Wheeling, W. Va. – With the 2026 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Baseball season wrapped up, the field is set for the 2026 MEC Baseball Tournament at GoMart Ballpark in Charleston, West Virginia. After a historic regular season that saw them set the new program single-season win record, the Wheeling University Baseball team (36-14, 21-7) claimed their first MEC North title since 2021, and earned Co-MEC Regular Season Championship, splitting the honor with Frostburg State. They enter the MEC Tournament field as the #1 seed in the North Division, after earning the tiebreaker over the Bobcats, and will open their tournament run on Wednesday, May 6^th, against Glenville State at 3:30 PM.

After facing the adversity of their home field being destroyed by flooding over the summer, the Cardinals would look to build momentum in the non-conference schedule. They would go 4-1 to open the year against USC Beaufort and Virginia State, but fell in two of three games against Mansfield. The non-conference schedule ended with a pair of weekend wins against Carolina University and Bluefield State, putting them at 11-4 as they entered MEC play. They opened the conference slate against Charleston and West Virginia State, going 2-2 on the weekend. However, they would hit their run over the rest of their MEC South schedule, winning the final eight games of the South schedule, sitting at 8-2. After a winning weekend against Salem, the Cardinals headed into North Division play. They would win three of their four weekends, with the only exception being a split with Point Park. They would end up breaking the single-season win record and claiming their first MEC North title since 2021.

The driving force to the Cardinal's success this season has been their starting rotation. As a team, the Cardinals finished the regular season with a 5.28 ERA, sitting fourth in the conference. However, a look at the starting pitching tells the real tale of success, with three of the Cardinal's four regular starters boasting an ERA of 4.50 or better. Leading the group is senior right handed pitcher Sebastian Khan, who broke the single-season program win record with his ninth win of the season against West Liberty. He holds the lowest ERA among eligible pitchers in the conference at 2.32, while sitting atop the MEC leaderboards in opponent batting average (.181) while sitting second with 82 strikeouts. Behind him is Dom Carlson, who sits with a 3.52 EDA over 61.1 innings of work. He turned in his best start of the season against Point Park on April 26^th, when he threw 7.0 shutout innings, allowing five hits and striking out five. Carlson and Khan will look to lead the staff into tournament play.

While the Cardinal pitchers have been having their success, the offense behind them has done more than enough to support them. The Cardinal hitters lead the MEC with a .309 batting average while also driving in a conference high 330 RBI. They are the only team in the conference with a .300 or better batting average, and also lead the conference in runs scored (360), hits (469), triples (15), total bases (714), slugging percentage (.470), and On-Base Percentage (.421). Leading the push this season has been Edward Mateo, sparking the offense at the top of the line-up. He is in the midst of a historic season, leading the MEC with a .454 batting average, 79 hits, and 35 stolen bases on the season. He is coming off winning the MEC's Hitter of the Week award after going 9-15 with a home run, double, triple, and five RBI against the Hilltoppers.

The MEC Tournament kicks off on Wednesday, May 6^th, and runs through Sunday, May 10^th at GoMart Ballpark in Charleston, West Virginia. It will be a double elimination tournament, with first round losers heading to the consolation bracket to battle their way to Sunday's championship. There will be two games each on Wednesday and Thursday, followed by three games Friday, two on Saturday, and a possible two on Sunday. As the #1 seed in the tournament field, the Cardinals will play in the first game of the tournament, when they take on #3S Glenville State at 3:30 PM. If they win, they advance to Friday's triple header, but if they lose they will come right back on Thursday in the night cap. The Cardinals are in the tournament for the first time since 2024, and are looking to claim their first-ever MEC Championship.

The Wheeling University Baseball team opens their MEC Tournament run on Wednesday, May 6^th, when they take on #3S Glenville State with first pitch at 3:30 PM.