Ben Lumsden Stuck With WVU Through the Tough Times

Two years ago, transfer outfielder Ben Lumsden looked to be a key part of West Virginia's future. He has become that certainly, but in a windy, unexpected, and unlikely path.

In his first year with the Mountaineers, he hit .251 with seven home runs and 25 RBI. In 2025, his production dropped significantly. He entered a slump very early in the year and really didn't snap out of it until postseason play came around, where, out of nowhere, he became one of WVU's most locked-in hitters. Lumsden finished the season with a .160 batting average to go along with two homers and 15 RBI.

Most guys in his spot would have realized that the path to the lineup would be incredibly difficult and bounce. He did the opposite. He stuck around and continued to grind, even when he spent much of the year on the bench.

“I love this place," Lumsden responded when asked why he didn't hit the transfer portal. "The state, as a whole, is behind us, and the program has been going in such a good direction. There’s no place I’d rather be. There’s so many people who aren’t here today from (Grant) Hussey, Braden Berry; there was so many guys that came before us….Derek Clark, obviously Coach (Randy) Mazey, who built this program to what it is today, who get as much credit as anybody in the building today for where we’ve gone. It’s the relationships from those guys that make me proud to be a Mountaineer.”

Once again, Lumsden is making an impact in the postseason and played a massive role in WVU reaching Omaha for the first time in program history. As a matter of fact, he is now the school's all-time postseason RBI leader with 21 (and counting).

“You try to prepare the same every day whether you have zero at-bats or 200 at-bats come April or May. There’s no conversations; you’re just always working, always trying to get better, and by the end of the year, hopefully you’re the best you’ve been all year.”

Toward the end of the regular season, Lumsden started to get more action with Brock Wills struggling mightily at the plate, and he took full advantage. During the Morgantown Regional, Lumsden not only hit a towering homer against Binghamton and came up with several big-time hits throughout the weekend, but he also drew nine walks. To have a hitter in the eight hole who can drive the ball to the gap/over the fence and have a great feel for the strike zone is not normal, and that is what has made West Virginia's lineup so dangerous. Their 7-8-9 hitters aren't playing like 7-8-9 hitters.

In a world where players bounce from school to school the second adversity hits, it's nice to see someone take the old school approach of staying loyal to the program they signed with and bust their tail behind the scenes to be ready for when their number is called.

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