As the 2024-2025 season of college athletics approaches, several programs are working on a new look in Morgantown.
The Mountaineers saw a mixed bag of successes and shortcomings in 2023-2024. In the same breath as a March Madness berth in women’s basketball, historic seasons in baseball, men’s golf, and women’s tennis, and a College Cup Semifinal appearance for the men’s soccer team, WVU finished under .500 in men’s basketball, women’s soccer, and women’s volleyball.
In an effort to reduce these inconsistencies and as part of athletic director Wren Baker’s reformation goals, four programs will have a new head coach at the helm for the upcoming season. For some, the new appointment comes in the wake of underperformance, while others will be following up legendary years in the program, but all will be looking toward one goal of high-level performance in 2024-2025.
Darian DeVries – Men’s Basketball
Likely the most high-profile head coach appointment this year is WVU Men’s Basketball coach Darian DeVries. After nearly two decades under the direction of Bob Huggins, the Mountaineers played under the direction of interim head coach Josh Eilert last season, whose team went 9-23 and was bounced in game one of the Big 12 Championship against Cincinnati.
DeVries, meanwhile, had a much more successful season. DeVries’ Drake Bulldogs went 28-7 on the year and one the Missouri Valley Conference Championship to earn the 11th seed in the NCAA Tournament. In six years under DeVries’ direction, Drake won the MVC three times, in 2019, 2023, and 2024, and the Bulldogs’ first March Madness victory in 50 years in 2021.
Coach DeVries’ son Tucker will join the Mountaineers under his father’s direction in 2024. A 6’7″ guard, Tucker DeVries won the MVC Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award twice and the conference’s Player of the Year award once after averaging 21.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.6 steals in 2024.
Jen Greeny – Women’s Volleyball
Greeny joins WVU Volleyball in place of nine-year coach Reed Sunahara. After leading the Mountaineers to their first at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championships in 2021, Sunahara’s team disappointed, going 7-22 in 2022 and 9-22 in 2023.
With a strong mix of veteran pins such as 6’2″ senior Hailey Green and young middles such as 6’2″ sophomore Maddy McGath, Greeny had some tools necessary already to rebuild the program.
Rebuilding is nothing new to Greeny, who turned around the Washington State program in her 13 years there. Greeny compiled an impressive 235-175 record at Washington State and led the program to eight consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 2016 to 2023.
Steve Sabins – Baseball
After the Mountaineers’ first ever super regional appearance in the NCAA Tournament, WVU Baseball will be moving on from the head coach that led them there.
As 12-year head coach Randy Mazey retires, though, WVU Baseball will stay in familiar hands under the direction of coach Steve Sabins, who has been with the Mountaineers since 2016.
Sabins served five years as assistant coach for WVU Baseball, of which three of them he also was the team’s recruiting coordinator. In the two years that followed (both the 2022 and 2023 seasons) Sabins worked double-duty as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator before making the transition solely to coaching in 2023-2024.
Coach Sabins enters the head coaching position with big shoes to fill but also a great pedigree to do so, having recruited projected first overall pick in the MLB Draft, JJ Wetherholt, and coached five 30-win seasons in eight years with WVU.
Brent MacDonald – Swimming & Diving
After 16 years with Xavier, coach Brent MacDonald will be joining the Mountaineers for the 2024-2025 campaign. MacDonald has been coaching swimming since 2003 in both club and collegiate scenes.
MacDonald’s Musketeers won six men’s Big East Championships and a program-best second-place finish in the women’s conference tournament in 2019. MacDonald earned the Big East Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year award in 2014, 2015, 2020, and 2023 to go along with an Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year Award from 2012.
Despite MacDonald’s successful record as a coach, he will have a tall hill to climb in his first year as coach. While some young swimmers, such as rising sophomore Ian McKinney, a Big 12 Championship finalist in the 500-yard freestyle, will be returning, many top WVU swimmers will not be. That list includes Olympian Ivan Puskovitch, senior 400 IM Big 12 Champion Danny Berlitz, and sophomore Mia Cheatwood, who holds WVU’s program record in four events.
Nevertheless, MacDonald’s tenure as a winning coach at the collegiate level will be sure to bring WVU to the next level in the pool.
Photo by Aaron Parker, Blue Gold Sports
