JJ Wetherholt Projected To Go No. 1 Overall in 2024 MLB Draft

While WVU Baseball enjoyed their best season in program history in 2023, winning a share of the Big 12 Conference regular season championship and posting a 40-20 record, it’s fair to say that many people didn’t see it coming. 

The Mountaineers were picked to finish No. 6 in the conference in the preseason poll, with few outside of the Mountain State believing in the program.

Heading into 2024, the opposite may be true. Junior second baseman JJ Wetherholt looks to become the most-hyped draft prospect in program history, as MLB.com prospect evaluator Jonathan Mayo said Friday that he expects Wetherholt to be the top pick in next year’s draft.

That’s still a long way off, obviously, but even Alek Manoah never got that kind of love… especially not from the national media.

Wetherholt led the nation in batting average in 2023, hitting .449 with 16 home runs. He acquitted himself well in the Cape Cod League this summer, striking out just once in 32 plate appearances with an OPS of .978 in eight games.

While JJ Wetherholt played at second base all of last season, other prospect evaluators have said that if he moves to shortstop (and shows he can succeed there) he could boost his stock even higher.

With eyes on the program like never before, it’ll be fascinating to see how WVU Baseball responds.

Head coach Randy Mazey seems pretty good at helping his team drown out the noise, although they struggled down the stretch last season as the hype around them began to build.