Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Intriguing Mountaineers Begin Year Two Under Sabins on Friday
February 12, 2026 12:49 PM | Baseball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The recent cold spell and wintry conditions have forced second-year West Virginia University baseball coach Steve Sabins to become a little creative.
For the last two weekends leading into this Friday night's season-opening game at Georgia Southern, Sabins packed up the gear and took his team down south for a little intrasquad scrimmaging.
Two weeks ago, it was Charlotte, North Carolina, and last weekend it was Columbia, South Carolina.
Sabins is not going to let a little snow and ice stop the momentum currently going on in the Mountaineer program right now.
Two years ago, during Randy Mazey's final season leading the program, West Virginia advanced to an NCAA Tournament Super Regional for the first time in school history.
Last year under Sabins was a repeat, to go along with a school-record 44 victories and another top-25 finish.
The Mountaineers begin this season ranked 21st in Baseball America's preseason poll, a program first, and were just three spots shy of the top 25 in the initial coaches' poll released earlier this month in USA Today.
The team Sabins has assembled this year is a fascinating blend of experience, talent and youth that is going to keep diamond onlookers nationwide interested throughout the spring.
In junior righthanded pitcher Chase Meyer, West Virginia is returning one of the best power arms in college baseball. Over-Slot Baseball, which projects the top Major League Draft prospects, lists Meyer on its preseason All-America team as one of two relievers.
Meyer posted a 9-2 record with a 3.94 ERA last season, fanning 63 batters in 48 innings while recording one save. He has recorded an impressive 91 strikeouts in 67 1/3 innings pitched.
Sabins said a broken finger Meyer suffered during Thanksgiving break temporarily set him behind, but the velocity is there and he will start the season coming out of the bullpen until he catches up with the rest of the pitchers.
Other key bullpen arms include Reese Bassinger, Carson Estridge and Ben McDougal, each making the preseason Stopper of the Year Watchlist.
Centerfielder Armani Guzman is also returning after enjoying a breakout sophomore campaign in 2025 that saw him earn MVP honors at last year's Clemson Regional. Guzman is an old-school-type player who combines speed, athleticism and the ability to bat for a high average in today's era of home run-or-strikeout hitting.
Guzman landed a spot on the National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America (NCBWA) Preseason All-America Fourth Team announced last month.
Another Mountaineer on the fourth team is last year's Division II pitcher of the year, Ian Korn from Seton Hill University in nearby Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Korn posted an 11-2 record with 83 strikeouts and a sparkling 1.81 ERA in 84 1/3 innings of work last season for the Griffins.
After the success West Virginia has had with pitchers Derek Clark and Griffin Kirn moving up from lower-level baseball, Sabins and his staff are continuing to mine the Division II, Division III and NAIA ranks for talented, undiscovered arms.
Sabins believes he signed the two best pitchers in D-II last year in Korn and Dawson Montesa, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound, junior righthander from Adelphi University in Garden City, New York.
Montesa is an outstanding strike-thrower with a track record of eating up innings. He is slotted to be Sunday's starter.
"His walk-to-strikeout ratio is insane, and really, when you are recruiting transfer portal starting pitching, pitchers who are able to throw 80-to-100 innings, whether it's NAIA, Division II or Division III, that just means you are able to stay healthy and compete," Sabins said.
Friday night's starter, Chansen Cole from Newberry College, has been perhaps the biggest surprise of the preseason. A 6-foot-4, 185-pound, righthander from Boiling Springs, South Carolina, Cole showed up on West Virginia's radar after striking out 97 batters in 87 2/3 innings last season as a Newberry freshman.
He was at Clemson to watch the Mountaineers' regional title and committed to them soon after.
In Cole, Sabins believes his staff has unearthed another hidden gem.
"These guys pitching in Division II were required to log a lot of innings and work out of jams because the teams at that level typically don't have a lot of pitching depth," he observed.
"The unique part about WVU in the Big 12 is that we are on a little bit of an island, and I don't think Oklahoma State, Arizona State, BYU, Houston or UCF has any idea who Dawson Montesa or Ian Korn is, or some of the other portal players that we brought in," the coach added.
Such as Ohio University infielder Matt Ineich, who is set to begin the season as West Virginia's starting shortstop. The sophomore batted .387 and earned second team All-Mid-American Conference honors last season for the Bobcats.
Another Buckeye State transfer, Matthew Graveline from Ohio State, was the team's most consistent hitter in the fall and performed much better than anticipated behind the plate at catcher.
Graveline is coming off a 10-home run, 53-RBI campaign last year for the Buckeyes.
Other quality bats added through the portal were UNC Wilmington transfer Brock Wills and Georgia Southern import Sean Smith, both expected to man the corner outfield spots.
Wills slugged 12 home runs and knocked in 87 runs in 125 career games for the Seahawks and is coming off his best season in 2025 when he batted.351 with six home runs and a .995 OPS.
Smith hit .352 with nine home runs and 36 RBI last year at Georgia Southern with a .599 slugging percentage in 162 at bats.
Ben Lumsden and Paul Schoenfeld are other quality outfield and designated hitter options.
With Graveline establishing himself at catcher, that is allowing Sabins to play versatile Gavin Kelly at second base where he should fit in nicely with Ineich at short, multi-dimensional Brodie Kresser at first and touted junior college transfer Tyrus Hall at third base.
Hall batted .311 with 11 home runs and 63 RBIs in two seasons at Bossier Parish Community College in Bossier City, Louisiana. He is a native of Victoria, British Columbia.
Sabins believes, from first to third, he's got one of the most athletic infields in the Big 12.
Of West Virginia's position player additions, Baseball America mentions each of them bringing unique profiles to the table.
"They give West Virginia options rather than prescriptions and create internal competition across the board," the publication wrote.
Maxx Yehl, who turned down significant pro money last summer to return to West Virginia for his junior season, is fully recovered from Tommy John surgery and will start Saturday's game against the Eagles.
Two other interesting pitchers to keep an eye on are Massachusetts transfer Andrew Middleton and Tennessee import Bryson Thacker.
Both are raw talents with big upsides. Baseball America calls Middleton "one of the most analytically intriguing arms to change uniforms this offseason."
Collectively, the publication writes of West Virginia's pitching additions, "taken together, the Mountaineers are not short on ingredients. They are short on proof."
Overall, the publication is hedging its bets on Sabins and the upward trajectory of the Mountaineer program.
"West Virginia's first season under Steve Sabins set a promising baseline," it wrote. "The Mountaineers retained several contributors from that group, but the real transformation came through the transfer portal, where they assembled one of the more intriguing classes in the country without much national noise.
"The result is a roster that looks materially different from a year ago and far more ambitious in construction. Sabins leaned heavily into upside, targeting players whose production curves are still forming. That approach gives West Virginia a chance to jump a tier quickly, even as it introduces volatility."
For the last two weekends leading into this Friday night's season-opening game at Georgia Southern, Sabins packed up the gear and took his team down south for a little intrasquad scrimmaging.
Two weeks ago, it was Charlotte, North Carolina, and last weekend it was Columbia, South Carolina.
Sabins is not going to let a little snow and ice stop the momentum currently going on in the Mountaineer program right now.
Two years ago, during Randy Mazey's final season leading the program, West Virginia advanced to an NCAA Tournament Super Regional for the first time in school history.
Last year under Sabins was a repeat, to go along with a school-record 44 victories and another top-25 finish.
The Mountaineers begin this season ranked 21st in Baseball America's preseason poll, a program first, and were just three spots shy of the top 25 in the initial coaches' poll released earlier this month in USA Today.
The team Sabins has assembled this year is a fascinating blend of experience, talent and youth that is going to keep diamond onlookers nationwide interested throughout the spring.
In junior righthanded pitcher Chase Meyer, West Virginia is returning one of the best power arms in college baseball. Over-Slot Baseball, which projects the top Major League Draft prospects, lists Meyer on its preseason All-America team as one of two relievers.
Meyer posted a 9-2 record with a 3.94 ERA last season, fanning 63 batters in 48 innings while recording one save. He has recorded an impressive 91 strikeouts in 67 1/3 innings pitched.
Sabins said a broken finger Meyer suffered during Thanksgiving break temporarily set him behind, but the velocity is there and he will start the season coming out of the bullpen until he catches up with the rest of the pitchers.
Other key bullpen arms include Reese Bassinger, Carson Estridge and Ben McDougal, each making the preseason Stopper of the Year Watchlist.
Centerfielder Armani Guzman is also returning after enjoying a breakout sophomore campaign in 2025 that saw him earn MVP honors at last year's Clemson Regional. Guzman is an old-school-type player who combines speed, athleticism and the ability to bat for a high average in today's era of home run-or-strikeout hitting.
Guzman landed a spot on the National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America (NCBWA) Preseason All-America Fourth Team announced last month.
Another Mountaineer on the fourth team is last year's Division II pitcher of the year, Ian Korn from Seton Hill University in nearby Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Korn posted an 11-2 record with 83 strikeouts and a sparkling 1.81 ERA in 84 1/3 innings of work last season for the Griffins.
After the success West Virginia has had with pitchers Derek Clark and Griffin Kirn moving up from lower-level baseball, Sabins and his staff are continuing to mine the Division II, Division III and NAIA ranks for talented, undiscovered arms.
Sabins believes he signed the two best pitchers in D-II last year in Korn and Dawson Montesa, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound, junior righthander from Adelphi University in Garden City, New York.
Montesa is an outstanding strike-thrower with a track record of eating up innings. He is slotted to be Sunday's starter.
"His walk-to-strikeout ratio is insane, and really, when you are recruiting transfer portal starting pitching, pitchers who are able to throw 80-to-100 innings, whether it's NAIA, Division II or Division III, that just means you are able to stay healthy and compete," Sabins said.
Friday night's starter, Chansen Cole from Newberry College, has been perhaps the biggest surprise of the preseason. A 6-foot-4, 185-pound, righthander from Boiling Springs, South Carolina, Cole showed up on West Virginia's radar after striking out 97 batters in 87 2/3 innings last season as a Newberry freshman.
He was at Clemson to watch the Mountaineers' regional title and committed to them soon after.
In Cole, Sabins believes his staff has unearthed another hidden gem.
"These guys pitching in Division II were required to log a lot of innings and work out of jams because the teams at that level typically don't have a lot of pitching depth," he observed.
"The unique part about WVU in the Big 12 is that we are on a little bit of an island, and I don't think Oklahoma State, Arizona State, BYU, Houston or UCF has any idea who Dawson Montesa or Ian Korn is, or some of the other portal players that we brought in," the coach added.
Such as Ohio University infielder Matt Ineich, who is set to begin the season as West Virginia's starting shortstop. The sophomore batted .387 and earned second team All-Mid-American Conference honors last season for the Bobcats.
Another Buckeye State transfer, Matthew Graveline from Ohio State, was the team's most consistent hitter in the fall and performed much better than anticipated behind the plate at catcher.
Graveline is coming off a 10-home run, 53-RBI campaign last year for the Buckeyes.
Other quality bats added through the portal were UNC Wilmington transfer Brock Wills and Georgia Southern import Sean Smith, both expected to man the corner outfield spots.
Wills slugged 12 home runs and knocked in 87 runs in 125 career games for the Seahawks and is coming off his best season in 2025 when he batted.351 with six home runs and a .995 OPS.
Smith hit .352 with nine home runs and 36 RBI last year at Georgia Southern with a .599 slugging percentage in 162 at bats.
Ben Lumsden and Paul Schoenfeld are other quality outfield and designated hitter options.
With Graveline establishing himself at catcher, that is allowing Sabins to play versatile Gavin Kelly at second base where he should fit in nicely with Ineich at short, multi-dimensional Brodie Kresser at first and touted junior college transfer Tyrus Hall at third base.
Hall batted .311 with 11 home runs and 63 RBIs in two seasons at Bossier Parish Community College in Bossier City, Louisiana. He is a native of Victoria, British Columbia.
Sabins believes, from first to third, he's got one of the most athletic infields in the Big 12.
Of West Virginia's position player additions, Baseball America mentions each of them bringing unique profiles to the table.
"They give West Virginia options rather than prescriptions and create internal competition across the board," the publication wrote.
Maxx Yehl, who turned down significant pro money last summer to return to West Virginia for his junior season, is fully recovered from Tommy John surgery and will start Saturday's game against the Eagles.
Two other interesting pitchers to keep an eye on are Massachusetts transfer Andrew Middleton and Tennessee import Bryson Thacker.
Both are raw talents with big upsides. Baseball America calls Middleton "one of the most analytically intriguing arms to change uniforms this offseason."
Collectively, the publication writes of West Virginia's pitching additions, "taken together, the Mountaineers are not short on ingredients. They are short on proof."
Overall, the publication is hedging its bets on Sabins and the upward trajectory of the Mountaineer program.
"West Virginia's first season under Steve Sabins set a promising baseline," it wrote. "The Mountaineers retained several contributors from that group, but the real transformation came through the transfer portal, where they assembled one of the more intriguing classes in the country without much national noise.
"The result is a roster that looks materially different from a year ago and far more ambitious in construction. Sabins leaned heavily into upside, targeting players whose production curves are still forming. That approach gives West Virginia a chance to jump a tier quickly, even as it introduces volatility."
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Brodie Kresser | Feb. 9
Monday, February 09
Steve Sabins | Feb. 9
Monday, February 09
Steve Sabins | Oct. 29
Wednesday, October 29
