WSU Cougars baseball earns 1st NCAA tourney berth since 2010

For the first time in 16 years, the WSU Cougars baseball team is headed to the NCAA Tournament.

Washington State punched its ticket by capturing the Mountain West Conference tournament title with a 14-4 seven-inning win over San Diego State on Sunday evening at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona.

It marks WSU baseball’s first conference title of any sort since winning the Pac-10 North in 1995. The Cougars have spent the past two seasons in the Mountain West after the Pac-12 fell apart.

CROWN ‘EM! 👑@wsucougarbsb wins the #MWBSB title and the Cougars are headed to the @NCAABaseball Tournament for the first time since 2010! pic.twitter.com/KDo8F7dXa3

— Mountain West (@MountainWest) May 25, 2026

After a last-place finish in the Mountain West in 2025, WSU took a major step forward this spring and finished second out of nine teams in the conference standings.

The No. 2-seeded Cougars (30-26) opened the Mountain West tournament with a 5-1 win over third-seeded Air Force and a 14-9 victory over top-seeded San Diego State. WSU then lost to San Diego State 9-2 earlier on Sunday, but due to the tournament’s double-elimination format, the Cougs got another crack at the Aztecs in Sunday evening’s championship game.

WSU took full advantage, using a seven-run seventh inning to pull away and earn the Mountain West’s automatic bid to the 64-team NCAA Tournament.

THE COUGS ARE 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗣𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 🏆#MWBSB pic.twitter.com/f5ExlfVsVb

— Mountain West (@MountainWest) May 25, 2026

The NCAA Tournament begins on Friday, with the 64-team field broken into 16 regionals. Each regional consists of a four-team double-elimination bracket.

WSU will learn which regional it’s headed to during Monday morning’s NCAA Tournament selection show, which airs at 9 a.m. on ESPN2.

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