(Photo Credit: Christopher Hall)

Sunday night, West Virginia University shortstop JJ Wetherholt was selected 7th overall by the St. Louis Cardinals in the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft. He was projected to be the top pick of the 2024 MLB Draft.

Wetherholt garnered eight All-American selections, attained WVU’s first-ever Big 12 Player of Year, and became the second Mountaineer to earn All-American honors in multiple seasons.

He hit .370 during his three-year collegiate career. His career-best season came during his sophomore season with an NCAA leading .449 batting average with 16 home runs and 60 RBI to earn consensus All-American status.

“They are getting a baller. I can do it all,” Wetherholt said on the MLB Network broadcast shortly after his selection was announced. “I can do a little bit of everything. And I am a learner so I am super-excited to see what the Cardinals can do to make me a better player.

“I wouldn’t be the person I am today without the people that were around me and surrounded me, especially the staff at West Virginia that made me the player I am today.”

Wetherholt was voted the 2024 Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year, but his highly anticipated season was cut short due to a hamstring injury he suffered during the opening weekend of the season. He missed 24 games before returning to the lineup as a designated hitter before he returned to shortstop 10 games into his return from the injury.

Wetherholt finished the season with a team-leading .331 batting average with eight home runs and 30 RBI. The All-Big 12 First Team selection also scored 30 runs and led the team with a .472 OBP, drawing 30 walks against just 17 strikeouts, to earn an All-Big 12 first team selection.

St. Louis has rookie Masyn Winn and Tommy Edman as the main guys holding down the SS position currently, but years down the road, Wetherholt could be that guy, or alternate to a new position.

The future is off to a good start for the St. Louis Cardinals.