(Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story did not accurately report the NBA Draft history of the WVU men’s basketball team. That mistake has been corrected.)

Throughout its history, West Virginia University has produced two No. 1 overall picks to the five major sports leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, WNBA). Mark Workman (1952) and Hot Rod Hundley (1957) are the only Mountaineers to hold the distinction, which no WVU athlete has achieved over the past six-plus decades.

That could change next summer. And JJ Wetherholt is the player with the opportunity to be the latest Mountaineer taken with pick 01-01.

Wetherholt, who led the nation with a .449 batting average last season, is the projected No. 1 overall selection in next summer’s MLB Draft. The left-handed-hitting second baseman is the odds-on favorite to be taken first overall, according to MLB Pipeline’s Jonathan Mayo.

Mayo did not expand on what scouts are saying, though his projected Top-10 picks are the result of conversations he has had with various scouting directors across the league. Wetherholt was the projected No. 2 pick for the 2024 draft following the conclusion of the 2023 twenty-round draft.

In addition to his NCAA-best .449 batting average, Wetherholt was among the nation’s best collegiate hitters as he racked up arguably the best offensive season in WVU baseball history. Wetherholt tallied 67 runs, 16 home runs, 42 extra-base hits, 60 runs batted in, collected more walks (26) than strikeouts (22), and stole 36 bases — the second-most in a single season in program history.

Wetherholt was named Big 12 Player of the Year and was a unanimous First-Team All-American.

The WVU baseball program has produced four first-round picks in its history. Alek Manoah is the most recent, as he was selected with the No. 11 overall pick in 2019. That puts him in a tie for the program’s highest-drafted player with Chris Enochs in 1997.

Wetherholt will enter the 2024 season as a near-lock to be selected in the top 10 of next year’s MLB Draft, which is being held in Arlington, Texas.