Wheeling, W. Va. - Snow may still be on the group in the Ohio Valley, but the Wheeling University Baseball team (0-0, 0-0) is flying south to kick-off the 2026 season. They travel down to Blufton, South Carolina for a three-game weekend set against the University of South Carolina at Beaufort from Friday, February 6th through Sunday, February 8th. With a nearly whole new roster of 27 athletes, the Cardinals are looking to gel together on the field and rebound after missing the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Baseball Tournament a season ago.
The 2025 season was full of ups and downs for the Cardinals, and it would start off strong in non-conference play. The Cardinals would take three of four in their opening weekend against Pitt-Johnstown, and split their first five games of the schedule. They would enter their opening weekend of MEC play at 5-5, but would win just two games across the next three weekend series. As the calendar turned to April, the Cardinals were looking for a fresh start as they hit MEC North Divisional play. The Cardinals started divisional play taking a four-game sweep at the hands of Frostburg State, but bounced back nicely with a split against Fairmont State. However, that would be the only divisional weekend that they didn't drop as they finished 5-22 in MEC play and 14-33 overall, missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2022 season.
The Cardinal's offense will look to rebound in 2026, after they ranked ninth in the MEC last season with a .258 batting average. Leading the charge will be returning Honorable Mention All-MEC honoree Brett Johnson, who is the lone returning player to hit .300 or better a season ago. He struggled through some injuries throughout the season, but still managed strong numbers at the plate, hitting .305 with one home run and 15 RBI. He was the Cardinal's leading hitter among eligible hitters, and posted a strong .405 on-base percentage. When he got on base, he was a threat to opposing pitchers, sitting second on the team going 8-13 in stolen bases. Johnson will shift from right field to centerfield during the 2026 season and looks to be a leader for the Cardinal offense at the top of the lineup.
In the starting rotation, the Cardinals will be anchored by Sebastian Khan, who was the other All-MEC winner for the Cardinals a season ago. After dealing with injuries during the fall, Khan came back in the spring and had his strongest effort of his career. Khan would finish the year 1-5 with a 4.17 ERA over 40.0 innings of work, while striking out 43 batters and walking just 17. He will be the ace of the Cardinal staff this season, and looks to build off a strong performance in 2025. The wild card for the Cardinals in 2026 will be the 27 new faces they added to the roster. Of those 27 new players, 13 of those are in either their senior or junior season, bringing even more experience to the Cardinal roster. Head Coach Ryan Lewicki is going to use these guys in a number of different positions as they look to help the Cardinals get back to the MEC Tournament.
With the 2026 season officially getting underway this weekend, it starts a month of February that will see the Cardinals in non-conference action in each of the four weekends. Two of those four weekend will see them battle Atlantic Regional Opponents, Virginia State (2/14 & 2/15) and Mansfield University (2/21 & 2/22), as the Cardinals look to make a statement early on. Last season, the Cardinal's non-conference schedule went well, seeing the team go 5-5 including an opening weekend three out of four series against Pitt-Johnstown. The Cardinal lineup returns just three starters from last year's team, and will rely heavily on their new additions for support. The Cardinals are excited to get back out on the diamond as they try to start the 2026 season on a high note.
The Match-up
The Cardinals and Sandsharks are meeting for the firt time in program history during this three-game weekend series. USC Beaufort kicked off their season on Tuesday against Edward Waters, earning a walk-off 7-6 victory to start the season. During the 2025 season, USC Beaufort would finish 9-37 overall, including a 5-22 record in Peach Belt Conference (PBC) play. The Cardinals look to open the all-time series against USCB with a win and start the 2026 season strong.
The Details
The three-game series between the Cardinals and Sansharks begins on Friday, February 6th, with first pitch at 6 PM. You can watch the action live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
