JJ Wetherholt’s likely future: high-end Major League Baseball draft pick.
His present: At least this week, that seems to be directly linked to his past. The West Virginia junior infielder is back at Tucson’s Hi Corbett Field, site of one of his breakout performances from early 2023.
While WVU junior pitcher Derek Clark led the way with a 4-hit complete game, Wetherholt still did his part in helping the Mountaineers to a 4-1 victory Friday over Dallas Baptist to open up the Tucson Regional of the 2024 NCAA Baseball Tournament.
Wetherholt reached base two of his four times up Friday as WVU’s leadoff hitter; he walked once, was hit by a pitch and scored a run. That’s on par with what he did at the beginning of the 2023 season, when West Virginia traveled to Tucson and took two of three games from host Arizona. In that series, Wetherholt batted .538 with two home runs, three doubles and five stolen bases.
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West Virginia infielder JJ Wetherholt (27) gets the helmet tap after smacking a two-run homer to tie the game at 2-2 in the third inning of a matchup against Arizona on Feb. 25, 2023, 15 Hi Corbett Field in Tucson.
“It’s definitely exciting, especially going back to a venue that we’re familiar with,” Wetherholt said before the matchup with Dallas Baptist. “And I don’t think it was just me (who) played well last year, I think the team has all played really well. It’s just confidence for the returners and for the coaching staff to know that we’ve been here before. We know how to field plays and we played well here.”
That sort of humility — in this case, raising his teammates up where he can — may just be part of who Wetherholt is. After all, he didn’t get many offers coming out of Mars Area High School in Mars, Pennsylvania.
It may also have been something that was nurtured this spring as he sat in the dugout watching his WVU teammates play for a little more than six weeks while he recovered from a hamstring injury.
That couldn’t have been easy for someone who was coming off such a stellar season, played for Team USA’s collegiate team over the summer and had been at times considered the top pick of the MLB draft coming up on July 14.
The junior infielder chose to focus on the moment — cheering on his teammates and recovering — not what his future may look like.
Right now, for West Virginia (35-22), that’s getting out to a quick jump in upsetting DBU at the Tucson Regional. With that Game 1 win, the Mountaineers will be back at 7 p.m. Saturday at Hi Corbett Field in the winners bracket facing Grand Canyon.
West Virginia infielder J.J. Wetherholt steals home in front of the swipe of Arizona catcher Tommy Splaine for what turned out to be the winning run in a 6-5 Mountaineer win in 11 innings at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson on Feb. 25, 2023.
Wetherholt has been a big part of the rise of the WVU program. This is the first time since the early 1960s that the Mountaineers have played in consecutive NCAA Tournaments, and that February 2023 series in Tucson helped set the tone for the rest of West Virginia’s season.
One of Wetherholt’s five stolen bases in Tucson that week gave WVU a 6-5 win in 11 innings. On Thursday, Wetherholt said wasn’t quite sure if he had stolen home any other time in his career.
This game-winner came after hitting a double and stealing third base. WVU coach Randy Mazey and assistant Steve Sabins noticed that Wildcat pitcher Trevor Long was taking time and putting his head down before throwing a pitch.
“Coach said, ‘Hey, be ready to steal home,’” Wetherholt said. “It was something we practiced before we got there and yeah, the time just got right where coach Maz is like ‘OK, two outs, two strikes like why not try and make them make a play?’ I think it caught them off guard, and the throw was a little bit wild. The catcher wasn’t too ready and we were able to score and it was the winning run. So, it’s really cool.”
After that performance in Tucson, Wetherholt went from an unknown prospect to an All-American, Big 12 Player of the Year and yes, put on many evaluators’ lists as the potential No. 1 pick in the 2024 MLB draft.
He went on to win the Big 12’s batting title with a .449 average, hit 16 home runs, drive in 60 runs and collect 36 stolen bases. He was the first player since 2002 to collect at least 40 extra-base hits and 35 stolen bases.
“I think it was a combination of a lot of things,” Wetherholt said of his 2023 season. “I think experience was huge. I mean, I had 54 games played as a freshman over 200 at bats, so kind of building off of that. I was just a little nervous freshman year. It’s a new scene. You’re trying to compete you’re trying to work make your way into lineup if you’re in the lineup, you’re trying to stay it’s just a lot of pressure on yourself. I think after that I kind of reflected and just saw some areas where I need to get better at.”
In the summer of 2022, he played summer ball for the Madison Mallards in the Northwoods League; he relaxed and found the fun again, which he carried into the 2023 season.
West Virginia's JJ Wetherholt (pictured against Xavier during March 2023 matchup in Morgantown, West Virginia) isn't just known for his bat. His versatility in the infield — he's played third, second and short all extensively in his three seasons at WVU — is an asset as the MLB draft approaches.
Last summer he played in the Cape Cod League and for Team USA and that’s when the hamstring started to bother. He played in the first four games of this season and then shut it down.
When Wetherholt came back, he went on a tear, finishing the regular season hitting .384 in 27 games.
Heading into the Tucson Regional, he hit .356 with eight home runs and 30 RBIs for the season as a whole. He walked 29 times and only struck out 14 times.
According to the MLB scouting report, Wetherholt “might be the best pure hitter in the class and there are some area scouts who think he’s the best amateur bat they’ve ever seen,” as he’s still projected to go among the early picks in this year’s draft.
He’s also recognized for his fielding. He’s the guy who is able to come up with the ball in those tight foul territory spots regardless of what position he is playing.
Each year he’s played in a different spot in the infield. He started out as a third baseman, moved to second last season and played at short this year. His career fielding percentage is .953.
West Virginia's JJ Wetherholt is congratulated by teammates after a home run against Youngstown St. during an NCAA baseball game on March 24, 2022, in Morgantown, West Virginia
There will be plenty of time to think about what uniform he will be wearing next. For now, he’s focused on extending this time with his teammates as long as he can and for Mazey, the coach who believed in him from the start. Mazey is retiring after this postseason run.
“The past three years have been pretty much the best years of my life,” Wetherholt said. “I remember coming here, coach Maz was a huge reason. There’s a whole bunch of things, but I really wanted somebody who just had a ton of experience and cared for us as players and I thought that was a great fit.
“It’s really fun to just be around him. And he’s taught me so much about baseball and life just in general. (We’ve) built a friendship forever. We’ll be fishing together doing some stuff like that. It’s really cool to play for somebody that you really want to win for. And he’s that guy.”
