After a historic farewell tour by Randy Mazey, the Mountaineers look to build on their success from 2024 going into the 2025 season.
Now that Coach Mazey has departed, the Mountaineers are under the new leadership of the newly named Head Coach, Steve Sabins.
Sabins became the 20th head coach in West Virginia baseball history in June, after spending nine seasons as an assistant coach with West Virginia University, including three as the associate head coach. Now, Sabins looks to lead his team back to another Super Regional calibre season. However, the schedule West Virginia has makes this journey far from easy.
The Mountaineers start off their season with a four-game road series at Jacksonville, followed by a three-game series with Nashville, Tennessee’s Lipscomb University. Two days later, the Mountaineers will host their home opener against the Ohio Bobcats before they travel to North Carolina to play in yet another three-game series against Queens (N.C.).
Big Twelve conference play is going to be the biggest challenge the Mountaineers face. They look forward to playing a three-game series against the nationally ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys in Stillwater from March 14th – March 16th. Throughout the rest of their season, the team will play against other Big Twelve powerhouses such as Arizona, Kansas St., Kansas, BYU, Houston, Cincinnati, UCF, and Texas Tech. Most of those games are away games, and having to constantly play games in enemy territory could be a challenge for the Mountaineers, as they had a 14-16 record in games played away last year.
There is hope, though. Having a seasoned coach like Sabins, who was transitioned into his new Head Coaching role by one of the greatest coaches in WVU history, paired with an elite roster filled with a majority of returning players, is a recipe for success.
Despite losing Shortstop JJ Whetherholt, who was the 7th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. The Mountaineers retain their two star outfielders, Skylar King and Micheal Perazza; both players performed extremely well last season, letting barely any baseballs pass by. Between King’s cannon of an arm at Center Field and Micheal Perazza’s high baseball intelligence, the Outfield could be a force to be reckoned with.
The Infield is just as strong. Led by Senior First Basemen, Grant Hussey, who became WVU’s all-time leader in home runs last season after hitting a career total 36 home runs. Joining him in the infield are returners Brodie Kresser, Spencer Barnett, Ben Lumsden, Kyle West, and star catcher Logan Sauve. Between a star-studded infield, a deep bullpen, and a skilled outfield. The Mountaineer defense looks unstoppable.
Coach Sabins has the tools and players he needs to create a winning season. If he can get the bats swinging and minimize errors on defense, the Mountaineers could be a dark horse to win the Big Twelve. If Sabins plays his cards right, the Mountaineers could find themselves an invitation to Omaha.
