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Professional baseball could await these six WVU players from the 2024 team

By Bob Madison - For the Chronicle | Jul 26, 2024

Clark

SHEPHERDSTOWN — The professional baseball career of WVU infielder JJ Wetherholt can begin after he signed a contract that contained a $6.8 million dollar bonus. It was the St. Louis Cardinals who selected Wetherholt in the first round of the just-completed draft of amateur players. The Mars, Pa. native was the seventh player selected in the first round.

Not only was Wetherholt drafted off the 2024 West Virginia team that reached all the way to the NCAA’s Super Regionals, but so were four other players from that noteworthy team.

Pitchers David Hagaman, Aidan Major, Derek Clark and Tyler Switalski were taken by major league teams. And a sixth player, pitcher Hayden Cooper, although undrafted, signed a professional contract with the New York Mets.

Hagaman went in fourth round to Texas, Major in the fifth round to Cleveland, Clark in the ninth round to the California Angels and Switalski in the 16th round to San Francisco.

Only Clark had used up all of his collegiate eligibility.

Cooper

Wetherholt will probably be sent to the St. Louis Spring Training facility in Florida for some time before playing out the summer for one of the Cardinals’ lower minor league teams. He will be watched closely, not only for his playing abilities, but also for his health, since he has a recent history of hamstring injuries.

Four of the other five players have remaining college eligibility and could return to WVU for at least another baseball season.

However, most, if not all, will sign a professional contract and possibly begin playing professionally this summer.

West Virginia will have a new head coach next season since 12-year head coach Randy Mazey retired at the close of the 2024 season.

Steve Sabins, a long-time Mazey assistant, is now the Mountaineer head coach.

Hagaman

There are very few schools in the upper midwest, upper northeast or in the northern tier of states anywhere that has five players drafted and a sixth sign a free agent professional contract.

The recently changing Big 12 Conference landscape now has 16 schools involved now that Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado have joined the league.

Cincinnati, Central Florida, Brigham Young and Houston became members of the league about a year ago. And Texas and Oklahoma left the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference following the completion of the 2023-2024 school year.

Major

Wetherholt

Switalski