Wheeling, W. Va. – Over the weekend, the Wheeling University Baseball team (36-17, 21-7) completed what was a historic 2026 regular season by clinching the Mountain East Conference (MEC) North Division title and a share of the overall regular season championship. On Monday, the conference announced their weekly Player of the Week honors, presented by The Healthplan, and two of the team leaders from the weekend swept the baseball weekly honors. Senior infielder Edward Mateo was named the MEC Hitter of the Week, while senior pitcher Sebastian Khan earned the Pitcher of the Week title.
Mateo is taking home his second MEC Hitter of the Week honor of the season, after leading the Cardinals to a 3-1 weekend against West Liberty. The senior would finish the four game stretch going 9-15 (.600) with a home run, two doubles, a triple and five RBI against the Hilltoppers. He drove in at least one run in each of the four games against the Hilltoppers, while also picking up multi-hit efforts each time out. His biggest effort of the week would come in game three of the series, when he finished 3-5 with a home run, a double, a triple, and two RBI. He would step up in a 4-3 game in the top of the seventh, and took the second pitch he saw over the wall for a game-tying home run. Later, he would use his speed to generate a run, stealing second to open the door for an errant throw that cut the then Hilltopper lead to 7-5. It wrapped up a regular season that saw Mateo lead the conference in batting average (.454), on-base percentage (.571), slugging (1.243), runs scored (73), and hits (79).
Khan is taking home his third MEC Pitcher of the Week honor this season, after headlining a historic effort for the Cardinals. He took the ball in game one of the four-game set, and tossed 4.1 scoreless innings allowing just one walk and striking out four batters. The senior would face just two batters over the minimum, allowing a walk and having the other runner reach on an error, as the Cardinals threw their first No Hitter in program history. Khan would earn his ninth win of the year in the effort, allowing him to write his name in the history books by breaking the single-season win record. Khan enters the 2026 MEC Tournament as one of the top pitchers in the conference, leading the way with nine wins and a .181 opponent batting average, while also striking out the second most batters in the conference at 71. He will take the ball in the Cardinal's tournament opener Wednesday, and looks to continue his success.
With Khan and Mateo taking home Player of the Week honors, the Wheeling University Athletic department has now had 46 student-athletes earn Conference Player of the Week honors this season. It is the seventh time this season that a Wheeling Baseball player has been honored, with both Mateo and Khan taking home multiple awards each. The last Cardinal to be honored was Wheeling Track & Field athlete Felix Manyani, who earned MEC Athlete of the Week back on April 13th.
The Wheeling University Baseball team returns to action on Wednesday, May 6th, when they battle #3S Glenville State with first pitch at 3:30 PM.
