How do you define a legacy? Is it by total wins? Titles? Records? For WVU Baseball head coach Randy Mazey, his legacy in Morgantown emcompasses it all. After 12 seasons repping and leading the gold and blue, Mazey will coach his final game in the stadium he built.
Mazey started as a player at Clemson University and had a run at a professional career that was short lived. From there, Mazey would go back to where it all began as a graduate assistant coach at Clemson in 1990, two years after graduating as a tiger.
After three years of coaching at Clemson, in 1994, the first head coach position would call Mazey to South Carolina to run the Charleston Southern University program. That job would last two seasons before moving up to bigger programs as an assistant coach.
Bouncing around from Georgia, to East Carolina and Tennessee, and ultimately heading back to East Carolina to take his second head coaching job, Mazey was starting to build an eye-catching resume. As head coach at East Carolina, Mazey coached the Pirates to a 120–66–1 record in three seasons, making two NCAA regionals and one super regional.
Then as one of the country’s most intriguing young coaches, Mazey spent six years as an assistant coach and associate head coach at TCU before eventually being hired as the next leader of the West Virginia University baseball team in 2013.
Little did Mountaineer Nation know, Mazey was going to take a program once being considered to be disbanded, to never before seen heights.
His first season at the helm and the university’s first in the Big 12, West Virginia was picked to finish last in the conference. Mazey would lead the squad to an inspiring 13-11 conference record and a third place finish.
It became exceedingly clear that Mazey was destined to build something special in Morgantown, and that’s just what he did. In 2015, the Monongalia County Ballpark, now renamed Kendrick Family Ballpark, was constructed. The Mountaineers had a new conference, new coach, new direction, and a new home.
Flash forward 12 seasons, 359 wins, seven MLB players, three NCAA regional appearances, one in Morgantown, a 40 win season, a first place Big 12 finish, and countless attendance records shattered, and Coach Mazey will step out of the dugout at Kendrick Family Ballpark for the final time this season.
On Sunday, West Virginia will play their final game in Morgantown of the regular season. With projections showing the Mountaineers as a 2-seed in the NCAA regionals, it looks unlikely that WVU will play host in the postseason. The last time that happened was in 2019 after a 38-22 season.
Two years prior to that in 2017, Mazey led the Mountaineers to their first NCAA postseason appearance since 1996, ending a 21-year hiatus. The third NCAA tournament appearance under Mazey came just last year when the team tied an all-time program record for wins in a season (40).
Earlier this season, perhaps Coach Mazey’s most proud accomplishment was the attendance record set in his final home Backyard Brawl. In an 11-1 win over the Pitt Panthers, Kenrick Family Ballpark saw 4,614 fans pack its seats and hills.
“I wish I could just go aisle-to-aisle and just shake everybody’s hand and thank them for the support that they’ve given this program,” Mazey said after that game.
For one final time, fans can get to the ballpark on Sunday to watch Mazey coach his final home game. The Mountaineers will look to finish the year 17-6 at home and secure the weekend series win against the Wildcats.
Mazey has stated throughout the season that he is at ease with the direction of the program he is leaving behind. The 57-year-old chose Steve Sabins to take over the head coaching duties next season. Sabins, who celebrated his 37th birthday on Saturday, has been an assistant coach in the program since 2016 and has coordinated the recruiting for the team the last five seasons.
“One thing I don’t want this to be is about me,” Mazey said about the final home series against Kansas State. “If it becomes about me, then it becomes a huge distraction. I want it to be about the kids and the fans and the community.”
“When I’ve coached my last game, then I guess it can be about me, because it doesn’t affect this year’s team anymore. As long as this team is playing and playing well and has a chance to do something, it needs to be about them.”
So what defines Randy Mazey’s legacy? You could look at all his wins, his Big 12 title, or even his three NCAA appearances. Some might look at the MLB players he’s developed or the fans he’s brought to the park.
All of the accolades are monumental, but Mazey will forever be known for much more; putting West Virginia Baseball on the map.
The first pitch of Mazey’s final home game is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Sunday where the Mountaineers and their historic head coach will go for one final home series win.
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