File photo WVU pitcher Max Yehl is shown during a recent game.

MORGANTOWN — West Virginia pitcher Maxx Yehl doesn’t get the average treatment of a regular college pitcher. After pitching, his week leading up to his next start includes massages, red light therapy and ice baths. Yehl is doing everything a MLB pitcher does after pitching.

“We’re treating Maxx like a big leaguer,” head coach Steve Sabins said. “Because he is a big leaguer… The truth is that that guy should pitch for another 15 years. He’s that good. He’s an exceptional talent.”

Yehl is coming off his best start of the season, which is saying something because he currently has the best ERA in the Big 12 at 2.04. His two teammates are behind him in ERA. In Yehl’s last outing, against the top team in the conference and then the No. 7-ranked team in the nation, Kansas, the big left-hander pitched a complete game, allowing one run, striking out nine.

Yehl kicked off the must-win series against Kansas with a win, which is what the Friday and Game 1 starter is supposed to do. Yehl’s performance gave WVU a victory, but it also allowed the Mountaineers to save some bullpen arms for the next two days. Over three games, WVU used five pitchers total.

Yehl was named co-Big 12 Pitcher of the Week and was selected to some national teams for his performance.

“I think he’s just in a really good headspace, healthy and feeling really good,” Sabins said.

On a short week, No. 9 WVU will have to lean on Yehl once again to give the Mountaineers a win in a three-game series against TCU. He’s not starting the series, though, because it is a short week. Ian Korn comes out of the pen and will start on Thursday. Yehl will pitch on Friday again. The first game of the series is set for Thursday, May 14, at 6:30 p.m. at Kendrick Family Ballpark.

This is the final series of the regular season, and after sweeping Kansas, WVU needs to potentially win all three again to position itself as the No. 1 seed heading into the Big 12 Tournament. There’s also the greater goal of hosting an NCAA Tournament Regional, which WVU is also projected to do after beating Kansas.

But, it’s all a bunch of “ifs” because the Mountaineers still need to beat TCU, who was projected to be the top team in the Big 12 preseason rankings. The Horned Frogs aren’t at the top, but are still 32-18 on the year and 16-11 in the conference, which is sixth in the standings.

Like WVU, TCU also has a strong pitching staff. The Horned Frogs have the fourth-best ERA in the conference and have a big ace of their own. 6-foot-3 sophomore right-hander Zack James is the Horned Frogs’ top pitcher. He has a 3.49 ERA, which is fifth in the Big 12. Pitcher Lance Davis is another arm the Mountaineers could face, and he is one of the top arms in the Big 12.

The hitting is where TCU takes a significant step back to set up another big weekend for Yehl and the pitching staff. The Horned Frogs are 11th in the conference. TCU outfielder, Sawyer Strosnider, is a speedster and leads the Big 12 with four triples. He set the single-season record and led the nation with 10 in 2025. Infielder Cole Cramer leads the team in batting average.

Even if the hitting isn’t of a high caliber, Yehl and the staff can’t slack. The Mountaineers have sights on the Big 12 No. 1 seed if the Mountaineers get some help from BYU, who plays Kansas. The Jayhawks are a game ahead of WVU, but it has the tiebreaker over them. The Mountaineers are also in position to host a regional and can only help their chances with a series win.

TCU won’t roll over this weekend, either. Despite the Horned Frogs being out of the top seed in the Big 12, TCU is still playing to make the NCAA Tournament, and is right on the bubble at the moment.

The Horned Frogs have to get through Yehl in Game 2 if they want any chance to play spoiler, and right now, he’s the best pitcher in the Big 12.

“We’ve kind of learned with Maxx, even as good a performance as that was, he’s kind of done that all season,” Sabins said. “You don’t have a 2.0 ERA or a sub-2.0 ERA by giving up many runs. It’s been kind of eerie in the sense that even if you have a couple of guys get on base with no outs, it feels like the likelihood is that they won’t score here, because they just haven’t over the course of 60 innings or more this season.”