Colin Coonradt Smashed 37 Homers in JUCO & Now Hopes to Help WVU Back to Omaha

West Virginia won a bunch of games in 2026 because of its pitching staff and balanced lineup. They will have to replace a lot of talent from last year's roster, but have the pieces in place to remain atop the Big 12 standings and be in the College World Series conversation for the second straight year. It just may look a little different offensively.

The heart of the Mountaineers' order will have a little more thump to it with the additions of a pair of JUCO products in Colin Coonradt (Johnson County CC) and Ryan Piekutoski (USC Sumter).

A couple of days ago, I had the opportunity to chat with one of those guys, Colin Coonradt, about what drew him to WVU and why he believes this is the best place for him to develop as a player.

"Really, the community that has been built around baseball in Morgantown. When I was looking for my next school, I prioritized a school whose main sport was baseball, where most schools' football gets all the attention. But WV is all baseball as it stands now."

Of course, Mountaineer fans are extremely passionate about football and basketball, and those have been the two main sports at WVU for decades, but Coonradt isn't wrong. In recent years, WVU has morphed into a baseball school. Two Big 12 titles, three super regional appearances, and an appearance in the semifinals of the College World Series — they've accomplished more than any other athletic program at WVU in the last handful of years, rifle aside, of course.

"It all happened really fast, honestly," Coonradt said about his recruitment. "I had posted a few videos of an inter-squad scrimmage on Twitter, and not long after, the coaching staff had followed me. Talked with Coach Sabins and Garcia not long after. Went on a visit and knew there wasn’t going to be anywhere else I’d rather play. Then going to Omaha was just the cherry on top, and it’s exciting knowing what the goal is for WV, not just a regional or super regional but making Omaha the standard."

The new biomechanics center will be very useful for him as he makes the jump back up to Division I baseball and hopes to see the production he had this past season carry over, to some degree.

"I got to even test it out when I was there, took some swings, so I got to see how the data comes out, which was pretty cool. I’m excited to use it to my advantage and that whole biomechanics team to continue to get better."

Coonradt got a taste of major college baseball a couple of years ago when he spent his freshman season at Iowa, appearing in 13 games and going 4-for-16 with one RBI. Heading to JUCO afforded him more opportunities and proved that he could be an impact middle-of-the-order bat.

"I decided to go JUCO after my freshman year, after the University of Iowa wasn’t the best fit for me. And I had already had a good relationship with Johnson County in high school, as they recruited me, so it was an easy choice. I’m grateful for my time there, and obviously it was a season that I will never forget."

If you haven't read up on our past stories discussing the production he had there, you might want to sit down for this. In 70 games this season, he smashed 37 home runs and recorded 107 RBI, while showing a great understanding of the strike zone, striking out just 46 times compared to his 61 walks. He also added 17 doubles and a pair of triples, leading to a 1.009 slugging percentage. Yeah... that'll play, as they say.

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