West Virginia Baseball Has Become Something No One Thought Possible

Steve Sabins is off to one hell of a start as West Virginia's skipper.

While year two is still in progress, he has compiled a record of 81-29 (40-18) entering this week's Big 12 Conference tournament. In his first year, the Mountaineers won the Big 12 regular season title and advanced to a super regional, and this year, they came within one game of winning the Big 12 again and are possibly on the verge of hosting a regional.

Things like this aren't supposed to happen this fast. Usually, it takes time to build a program into a winner, but the Mountaineers have been steadily building over the last decade or so under Randy Mazey, and Sabins was a part of that. It's a big reason why Mazey vouched for Sabins to be his successor, knowing the program would be in great hands.

"It has to be the right person here," Mazey told Tony Caridi on the Mountaineer Insider Podcast a couple of years ago. "And you have to know how to do it, and those guys have been here long enough that they know how to do it. To hire somebody from the outside who doesn't know Morgantown and doesn't know how we play might not have gone well. This transition is going to be really smooth. I didn't hire Coach Sabins as my successor. Wren Baker did. And Wren Baker has been the best thing to happen to WVU baseball here in the last seven or eight years. He hired Coach Sabins after meeting with him and getting to know him and spend time with him, and I think that's the exact right move because we've all seen what a terrible transition can do to a program here recently. And I wanted to make sure that if I did this that the transition was going to be really, really smooth and the program was going to stay at a level to make the people proud of it."

A tip of the hat to Mazey for a variety of reasons

West Virginia University head coach Randy Mazey. | Christopher Hall

Sabins was getting looks from other programs, including a serious push from Cincinnati, which extended him an offer to take over as the head Bearcat. If the succession plan hadn't been put together, Sabins would very likely be a pain in West Virginia's side right now.

Mazey was at a point in his life where he wanted to spend more time with his children, be at more of their games, and just enjoy the game from somewhere other than the top step of the dugout. He saw that the program was in a great spot, much better than he had found it, and had the perfect opportunity to step back and hand the keys to someone he trusted to take care of the program and take it to the next level.

Those outside of West Virginia may not know that the baseball program was on the brink of shutting down. They didn't have the interest, the facilities, or really, the money to keep it alive. That all changed with former WVU AD Oliver Luck rolling the dice, making the investment in building a new stadium and hiring Mazey.

Building a new ballpark is nice and all, but you still have to win games, compete in the league, and make the NCAA Tournament on a regular basis to generate more revenue. Mazey did that. He saved the program, accomplished things no one thought to be possible, and flipped this thing into a consistent winner, laying the foundation for Sabins to take the Mountaineers to places they've never been.

Omaha is calling soon...

Steve Sabins — WVU Athletics Communications

West Virginia has never made it to the College World Series. Heck, before 2024, they had never made it to a Super Regional. Now, they've done it twice and could be in line to make it there three years in a row.

The next step to getting over the hump is not just to make a super regional, but to host one. And who knows? If the Mountaineers go out and win the Big 12 Conference tournament this week, perhaps they can land a national seed. Even if they don't host a super this year, there is already enough proof that they are knocking on the door and are about to bust down that door to Omaha.

Just look at how things have gone since Mazey took over back in 2013...this isn't something that has microwaved over the last three years. It's been a process.

2013: 33-26 (13-11)
2014: 28-26 (9-14)
2015: 27-27 (9-13)
2016: 36-22 (12-11)
2017: 36-26 (12-12) - NCAA Tournament
2018: 29-27 (9-15)
2019: 38-22 (13-11) - - NCAA Tournament, hosted regional
2020: 11-5 (season canceled, COVID)
2021: 25-27 (8-16)
2022: 33-22 (14-10)
2023: 40-24 (19-11) - Big 12 champion, NCAA Tournament
2024: 36-24 (19-11) - NCAA Tournament, advanced to super regional
SABINS HIRED
2025: 44-16 (19-9) - Big 12 champion, NCAA Tournament, advanced to super regional
2026: 37-13 (21-9) - NCAA Tournament (a lock, the rest TBD)

Because of the success they've had, WVU is investing more in the program. They created more scholarship spots back in October, built a state-of-the-art biomechanics and performance center — something that most Division I teams don't have. You know you're doing something pretty special when Cy Young award winner Paul Skenes (and other MLBers) are coming to your facilities to check things out and get a workout in.

Paul Skenes 🤝 WVU Baseball

Thanks for visiting @WVUbiomechanics and talking with the team! Welcome back anytime! pic.twitter.com/qRcjDUN3mY
— WVU Baseball (@WVUBaseball) August 21, 2025

To go from nearly shutting the thing down to becoming a perennial contender in the Big 12 and arguably the best chance WVU has to win a national title (for now) is remarkable. Most schools that were in their situation and decided to keep operations going would be getting by by the skin of their teeth. Instead, the Mountaineers have cultivated something special and have given West Virginians a product to be proud of.

Steve Sabins is just getting started. This team isn't going anywhere. As a matter of fact, they are just scratching the surface of what they can ultimately become.

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