Armani Guzman's Jaw-Dropping Steal of Home Lands on SportsCenter's Top 10

The WVU speedster had the play that stole the show on day one of the College World Series.

WVU Athletics Communications

The West Virginia Mountaineers made a bunch of history on Friday in Omaha. Not only was it their first-ever game (and win) at the College World Series, but they also did something that hadn't been done in the event in 26 years — a straight steal of home. This morning, the play landed on SportsCenter's Top 10 plays at No. 3.

At the bottom of the first inning, the Mountaineers were gifted a baserunner to lead things off when Armani Guzman reached base on a botched groundball by the second baseman. The ball kicked a few feet away from him, so the speedster pushed for second and got in without a sweat. And to be honest, even if the ball was fielded cleanly, I think Guzman would have had a chance to beat it out.

Gavin Kelly then struck out on a pitch in the dirt, and Guzman advanced to third while the catcher threw down to first to officially retire Kelly. Paul Schoenfeld couldn't bring him home, so with two outs, WVU took the risk and made a bolt for it to snatch the first run of the game.

STOLE HOME IN WEST VIRGINIA'S FIRST-EVER MEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES GAME‼️ pic.twitter.com/oT7wIvez32

— ESPN (@espn) June 12, 2026

Guzman had been testing it out in the previous couple of pitches, creeping further and further down the line each time. This angle posted on Pat McAfee's account is maybe the best view I've seen of it thus far.

Guzman is a PROBLEMMNM

1st steal of home at CWS since 2000

HE WAS dancin DAHN that 3rd base line the pitch before pic.twitter.com/8rNjaz0JKE

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) June 12, 2026

“Credit our coaching staff," Guzman said when asked about the play. "They do a lot of scouting reports, and they watch a lot of video, and going into the game, we had some cues with multiple guys that they have, and we just executed a plan that we had. I think I’ve definitely done it a lot more in practice than in the game. I don’t think I’ve ever done it in a game like that, but I do it a lot in practice in the fall and the early spring. When I hit the umpire, I kind of got the wind knocked out of me, so it kind of hurt, but the adrenaline was there, so I didn’t really feel it until I got back in the dugout.”

What made that steal extra special, other than it being in the College World Series, is that it gave Guzman the single-season stolen base record, surpassing Victor Scott II.

“I think that was the coolest part of it, being me stealing home. I feel like that’s what West Virginia baseball is known for, and I feel like Victor Scott is one of those guys who kind of started that thing, and I just think it was really special for it to be on this stage that way.”