Watch: JJ Wetherholt Logs Important Career First

WVU Baseball legend JJ Wetherholt checked an important box off the list on Wednesday night, logging the first home run of his professional career.

Facing an 0-2 count in the first game of a Palm Beach—the St. Louis Cardinals’ Single-A affiliate—doubleheader, Wetherholt jumped on a 91 mile per hour fastball on the outer edge of the plate, lifting it 389 feet over the wall in left-center, his customary landing spot.

That’s homer No. ☝️ for JJ!#HailWV pic.twitter.com/tHssOjWOTu

— WVU Baseball (@WVUBaseball) August 7, 2024

The blast broke a 6-6 tie and went on to serve as the eventual game winner.

The Cardinals selected Wetherholt with the seventh overall pick less than a month ago, making him the highest-selected player in WVU Baseball history in the process. The lefty-batting shortstop compiled a .370 batting average in 145 games in a Mountaineers’ uniform, slugging 29 home runs despite his measured approach at the plate and finishing at or near the top of most offensive categories on West Virginia’s all-time leaderboard.

JJ Wetherholt hasn’t wasted any time displaying his prowess as a hitter in the professional leagues. As of the conclusion of the first game of Wednesday’s doubleheader, Wetherholt boasts a .294/.478/.592 slash line with three extra base hits in six games played.

For a related story, West Virginia Sports Now spoke with JJ Wetherholt earlier this week about his early impressions of professional baseball.