Big 12 teams who never played in the College World Series ft. Kansas State

The Big 12 Conference has featured a mix of successful college baseball programs and emerging powers set to make a splash.

There are success stories like Texas, who appeared in a national record 38 College World Series, and Oklahoma State and Oklahoma, who have made it to the CWS 20 and 11 times, respectively.

TCU has had six CWS stints, while Texas Tech and Baylor have four and three CWS appearances, respectively. BYU and Houston each qualified to the CWS two times, while Kansas had one College World Series appearance.

And then, there are the unfortunate ones in Cincinnati, UCF, Kansas State and West Virginia. These baseball teams have never made it to the CWS, but there's a possibility that Kansas State and West Virginia would break their droughts and make it to the CWS for the first time.

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Four Big 12 teams who never made it to the College World Series

#1 Kansas State Wildcats

Before this season, Kansas State has only appeared in four NCAA Tournaments (2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013) and one super regional (2013). The Wildcats made it to the super regional by winning the Manhattan Regional.

They played in the Corvallis super regional but fell short against hosts and Pac-12 champions Oregon State Beavers. Eleven seasons later, Kansas City is fighting for a spot in the CWS against Virginia in a best-of-three super regional duel starting on Friday at the Davenport Field at Disharoon Park in Charlottesville, Virginia.

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#2 West Virginia Mountaineers

West Virginia will make its first super regional appearance in 15 NCAA Tournament stints. Grouped in the Tucson regional, the No. 3 seed Mountaineers outplayed second-ranked Dallas Baptist before defeating Grand Canyon twice in the semifinal and the regional final.

West Virginia's victory sets up a best-of-three super regional series against North Carolina, which begins on Friday at the Boshamer Stadium. The winner will make it to the eight-team College World Series.

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#3 Cincinnati Bearcats

Cincinnati has recorded seven NCAA Tournament appearances since 1956, but they never went past the super regional. The last time the Bearcats made the regional was in 2019 where they beat Oregon State 7-6 in the first round.

However, losses to Michigan and Creighton in the next rounds dropped them out of contention in the Corvallis regional. After nine years with the American Athletic Conference, Cincinnati transferred to Big 12 this past season. In its first year in the Big 12, the Bearcats finished with a 31-25 record.

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#4 UCF Knights

UCF has appeared in 13 NCAA tournament stints, including this year. However, they never made it past the regional, as they were ousted in the tournament.

This season, they won 35 of 54 games to make it to the Tallahassee Regional. They beat Alabama in the first round before losing to Florida State in the second round.

They made it to the regional final with a 5-2 win over Stetson. However, the Knights ran out of artillery in the Tallahassee regional final, losing 12-4 to the Seminoles.

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Kansas State, West Virginia compete for 2024 College World Series spots

Kansas State and West Virginia are the last Big 12 programs standing in this season's super regional. The Wildcats and the Mountaineers seek their first-ever College World Series appearances but face tough opponents in the best-of-three affair.

Kansas State take on Virginia in the super regional slated on June 7-9 at the Davenport Field at Disharoon Park in Charlottesville, Virginia. Meanwhile, West Virginia tackles North Carolina in its super regional clash scheduled on June 7-9 at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill.

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Will Big 12 teams Kansas State and West Virginia win their super regional games and secure their first two College World Series slots? Let's know your views in the comments section: