Sunday, October 18
College Park, Md.
3 p.m.
West Virginia University
at
Maryland (exhibition)
Photo by: WVU Athletic Communications
Mountaineers to Face Maryland Sunday in First Preseason Tuneup
October 16, 2026 12:09 PM | Men's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The first of WVU's three exhibition games will take place Sunday inside the XFINITY Center in College Park, Maryland, when West Virginia takes on the Maryland Terrapins in a 3 p.m. clash streaming live on the Big Ten Network's B1G+.
The Big Ten Network is offering a special $8.99 one-time, pay-per-view option for Mountaineer fans to watch the game by going to bigtenplus.com and clicking on the West Virginia vs. Maryland pay-per-view link.
The Mountaineer Sports Network, with Tony Caridi and Brad Howe, will also be covering the game on many radio stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.
Airtime for radio will be 2 p.m.
"(Television, radio and media coverage) doesn't influence what we're doing because you can't really control any part of that," West Virginia coach Ross Hodge said Wednesday. "We will use this to practice preparing for games.
"This will be the first time we do a scouting report, and we will be using this as a dry run for firsts," he said. "This will be the first time we go through a pregame warm-up and pregame routine; spend a night in a hotel together, so we'll prepare for the opponent, but in a lot of ways, we are preparing our team to prepare for an opponent."
Sunday's game will be the general public's first glimpse at the new-look Mountaineers, featuring five-star freshman point guard Miles Sadler, the nation's No. 18-rated overall prospect according to 247Sports' composite ratings.
Last spring, Sadler helped his Bella Vista prep team win the Chipotle Nationals and he finished his senior season with averages of 23.3 points, 8.3 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game.
West Virginia's remodeled roster also has 6-foot-10, 240-pound Georgia Tech transfer Mouhamed Sylla, considered one of the highest-rated posts in the transfer portal this past spring. Sylla missed 15 games last year with ankle issues, but he was highly effective when healthy. He became just the third ACC player in the last 30 years to begin his collegiate career with three consecutive double-doubles.
Joson Sanon, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound, St. John's transfer, is a former big-time recruit who averaged nearly 12 points per game as a freshman at Arizona State before transferring to St. John's last year. Sanon started 14 games and averaged nearly eight points per contest for Rick Pitino and the Red Storm in 2026 and is hopeful a change of scenery can reinvigorate his career.
Senior guard Finley Bizjack was another plum Hodge plucked out of the portal and is expected to team with Sadler and Sanon in the Mountaineer backcourt. Bizjack averaged 17.1 points per game last year at Butler to earn third-team All-Big East honors.
Other significant transfers include guard Martin Somerville (Florida State) and forwards Seydou Traore (Utah) and Javan Buchanan (Boise State).
In August, the Mountaineer frontcourt got a huge boost with the return of senior forward Brenen Lorient when he took advantage of a U.S. District Court judge's ruling giving seniors from the class of 2026 another year of eligibility.
Buchanan is also a part of that court ruling, which the NCAA has since appealed, although no new court date has been established. Hodge indicated Wednesday that his 2026-27 plans include both players until further notice.
In addition to Lorient, sophomore guard Amir Jenkins also returns from last year's squad, although he continues to recover from offseason surgery on both shoulders.
Guard MJ Feenane is the other 2025-26 returnee.
Other high school additions to this year's roster include 6-foot-3 guard Keonte Greybear, 7-foot-1 center Amadou Seini, 6-foot-10 center Aliou Dioum, 6-foot-3 guard Jelani McKoy and 6-foot-7 forward Max Olejasz, a Wheeling Central High product.
Experienced onlookers have been impressed with the overall size and athleticism of this year's team.
Blue Ribbon Magazine, in its forthcoming issue, gives West Virginia positive ratings in the backcourt, frontcourt and bench areas and an A- rating in intangibles.
"Hodge's first year in Morgantown was a success, even though the Mountaineers didn't reach the NCAA Tournament," the magazine wrote. "WVU has a talented, big, experienced roster that should allow Hodge to assemble different lineup combinations, based on the opposition's strengths."
The publication added, "Getting Sadler was huge. He's an immediate difference-maker and will continue the national trend of excellent freshman point guards. Sanon, Bizjack and Traore are all strong wings who will work well with him, and Jenkins and Somerville will provide quality depth."
Sunday's game will pit Sadler against Maryland's five-star recruit Baba Oladotun, the nation's No. 9 overall-rated prospect by 247Sports. The 6-foot-10 forward is considered the program's highest-rated recruit since Diamond Stone in 2015.
The Terps also return the services of 6-foot-9, 250-pound forward Pharrel Payne, who was dominant in early season games before a December injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season.
Coach Buzz Williams endured a disappointing 12-21 record in his first season at Maryland last year, which necessitated a roster reboot. Arkansas guard DJ Wagner was his biggest get in the transfer portal last spring.
Sunday's game should be interesting and entertaining to watch.
"Any time there is a scoreboard, you want to win just from a competitive standpoint, whether it's an exhibition, closed-door scrimmage or a card game at home with your family," Hodge explained.
"Big picture-wise, what I'm most interested in seeing - and excited about seeing - is what are our huddles like? What is our bench going to be like during timeouts? How do we handle when things don't go our way? Those are the things that we've preached pretty much from the moment we first got here," he added.
West Virginia's other two preseason tuneups will take place within the Mountain State against Glenville State in Glenville on Friday, Oct. 23 and inside Hope Coliseum against Wheeling on Wednesday, Oct. 28.
The Wheeling contest will be televised on ESPN+ and will also air on the Mountaineer Sports Network.
On Thursday, the Big 12 released its preseason coaches' poll and West Virginia was picked to finished tied for eighth with Cincinnati in the 16-team league. Arizona was tabbed preseason favorite, followed by Houston, Kansas, Iowa State, Texas Tech, BYU and TCU.
Below West Virginia and Cincinnati, the coaches picked, in order, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Arizona State, UCF, Colorado, Kansas State and Utah.
Meanwhile, tickets for the 2026-27 season remain on sale through the Mountaineer Ticket Office and can be purchased by logging on to WVUGAME.com.
The Big Ten Network is offering a special $8.99 one-time, pay-per-view option for Mountaineer fans to watch the game by going to bigtenplus.com and clicking on the West Virginia vs. Maryland pay-per-view link.
The Mountaineer Sports Network, with Tony Caridi and Brad Howe, will also be covering the game on many radio stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.
Airtime for radio will be 2 p.m.
"(Television, radio and media coverage) doesn't influence what we're doing because you can't really control any part of that," West Virginia coach Ross Hodge said Wednesday. "We will use this to practice preparing for games.
"This will be the first time we do a scouting report, and we will be using this as a dry run for firsts," he said. "This will be the first time we go through a pregame warm-up and pregame routine; spend a night in a hotel together, so we'll prepare for the opponent, but in a lot of ways, we are preparing our team to prepare for an opponent."
Sunday's game will be the general public's first glimpse at the new-look Mountaineers, featuring five-star freshman point guard Miles Sadler, the nation's No. 18-rated overall prospect according to 247Sports' composite ratings.
Last spring, Sadler helped his Bella Vista prep team win the Chipotle Nationals and he finished his senior season with averages of 23.3 points, 8.3 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game.
West Virginia's remodeled roster also has 6-foot-10, 240-pound Georgia Tech transfer Mouhamed Sylla, considered one of the highest-rated posts in the transfer portal this past spring. Sylla missed 15 games last year with ankle issues, but he was highly effective when healthy. He became just the third ACC player in the last 30 years to begin his collegiate career with three consecutive double-doubles.
Joson Sanon, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound, St. John's transfer, is a former big-time recruit who averaged nearly 12 points per game as a freshman at Arizona State before transferring to St. John's last year. Sanon started 14 games and averaged nearly eight points per contest for Rick Pitino and the Red Storm in 2026 and is hopeful a change of scenery can reinvigorate his career.
Senior guard Finley Bizjack was another plum Hodge plucked out of the portal and is expected to team with Sadler and Sanon in the Mountaineer backcourt. Bizjack averaged 17.1 points per game last year at Butler to earn third-team All-Big East honors.
Other significant transfers include guard Martin Somerville (Florida State) and forwards Seydou Traore (Utah) and Javan Buchanan (Boise State).
In August, the Mountaineer frontcourt got a huge boost with the return of senior forward Brenen Lorient when he took advantage of a U.S. District Court judge's ruling giving seniors from the class of 2026 another year of eligibility.
Buchanan is also a part of that court ruling, which the NCAA has since appealed, although no new court date has been established. Hodge indicated Wednesday that his 2026-27 plans include both players until further notice.
In addition to Lorient, sophomore guard Amir Jenkins also returns from last year's squad, although he continues to recover from offseason surgery on both shoulders.
Guard MJ Feenane is the other 2025-26 returnee.
Other high school additions to this year's roster include 6-foot-3 guard Keonte Greybear, 7-foot-1 center Amadou Seini, 6-foot-10 center Aliou Dioum, 6-foot-3 guard Jelani McKoy and 6-foot-7 forward Max Olejasz, a Wheeling Central High product.
Experienced onlookers have been impressed with the overall size and athleticism of this year's team.
Blue Ribbon Magazine, in its forthcoming issue, gives West Virginia positive ratings in the backcourt, frontcourt and bench areas and an A- rating in intangibles.
"Hodge's first year in Morgantown was a success, even though the Mountaineers didn't reach the NCAA Tournament," the magazine wrote. "WVU has a talented, big, experienced roster that should allow Hodge to assemble different lineup combinations, based on the opposition's strengths."
The publication added, "Getting Sadler was huge. He's an immediate difference-maker and will continue the national trend of excellent freshman point guards. Sanon, Bizjack and Traore are all strong wings who will work well with him, and Jenkins and Somerville will provide quality depth."
Sunday's game will pit Sadler against Maryland's five-star recruit Baba Oladotun, the nation's No. 9 overall-rated prospect by 247Sports. The 6-foot-10 forward is considered the program's highest-rated recruit since Diamond Stone in 2015.
The Terps also return the services of 6-foot-9, 250-pound forward Pharrel Payne, who was dominant in early season games before a December injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season.
Coach Buzz Williams endured a disappointing 12-21 record in his first season at Maryland last year, which necessitated a roster reboot. Arkansas guard DJ Wagner was his biggest get in the transfer portal last spring.
Sunday's game should be interesting and entertaining to watch.
"Any time there is a scoreboard, you want to win just from a competitive standpoint, whether it's an exhibition, closed-door scrimmage or a card game at home with your family," Hodge explained.
"Big picture-wise, what I'm most interested in seeing - and excited about seeing - is what are our huddles like? What is our bench going to be like during timeouts? How do we handle when things don't go our way? Those are the things that we've preached pretty much from the moment we first got here," he added.
West Virginia's other two preseason tuneups will take place within the Mountain State against Glenville State in Glenville on Friday, Oct. 23 and inside Hope Coliseum against Wheeling on Wednesday, Oct. 28.
The Wheeling contest will be televised on ESPN+ and will also air on the Mountaineer Sports Network.
On Thursday, the Big 12 released its preseason coaches' poll and West Virginia was picked to finished tied for eighth with Cincinnati in the 16-team league. Arizona was tabbed preseason favorite, followed by Houston, Kansas, Iowa State, Texas Tech, BYU and TCU.
Below West Virginia and Cincinnati, the coaches picked, in order, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Arizona State, UCF, Colorado, Kansas State and Utah.
Meanwhile, tickets for the 2026-27 season remain on sale through the Mountaineer Ticket Office and can be purchased by logging on to WVUGAME.com.
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/ Men's BasketballWednesday, October 14
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