Sunday Morning Thoughts: WVU Hit the Jackpot When It Hired Wren Baker

When Wren Baker first took the Director of Athletics position at West Virginia, he knew that the football situation needed to be monitored closely. Aside from that, there wasn't a whole lot of concern throughout the rest of the department at the time. Boy, did that all change in a hurry.

Baker hadn't even been on the job for a full calendar year before chaos hit. In a span of three months, he had to replace three head coaches.

In May of 2023, shortly after the West Virginia women's basketball season wrapped up, Dawn Plitzuweit pulled a Darian DeVries before we even knew what that was, leaving the program after just one season and accepting the head coaching job at Minnesota.

That June, legendary men's head basketball coach Bob Huggins officially resigned, stepped down, mutually agreed to part ways, however you view it or want to phrase it — the most stable program suddenly fell on hard times. Everyone expected Huggins to finish his career strong and give the athletic department time to assess options as his eventual successor. That plan, of course, blew up when things hit the fan following Huggins' radio incident and DUI arrest shortly after.

In July, baseball head coach Randy Mazey announced his intentions to retire following the 2024 season. That was a little unexpected and seen as a major loss for WVU after everything he did to keep the program alive and turn it into a serious Big 12 contender on an annual basis.

Hitting on hire after hire

Ross Hodge and Wren Baker — WVU Athletics Communication

To replace Plitzuweit, Baker hired Mark Kellogg, who has been nothing short of spectacular in his first three seasons on the job. He's compiled a 76-22 (.776) record and, oh, by the way, has the Mountaineers playing for the Big 12 title tonight on ESPN.

After opting to go with Josh Eilert in an interim role for a season to not rush a hire and land on the wrong guy, Baker hired Darian DeVries away from Drake. He turned heads left and right early in his first season, and while he has Javon Small to thank, he was still responsible for helping WVU take down No. 3 Gonzaga, No. 24 Arizona, No. 7 Kansas (on the road), and No. 2 Iowa State.

DeVries went 19-12 in his first year and only year on the job, bolting for Indiana just hours after the team was snubbed from the NCAA Tournament. Just when Baker felt good about the direction of the program, he was sent back to square one.

Baker then, of course, hired Ross Hodge, who many successful coaches in the country have a ton of respect for, including Dusty May, Grant McCasland, and Scott Drew. In his first season, he went 18-13 (9-9) in the regular season, finishing seven spots higher than predicted in the preseason poll. It was an up-and-down season, but to get 18+ wins out of this group is impressive. Oh, and he has already landed the top recruit in program history.

The baseball program has remained in an upward trajectory with Steve Sabins taking over for Mazey, winning their first-ever Big 12 title outright, and making it to the super regional for the second consecutive year last season. While Mazey suggested Sabins would be a great fit for the job, he made it very clear that it was Baker's decision to ultimately go through with hiring him.

And then finally, the football program. He reworked Neal Brown's contract, which saved them a little money on the buyout after the team had a disappointing season. Following an exhaustive search, be brought Rich Rodriguez back to Morgantown, generating a ton of much-needed excitement and hope for the program.

Obviously, things didn't go as well as everyone had hoped in year one, but that's the case for many coaches. He and his staff have already made a ton of progress building the roster, landing a top 25 high school class and a top 25 transfer portal class this offseason. Give him time, and he will do what he's always done — win.

Four men's basketball coaches in four years, a new women's basketball coach, a new football coach, and a new skipper in baseball, and yet the Mountaineers are in a really good position because of Baker's hires and the relationship he's been able to form with the new University President, Michael T. Benson. The resources are in place for WVU to be highly competitive in every sport, including the continued success of the soccer programs and rifle, and the rise of wrestling, golf, and volleyball.

To think West Virginia could be in this position after all that has happened is incredible.