Wheeling, W. Va. - After a disappointing 2025 season, Head Coach Ryan Lewicki and the Wheeling University Baseball team were determined to bounce back in 2026. The coaching staff got to work, bringing in a class of 24 recruits, many of which who had previous playing experience at the collegiate level. The result was a record setting year, with the team setting the single season wins record while also earning their first Mountain East Conference (MEC) North Division title since the 2021 season.
From the start of the season, the goal was to win series and that's just what the Cardinals would do. They powered through their non-conference schedule, with weekend wins over USC Beaufort, Virginia State, Carolina University, and Bluefield State, entering conference play with an 11-4 record. They would open their conference schedule with a split weekend against Charleston and West Virginia State before rattling off eight straight wins to round out the MEC South portion of their schedule. After a midweek loss to CAL-U and a weekend win over Salem, the Cardinals began the final push down their MEC North schedule. They would start it off with a weekend win over Frostburg Statem and that weekend proved to be vital for the team's playoff push. They would end up winning three of their final four MEC north weekends, with a split against Point Park being the exception.
They would tie for the MEC North Division lead by regular season's end, but would get the division's #1 seed thanks to that winning weekend against Frostburg State. It was the first North Division championship for the program since the 2021 season, and they would open up the MEC Baseball championships against Glenville State. The Pioneers jumped out to an early 5-0 lead over the first two innings, but the Cardinals continued to battle back. However, the comeback would fall short as Glenville State kept adding on and went on to win 14-7. It would move Wheeling to the consolation bracket against Concord, and this time the Cardinals jumped out to the early lead. They would score three runs in the top of the second, but ran into one of the conference's best pitcher in Kaden Varela-Payne. Payne would shut them down the rest of the way, and the Cardinals would fall out of tournament play with an 8-4 loss.
Despite the early conference tournament exit, the team wrote their names in the history books on several occasions throughout the season. The team would set the single-season win record, finishing 36-16 overall and 21-7 in conference play, breaking the old mark of 29 set back in 2023. The 16 losses were the fewest by the team since the 2021 season, when they lost just 14 games, and the Cardinals found themselves on top of the conference in several statistical categories. They led the MEC with a .306 batting average, while sitting second in both home runs (45) and RBI (340). On the mound, the Cardinals held the lowest opponent batting average (.252), while sitting fourth in the conference with a 5.50 ERA through their 48 games played.
The engine that led the Cardinals to their success was the pitching staff, headlined by the 2026 MEC Pitcher of the Year Sebastian Khan. After breaking out as a starter in 2025, Khan took the next step in 2026, finishing 9-2 with a 2.67 ERA across 84.1 innings of work, while walking 25 and striking out 87. His nine wins were good for a program record, while he also set single-season records in both innings pitched (84.1) and strikeouts (87). His ERA was the lowest among eligible pitchers in the conference, while he also led the way in opponent batting average (.196). Along with winning the Pitcher of the Year award for the MEC, Khan would also take home First Team All-Region honors from both the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA). He would round out his honors with the first All-American award for the program since the 2010 season, winning Third Team All-American honors.
The second part of the Cardinal's 1-2 punch was redshirt sophomore Dom Carlson, who added a 6-2 mark and a 3.88 ERA over 62.2 innings of work. Like Khan, Carlson was also awarded Second Team All-MEC honors, the first of his career, while tossing one complete game on the season. The other pitcher to earn All-MEC honors was senior Brock Elliott, who spent time both as a member of the Cardinal bullpen and starting rotation. Elliott would tie the single-season saves record, recording seven, while going 3-0 with a 2.35 ERA over 30.2 innings of work. He would routinely close out game one of the day two doubleheader, followed by starting the second game. He would earn Honorable Mention All-MEC honors, rounding out a strong starting staff for the Cardinals.
On the offensive side, it was Edward Mateo leading the effort, taking home the MEC Hitter of the Year honors. He would be a spark plug at the top of the Cardinal lineup, finishing with a .428 batting average while adding seven home runs and 39 RBI. Mateo accounted for nearly half of the conference's statistical leaders, leading the MEC in batting average, on-base percentage (.564), OPS (1.231), Runs Scored (74), Hits (82), Triples (4), Walks (43), and stolen bases (35). Along with his First team honors, Mateo was also named a First Team All-Region player by both the ABCA and the D2CCA, wrapping up what was a breakout year for the senior.
The Wheeling University Baseball team now heads into the off-season as they prepare to build on their success in 2027.
