2025 West Virginia Baseball Record Predictions

How will the Mountaineers do in year one of the Steve Sabins era?

West Virginia University assistant coach Steve Sabins. / Christopher Hall

Schuyler Callihan: 36-20 (17-13)

West Virginia University sophomore catcher Logan Sauve. / Christopher Hall

While it is the start of a new era in Morgantown, Steve Sabins is no stranger to the Mountaineer baseball program. He played a massive part in building up the program alongside the now-retired Randy Mazey and knows what it takes to win here. In most cases, a new era leads to somewhat of a rebuild. Not here. This should just be a continuation of the momentum the Mountaineers have gained over the last decade plus.

With the return of Logan Sauve, Grant Hussey, Kyle West, Brodie Kresser, Sam White, Skylar King, Ellis Garcia, Ben Lumsden, and several others, scoring runs shouldn't be much of a problem for this group. They may not have the most power in the Big 12, but they'll hit their fair share of dingers and create runs in various ways.

Pitching, as always, is the biggest concern. It's not that the Mountaineers don't have capable arms; they do. It's just a matter of being able to find two rock solid weekend starters and a mid-week guy who can prevent bad losses against inferior teams. Plus, the deeper you get into the season, the more arms you're going to need. Do they have enough? We'll see. Losing Maxx Yehl for the year is a big gut punch, but having Carson Estridge, Gavin Van Kempen, Robby Porco, and JJ Glasscock back in the fold surely helps.

I do expect there to be some bumps in the road, but Sabins will keep this team focused and battling for a top spot in the Big 12 Conference at season's end. Fortunately, they will get two of the better teams in the league - Arizona and Texas Tech - at home. A strong first year for Sabins, who gets the Mountaineers back to the NCAA Tournament.

Christopher Hall: 36-20 (17-13)

West Virginia sophomore Sam White vs. Pitt. / Christopher Hall

West Virginia enters a new era with Steve Sabins taking the reigns after 12 seasons with Randy Mazey at the helm.

Sabins has a solid foundation to build on and looks to take the program to new heights after sending the team sent Mazey off into the sunset following the program's first trip to the NCAA Super Regionals.

West Virginia's biggest area of concern heading into the season is on the mound. However, the rotation has had plenty of questions heading into the last three years and still produced 33 wins or more each season, including a historic 40-win season in '23.

West Virgina has worked its magic in the NCAA Transfer Portal, especially finding gritty pitchers, which was highlighted last season by Derek Clark. This season, Quincy University transfer Griffin Kirn will get the season-opening start followed by Robby Porco, and Stopper of the Year Award candidate Gavin Van Kempen.

The Mountaineers return the bulk of their offense back this season. Juniors Logan Sauve and Sam White headline the batting order, and although the pair bring plenty of power, Grant Hussey, the program's career home run leader, and Kyle West, who hit 14 home runs a season ago, are back in the lineup.

There's plenty of potential on the roster and players yet to be named will be an integral part of this team's success.

Steve Sabins is poised to continue the program's rise in the college baseball ranks and will get this team back in the postseason. WVU finishes the regular season 36-20 and will earn its third consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament, marking the first time in 31 years the program will have made the postseason three straight seasons.

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