How Gavin Kelly Did with Team USA in the World Collegiate Baseball Championship

The face of West Virginia baseball continued to swing a hot bat with Team USA.

WVU Athletics Communications

West Virginia superstar catcher/2nd baseman Gavin Kelly just wrapped up play with the US national collegiate team on Wednesday morning, falling to Japan in the gold medal game of the first-ever World Collegiate Baseball Championship in extra innings, 6-3.

Kelly got the scoring started with a two RBI base knock, shooting a ball right past the second baseman and into right center field in the bottom of the third inning. With the throw going home, Kelly was able to scoot up to second, but was not brought around home to put up a three-spot.

Japan tied things up in the seventh, took the lead in the 10th, then plated three in the 11th just after Team USA tied up at three apiece. Kelly finished the day going 2/5 with two RBI and one strikeout.

During WCBC play, Kelly reached safely 10 times in 20 plate appearances, recording nine hits and a walk, giving him a batting average of .473. If you factor in his performances in the intrasquad scrimmages and exhibition games played before the WCBC, Kelly went 16/43 (.372) with a homer, non-RBI, seven strikeouts, and one walk.

I think it’s safe to say that, although Kelly and the rest of Team USA would’ve liked to have brought home the gold, it was a productive run for him as he further proved to scouts at the next level that he is, without question, one of the top prospects in the 2027 draft class.

Kelly’s summer is not over, however, as he will now join the Bourne Braves in the Cape Cod league, which is where the premier talent in college baseball typically goes to get more reps in. The Braves have 15 games left on their schedule, but obviously, Kelly won’t get back in time to play in tomorrow's or Thursday’s game. So more than likely, he will only have about a dozen games with them, which is plenty considering how much he’s already played with Team USA.

With Kelly returning and Armani Guzman announcing that he would be back for the 2027 season during the MLB draft over the weekend, the Mountaineers‘ top of the lineup will be one of the best in all of college baseball, especially when you add in JUCO power hitters Colin Coonradt and Ryan Piekutoski. After never making it to Omaha until this summer, there's a legitimate chance they make it two straight trips to the College World Series.