The final Mountain West Conference tournament was a fun last run for the current iteration of the conference. Air Force and New Mexico got off to great starts before being sent down to the loser’s bracket, having to beat the other to stay alive. The Falcons were the last future Mountain West school to stay in, but were eventually taken down by San Diego State in the loser’s final, who was upset by Washington State in the winner’s final. Just like the other major sports minus football, it came down to Pac-12
vs Pac-12.
On championship Sunday, the Aztecs were the first to strike, handing Wazzu their first loss of the tournament to force a winner takes all game. It was a back-and-forth endeavor in the late afternoon in Mesa, Arizona, until Washington State put up 10 unanswered runs between the fifth and seventh innings. Absolute domination through the middle of the if-necessary game that pushed San Diego State on the brink of being mercy ruled in the program’s final conference game. Then, after getting a runner on first with one out, SDSU hit into a double play, losing 14-4 and crowning the Washington State Cougars as the 2026 Mountain West Conference champion and punching their ticket to the regional round of the College World Series for the first time since 2010.
While Wazzu waits to see where their first stop of the NCAA College World Series, here are our final Mountain West Conference baseball power rankings.
1. Washington State (Prev. 2; 30-26, 15-9)
- Won vs No. 3 Air Force 5-1
- Won vs No. 1 San Diego State 14-9
- Lost vs San Diego State 2-9, then won 14-4 in if-necessary game in seven
Washington State had one of the greatest resurgences Mountain West baseball has seen in its history, capping it off with a dominant conference tournament run. Wazzu got off on the right foot by holding the Air Force bats to just one run, then used the momentum in the winner’s final against San Diego State. It was shaky at first, as the Cougars’ pitchers gave up seven runs in the first two innings, but then got back on track and closed out the game with the help of its batters. Coincidentally, Washington State had to play SDSU once more on championship Sunday.
The Cougars lost the first game 2-9, not able to plate any runs until the last two innings while giving up runs throughout the game. However, the small amount of rust came off quickly, as Wazzu was able to compete with the Aztecs through the first four innings of the if-necessary game, then open the floodgates with 10 unanswered runs, ending their time in the Mountain West with a 14-4 mercy rule, championship win.
Washington State was one of my favorites heading into the conference tournament, and despite that, I am still happily surprised to see them notch their first conference championship since 2010. Their pitching was not one of the worries, as they entered with one of the best team ERAs in the conference at 5.09, just 0.03 from San Diego State. They just needed to tap into their uptrending hitting, which they did tremendously. In all three of their tournament games against SDSU, the Cougars scored 30 runs, one of the best scoring margins against the regular season champs from any other Mountain West program. Wazzu now awaits their placement in the regional round of the College World Series, which will air at 12 p.m. EST, 9 a.m. PST on ESPN2.
Congratulations to Washington State on their Mountain West Championship, their revival will be in the conference history books and remembered for years to come.
2. San Diego State (Prev. 1; 36-24, 16-8)
- Won vs No. 5 New Mexico 11-6
- Lost vs No. 2 Washington State 9-14
- Won vs No. 3 Air Force 11-8
- Won vs Washington State 9-2, then lost 4-14 in if-necessary game in seven
As I mentioned in my tournament tier list story last Thursday, this weekend was San Diego State’s to lose. And the Aztecs did just that. Starting the tournament by rallying against New Mexico 11-6, San Diego State lost the winner’s final game after giving up an eight spot to Wazzu in the second inning, unable to come back while allowing six more runs across the third and fourth. The program got back on track with an 11-8 win in the loser’s final against Air Force where it clawed back from a seven run hole late. It seemed they were about to complete the same comeback that GCU did in softball with a 9-2 win in Sunday’s first game to force the if-necessary game against Washington State, but that was not the case. San Diego State kept up with the Cougars at first, actually holding a 5-4 lead after four innings. However, the Aztecs fell off from there, giving up 10 unanswered runs (including a seven spot in the seventh) to get mercy ruled in their final game as a Mountain West program.
Ending their time by almost winning both the regular season and tournament championship is a pro, especially since it would’ve been the first time that has happened since 2023 when San Jose State did so. However, the sting of just barely coming up short hurts, and will most likely be in the Aztecs’ minds for a long time. Despite that, San Diego State is only losing four seniors to graduation, and while losing all-Mountain West pitcher Aidan Russell does hurt, the program is in prime position to continue to build while moving to a new conference with schools like No. 7 Oregon State, Gonzaga and Washington State. MW Head Coach of the Year Kevin Vance did a great job in his first year, now it’s time to see how he and his team does in the Pac-12.
3. Air Force (Prev. 3; 27-27, 15-9)
- Won vs No. 6 UNLV 17-2 in seven innings
- Lost vs No. 2 Washington State 1-5
- Won vs No. 5 New Mexico 11-1 in eight innings
- Lost vs No. 1 San Diego State 8-11
The top returning Mountain West program heading into next season, the Falcons showed a lot of grit, even getting close to the conference championship. Starting the tournament off on Thursday, Air Force handled UNLV with ease in a quick, 17-2 win before losing to eventual champion Washington State in the only “normal” baseball score of the tournament. With their backs to the wall, the Falcons showed out against New Mexico, stomping the Lobos 11-1 in eight innings. They carried that momentum to the loser’s final against San Diego State, going up 8-1 after the top of the sixth. However, Air Force stalled out from there, allowing 10 unanswered runs through the sixth to eighth innings, getting eliminated just nine outs before the championship game.
Going into next season, the Air Force Falcons should be in contention for many preseason nods, including being part of conversations for regular season champs. Losing players like all-Mountain West infielder T.J. Oster hurts, but the amount of young players the Falcons have is a great pro for a program. While they don’t get many transfer recruits at all, if the coaching staff can get the young core developed (especially the pitching staff), then the hope of preseason honors will become a reality. But if any steps back happen, then teams like New Mexico and Nevada will give them a hard time in 2026.
4. New Mexico (Prev. 4; 29-24-1, 12-11-1)
- Won vs No. 4 Nevada 14-5
- Lost vs No. 1 San Diego State 6-11
- Lost vs No. 3 Air Force 11-1 in eight innings
New Mexico had a chance to fulfill their dark horse tag after crushing Nevada 14-5 in the play-in game. However, after the fourth inning in their game against SDSU where New Mexico had the lead 5-3, everything went downhill. The Lobos gave up eight runs across three innings to lose to the Aztecs 11-6, then went into their loser’s bracket game against Air Force looking to bounce back, but could not do so. They scored one run in the first, then gave up 11 unanswered runs, with the dagger coming in the form of two runs in the eighth inning for the mercy rule loss.
All things considered, this season was not necessarily a fail for the Lobos. New Mexico did have a down year compared to 2025 though, with their hitting stats taking a decent dip (.348 down to .284) while the pitching staff had a swing in the right direction (8.03 down to 6.88) in conference play. In a league where seven of the nine conference tournament games finished with the victor scoring double digits (including all of New Mexico’s games), that decline is not a good sign. While Nevada and UNLV need pitching help in the portal, New Mexico needs to get back their Mountain West silver slugging bats once more while keeping as much of that pitching staff as possible. But where it stands, we should see New Mexico in the prime positioning in the conference tournament for the foreseeable future.
5. Nevada (Prev. 5; 24-27, 13-11)
- Lost to No. 5 New Mexico 5-14
In terms of in-season disasters, Nevada’s end of season performance was one of the worst collapses in program history. We covered this last week, but losing nine of your last 10 games (including a seven game losing streak) is never ideal heading into a conference tournament. And that lack of momentum bit the Wolf Pack last Thursday, as after tying up the game at three apiece in the second, the Lobos scored 10 runs before Nevada saved itself from a mercy rule finish. The Pack did put up 12 hits, but left 11 ducks in the pond while allowing the same number of walks across five different pitchers. The Pack collapsed further, which is not a good look heading into a new conference
Nevada was put into a bind three months before the season with the departure of former head coach Jake McKinley left to be part of the MLB’s Seattle Mariners coaching staff. But outside of a couple of bad losses in non-conference play, this was a good season until April 28. Current Nevada skipper Jordan Getzelman was the hitting coach before being promoted, which showed in the stats, as the Wolf Pack was one of the best hitting teams in conference play, but one of the worst on the bump. The Pack will be in the same spot as UNLV (outside of needing a new head coach), as they need to retain as much hitting production as possible while finding some new pitchers to shake off the 7.05 team ERA from this year. I am scared for the Pack though, as a downward season usually means big names leaving, so good luck to them this offseason.
6. UNLV (Prev. 6; 30-25, 11-13)
- Lost to No. 3 Air Force 2-17 in seven innings
There was a lot of doubt against the Rebels going into the conference tournament, which seems valid after their one and done appearance on Thursday. What should have been a game with fireworks potential for both teams turned into a quick shut out very fast, as UNLV allowed eight runs to the Falcons before scoring one. However, the bleeding never stopped, as the Rebels got into mercy rule territory after allowing three more runs across the fourth and fifth. The coffin closed on UNLV’s season after Air Force scored six more runs in the sixth while only getting one more during the top of the seventh.
UNLV will have a lot to work on this offseason, starting with their coaching staff after legendary Rebels skipper Stan Stolte announced his retirement on May 23. Once they have their new head coach and the transfer portal opens, the Hustlin’ Rebels (apparently I’ve gotten that wrong all season, sorry UNLV) need to focus on retaining as much of their hitting production while hard focusing on getting better pitchers. You can’t win a season giving up nearly 10 runs a game on average (the program finished with a 9.71 team ERA in conference games), nevermind the 17 against Air Force. It will be a new era for the Rebels next season, and what a better time than in the new Mountain West.
7. GCU (Prev. 7; 21-30, 11-13)
- No games played
Keeping GCU at the same place as last week due to their season being over. Here’s a link to our power rankings last week where we discussed their final games of the season.
8. San Jose State (Prev. 8; 24-27, 11-13)
- No games played
Keeping San Jose State at the same place as last week due to their season being over. Here’s a link to our power rankings last week where we discussed their final games of the season.
9. Fresno State (Prev. 9; 14-38-1, 3-20-1)
- No games played
Keeping Fresno State at the same place as last week due to their season being over. Here’s a link to our power rankings last week where we discussed their final games of the season.
