Pair of former WVU baseball stars appear together in MLB spring training game

The average St. Louis Cardinals fan may have not even noticed that two players in their spring training game lineup on Sunday were former collegiate teammates, but a few members of Mountaineer Nation likely did catch it themselves.

As the Cardinals battled the Houston Astros in spring training action on Sunday, former Mountaineers Victor Scott II and JJ Wetherholt were reunited in the lineup.

On Sunday, Scott II led off the batting lineup and started the game at second base for St. Louis while Wetherholt batted seventh and started at shortstop.

The WVU alumni showed some promised entering the 2025 MLB season. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Scott II had a two-RBI single up the middle, and guess who came around to score? If you picked Wetherholt, you chose correctly. Scott II finished the game going 1-2 with two RBIs (scoring Wetherholt in the fourth) and a walk.

Wetherholt was able to outshine a good day at the plate for Scott II. Wetherholt belted a three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning. According to the WVU Baseball Analytics X account, the Wetherholt home run had an exit velocity of 101 mph traveling 345 feet.

Cardinal’s manager Oliver Marmol was seen giving a little grin after the Wetherholt home run on the FanDuel Sports Network broadcast of the Cardinals game. Wetherholt finished the game by going 2-3 with three RBIs, two runs, and his one homer.

After the Cardinal’s offseason saw Paul Goldschmidt leaving to go to the New York Yankees and no other notable free agent infielders signed, WVU fans are hoping to see Wetherholt’s progress continue to trend upward with hopes of making his big league debut this season with his former teammate Scott II.

Scott II was drafted in the fifth round of the 2022 MLB Draft by the Cardinals. The outfielder/utility man spent three seasons at WVU (2020-2022). In those three seasons, Scott II had 100 hits, 20 doubles, 11 home runs, and 62 stolen bases. Mainly known for his defense and blazing speed, the Cardinals selected him in the fifth round of the 2022 draft hoping his defensive prowess and high stolen base numbers would carry over.

Scott’s former teammate for one season (2022), Wetherholt was selected with the seventh overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft by the Cardinals, making Wetherholt the highest-drafted player in WVU Baseball history.

In Wetherholt’s three seasons with the Mountaineers (2022-2024), he racked up some spectacular awards. In his first season at WVU, Wetherholt made the All-Big 12 Freshman team, and he was not even close to being done earning accolades. Wetherholt was named a Unanimous First-Team All-American, Big 12 Player of the Year, as well as being First Team All-Big 12 in his sophomore campaign. And in his final season in Morgantown, even despite an injury-riddled season, Wetherholt still made the All-Big 12 First Team and was named a Perfect Game Third-Team All-American.