After spending two seasons as a Mountaineer, senior Pat Suemnick is one of six players to be honored on senior night before West Virginia’s last home game this season against TCU.
The 6-foot-8 forward from Green Bay, Wisconsin has vastly improved this season compared to his first playing for WVU. When fifth-year senior center Jesse Edwards was injured in a game against UMass on Dec. 16, Suemnick stepped up for the Mountaineers playing the five, including thrilling performances against Texas and Kansas, which resulted in upsets.
On Jan. 13, Suemnick led West Virginia with 16 points, with six rebounds, including five offensive rebounds, a steal and an assist, helping his team to a 76-73 victory over then No. 25 Texas. Just a week later against then No. 3 Kansas, Suemnick would put on another impressive display where he notched season highs in minutes (34), points (20), field goals attempted (15) and field goals made (8), to go along with six rebounds (four offensive), two assists and a steal in a 91-85 WVU win.
This season, Suemnick has played in 29 games, starting six, averaging 14.3 minutes and 4.3 points per game as well as 2.7 rebounds, while shooting 53.5% from the field. Suemnick has 78 rebounds this season, with more of them being offensive rebounds (43) compared to defensive rebounds (35), which is very rare.
Last season, Suemnick played in 21 games, averaging 5.7 minutes, 1.4 points and 1.3 rebounds per game. He shot 50% from the field and was two of three on three-point attempts.
Suemnick started his career at Robert Morris University in 2020, before going the JUCO route, playing for Triton College in Illinois, where he had a breakout year, helping his team to the NJCAA Final Four, being named an NJCAA First Team All-American, his region’s (4) MVP and winning the NJCAA Division I All-Star Game MVP.
Suemnick is majoring in Integrated Studies and is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, which is the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity, which stresses developing leaders, promoting brotherhood and academic excellence while providing service and advocacy for their communities.
Although he doesn’t have a set career path, Suemnick has big aspirations for the future and hopes to make a difference.
“There’s a lot more behind the scenes. I’m big into neuroscience and listening to TED talks and planning things that are a little bit bigger than sports for my life. I’m always trying to promote being more than just an athlete,” Suemnick said in a press conference in January.
Wednesday’s game is set to tip off at 7:00 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.
