

The NCAA baseball tournament was expanded to 16 seeds in 2018. Since then, WVU is the first 16 seed to survive long enough to play in Omaha, Neb.

Just one more tip of the hat to a program that swept through its super regional round to advance to the World Series for the first time in school history.

“It’s pretty special to be a part of something that’s never been done in history before,” WVU head coach Steve Sabins said. “The credit goes to these kids and the players before us and the fans and supporters. So many people help build a program. That’s what this is, a program.”

It’s a program not only taking its first trip to Omaha, but also one that hit every step along the way.

First, building a competitive team among its Big 12 peers. Then it was competing just to get invited to the NCAA tournament, which was followed by competing for Big 12 championships and hosting an NCAA regional.

WVU felt the sting of losing three NCAA regionals under former head coach Randy Mazey before it advanced to its first super regional. Advancing past that round took another three attempts, but WVU accomplished it in dominating fashion this season with 12-2 and 17-1 victories against Cal Poly.

So, now the Mountaineers (45-15) are in Omaha for the first time. It’s another positive step taken by the program, new territory to be approached.

“Every day you face something new,” WVU catcher Gavin Kelly said. “You face new opportunities. You just have to stick to the process and stick to the routine. You just have to get back to work.”

The question facing WVU is how it handles this new step. Will it be a quick trip in an elite environment or an extended stay?

“It’s going to be an awesome crowd and we’re excited,” WVU infielder Brodie Kresser said. “It’s only going to boost us up and bring even more energy to our team. We’ve dealt with a lot this year. We’ve seen adversity this year and good things and bad things. We’re just going to go and enjoy it and go win.”

SEC Invitational

The Southeastern Conference will be well represented in Omaha, taking up five of the eight spots in the World Series.

One bracket is nothing but teams from the SEC: Oklahoma plays Alabama and Texas plays Georgia.

On WVU’s side of the bracket, it is represented by Ole Miss (41-21), which plays North Carolina in the opening round.

Heading into the NCAA tournament, the SEC had 12 teams in the field with Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Florida and Auburn named among the top eight seeds.

West Virginia is the lone representative from the Big 12, while North Carolina represents the ACC. Troy is from the Sun Belt, the third team all-time to represent that conference at the College World Series.

Home run derby

Look no further than Georgia as the team in the College World Series with the most power. The Bulldogs enter the final part of the season with 174 home runs. They hit three of them in the 11-9 victory against Mississippi State that clinched the program’s bid to Omaha.

Junior catcher Daniel Jackson hit a two-run home run in the 10th inning to win that game.

Jackson leads the Bulldogs with 31 home runs and 86 RBIs.

The home run numbers for the other participants: Ole Miss (107), Texas (103), Troy (93), North Carolina (82), Oklahoma (82), Alabama (80) and West Virginia (55).

A familiar ace

If West Virginia and North Carolina meet up in Omaha, there’s a chance the Mountaineers may have to face Tar Heels’ ace Jason DeCaro again.

It was DeCaro, then as a fresh 18-year old, who was the starting pitcher when North Carolina eliminated WVU from the super regionals in 2024. He pitched 6 1/3 innings and gave up two hits and one run in the Tar Heels’ 2-1 victory.

This season, DeCaro is ranked as the 50th top prospect for the 2026 MLB Amateur Draft by Baseball America. He enters the College World Series with an 11-2 record and a 2.28 ERA. His last outing saw DeCaro throw a complete game in a 4-0 victory against Southern Cal. He allowed just two hits, one walk and struck out eight.