Cougar baseball may have choked game three of the series against Air Force, but their 11-2 win in game one officially clinched them a spot in the Mountain West Conference Tournament. With only one game left on the schedule, the Cougs are mathematically guaranteed a top six spot in the conference.

This is the Cougs’ first MWC playoff berth in their short stint in the conference. WSU entered into the group of nine schools last season, and things did not go according to plan.

After being projected to finish third place in the conference in 2025, the Cougs proceeded to go 3-12 in their last 15 games, and finished dead last in the MWC. Flash forward to this year and they are now playing in the postseason for the first time in 16 years.

The last time the Cougs were playing meaningful baseball was in 2010 when they made it to the Fayetteville Regional. They duked it out with Kansas State and Arkansas in the four round tournament where they were inevitably turned aside by the Razorbacks in the third round.

That 2010 campaign was some of the best baseball Coug fans have seen in years. On top of having a 37-22 record, the Cougs also posted a 15-11 conference record, which was the last time the Cougs had a winning record in conference play… until now.

With the Cougs sitting at 27-24 on the year and 15-9 in conference, this is by far the best season of Cougar baseball in a decade.

Currently the Cougs sit at the No. 2 spot in the conference, which would guarantee them a first round bye in the playoffs. However, with plenty of games still left on the slate, teams may leapfrog each other in the coming days.

WSU seems to be locked into the No. 2 seed, but their opponent in round two may vary. Nonetheless, fans will be eating well on May 22, when the Cougs play their first postseason game in a decade at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona.