Photo by: WVU Athletic Communications
Frequent Flyer West Virginia to Begin NCAA Tournament Play in Morgantown
May 25, 2026 03:26 PM | Baseball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University baseball team certainly knows its way around America's airports.
The traveling Mountaineers have done more traveling than any elite college baseball program in the country over the last four years that they have qualified for the NCAA Tournament play, and the next team in line is not even close.
Coach Steve Sabins has probably earned enough frequent flier points over the last four years to take his family anywhere in the world he wants to for free.
"Joey Cuomo, our director of operations, that guy has become a full-time travel agent, and so being able to hang out and worry more about some meals is huge for him," Sabins said after learning his 11th-ranked Mountaineers will be playing NCAA Tournament games in Kendrick Family Ballpark this weekend. "The path to Omaha is clearly in hosting. What we've done for the last two years winning at somebody else's regional is incredibly hard and if there is a team that can do it, it's West Virginia, because of the amount of road games that we play.
"We consistently play on the road and over the last two years, we've probably won more road games than anybody in the nation from a power four school perspective," he said.
Furthermore, of the 16 seeded teams in this year's NCAA Tournament, West Virginia has played the fewest home games, 22, which is three fewer than No. 10 -seeded Nebraska and No. 15-seeded Kansas with 25 each.
Here are West Virginia's home-game totals over the last four seasons at Kendrick Family Ballpark:
So, in that regard, West Virginia has far more in common this weekend with fourth-seeded Binghamton, which played 21 home games this year, than it does with second-seeded Wake Forest (30) and third-seeded Kentucky (28).
It would take something extraordinary such as qualifying for an NCAA Tournament to get the Demon Deacons to come to Morgantown to play college baseball games, as they did in 1955 when they were required to do so.
The last time Kentucky played a college baseball game in Morgantown, West Virginia?
If you answered never, you would be correct!
The closest the Wildcats have ventured north to play the Mountaineers was in Charleston, West Virginia, in 2009.
Therefore, having late-May, early-June college baseball games in Morgantown, West Virginia, is beneficial for so many reasons, perhaps the most being the sheer volume of travel these guys have done during the course of a long season.
Remember, WVU's preseason began with two consecutive trips south for practice to avoid early February snowstorms before spending the first three weekends of the regular season in Statesboro, Georgia, in Lynchburg, Virginia, and in Kennesaw, Georgia.
"It has cumulative effect," Sabins points out of the team's extensive travel. "Even to start this year, we went on the road twice to get out of snowstorms to be able to practice getting ready for the season. It's a long season, and then you add two weekends leaving Morgantown just to prepare to play, it does catch up to guys. We're just coming across the country where we traveled over a thousand miles to play in the Big 12 tournament; we stay up until 3 am our time (the night before) competing for a championship, so to get back here and basically like settle in is really important."
NCAA Tournament seeds one through nine are not doing this.
Nebraska spent the first three weekends of its season at neutral-site locations in the south, while Kansas played its first three weekends in Edinburg, Texas, in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
"We'll have certain meals at certain times just to get back on a normal sleep schedule and that matters a ton," Sabins explained. "You bounce from the West Coast and then you get on another plane and you're worried about charters. Half the team is taking certain flights, and it can beat you up. This is very good for us."
It is also very good for the regional economy.
Hotel rooms from Morgantown to Clarksburg will be booked solid this weekend, not to mention area restaurants. Kendrick Family Ballpark will have as many people as legally permitted for West Virginia's games this weekend, beginning with Friday night's matchup against Binghamton.
"To be able to go to four consecutive regionals is certainly special and to mix in a hosting situation for the community and the state, there is nothing better," Sabins mentioned. "The people of this state are passionate about our program, and they are passionate about WVU, so to be able to bring an event like this here is meaningful, and I'm just really proud of our staff and our players.
"There will be great opponents and the atmosphere in Morgantown is really hard to beat. I know that tickets will be extremely hard to come by, and we will pack as many people in that place as the fire marshal will allow," he added.
The only downside is the ticket drama for the players.
Long-lost uncles and cousins will now be reaching out to the players seeking good seats along the first base line. West Virginia hasn't had this to deal with the last two years it won regionals in Tucson, Arizona, and in Clemson, South Carolina.
"Sometimes, when you go on the road you go to your hotel room and you separate and it's just baseball. All of a sudden, guys have got uncles they haven't heard from in seven years that are asking them for tickets and grandma wants to stay in their apartment, and so those are things that we need to discuss as a team because there are a lot of distractions that can happen at home," Sabins conceded.
Still, that beats the alternative of going someplace where there are not enough hotel rooms and the team is forced to stay in a dormitory in bunk beds in rooms without air conditioning, which can occasionally happen.
"If you are hosting, you are in a better position. You get to stay in your own bed, and you have comfort with the field and the familiarity," Sabins noted. "You have weight room access. You have a meal room to work out of."
Star player Gavin Kelly, from nearby Collier, Pennsylvania, is certainly excited about the prospects of playing more home games in 2026.
"Morgantown is going to be electric. It's a dream come true, and it's really awesome. The state and the city deserve this," he concluded.
First pitch for Friday night's game against Binghamton is scheduled for 5 p.m., and the contest will be televised on ESPN+.
The traveling Mountaineers have done more traveling than any elite college baseball program in the country over the last four years that they have qualified for the NCAA Tournament play, and the next team in line is not even close.
Coach Steve Sabins has probably earned enough frequent flier points over the last four years to take his family anywhere in the world he wants to for free.
"Joey Cuomo, our director of operations, that guy has become a full-time travel agent, and so being able to hang out and worry more about some meals is huge for him," Sabins said after learning his 11th-ranked Mountaineers will be playing NCAA Tournament games in Kendrick Family Ballpark this weekend. "The path to Omaha is clearly in hosting. What we've done for the last two years winning at somebody else's regional is incredibly hard and if there is a team that can do it, it's West Virginia, because of the amount of road games that we play.
"We consistently play on the road and over the last two years, we've probably won more road games than anybody in the nation from a power four school perspective," he said.
Furthermore, of the 16 seeded teams in this year's NCAA Tournament, West Virginia has played the fewest home games, 22, which is three fewer than No. 10 -seeded Nebraska and No. 15-seeded Kansas with 25 each.
Here are West Virginia's home-game totals over the last four seasons at Kendrick Family Ballpark:
- 22 in 2026
- 24 in 2025
- 23 in 2024
- 24 in 2023
So, in that regard, West Virginia has far more in common this weekend with fourth-seeded Binghamton, which played 21 home games this year, than it does with second-seeded Wake Forest (30) and third-seeded Kentucky (28).
It would take something extraordinary such as qualifying for an NCAA Tournament to get the Demon Deacons to come to Morgantown to play college baseball games, as they did in 1955 when they were required to do so.
The last time Kentucky played a college baseball game in Morgantown, West Virginia?
If you answered never, you would be correct!
The closest the Wildcats have ventured north to play the Mountaineers was in Charleston, West Virginia, in 2009.
Therefore, having late-May, early-June college baseball games in Morgantown, West Virginia, is beneficial for so many reasons, perhaps the most being the sheer volume of travel these guys have done during the course of a long season.
Remember, WVU's preseason began with two consecutive trips south for practice to avoid early February snowstorms before spending the first three weekends of the regular season in Statesboro, Georgia, in Lynchburg, Virginia, and in Kennesaw, Georgia.
"It has cumulative effect," Sabins points out of the team's extensive travel. "Even to start this year, we went on the road twice to get out of snowstorms to be able to practice getting ready for the season. It's a long season, and then you add two weekends leaving Morgantown just to prepare to play, it does catch up to guys. We're just coming across the country where we traveled over a thousand miles to play in the Big 12 tournament; we stay up until 3 am our time (the night before) competing for a championship, so to get back here and basically like settle in is really important."
NCAA Tournament seeds one through nine are not doing this.
Nebraska spent the first three weekends of its season at neutral-site locations in the south, while Kansas played its first three weekends in Edinburg, Texas, in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
"We'll have certain meals at certain times just to get back on a normal sleep schedule and that matters a ton," Sabins explained. "You bounce from the West Coast and then you get on another plane and you're worried about charters. Half the team is taking certain flights, and it can beat you up. This is very good for us."
It is also very good for the regional economy.
Hotel rooms from Morgantown to Clarksburg will be booked solid this weekend, not to mention area restaurants. Kendrick Family Ballpark will have as many people as legally permitted for West Virginia's games this weekend, beginning with Friday night's matchup against Binghamton.
"To be able to go to four consecutive regionals is certainly special and to mix in a hosting situation for the community and the state, there is nothing better," Sabins mentioned. "The people of this state are passionate about our program, and they are passionate about WVU, so to be able to bring an event like this here is meaningful, and I'm just really proud of our staff and our players.
"There will be great opponents and the atmosphere in Morgantown is really hard to beat. I know that tickets will be extremely hard to come by, and we will pack as many people in that place as the fire marshal will allow," he added.
The only downside is the ticket drama for the players.
Long-lost uncles and cousins will now be reaching out to the players seeking good seats along the first base line. West Virginia hasn't had this to deal with the last two years it won regionals in Tucson, Arizona, and in Clemson, South Carolina.
"Sometimes, when you go on the road you go to your hotel room and you separate and it's just baseball. All of a sudden, guys have got uncles they haven't heard from in seven years that are asking them for tickets and grandma wants to stay in their apartment, and so those are things that we need to discuss as a team because there are a lot of distractions that can happen at home," Sabins conceded.
Still, that beats the alternative of going someplace where there are not enough hotel rooms and the team is forced to stay in a dormitory in bunk beds in rooms without air conditioning, which can occasionally happen.
"If you are hosting, you are in a better position. You get to stay in your own bed, and you have comfort with the field and the familiarity," Sabins noted. "You have weight room access. You have a meal room to work out of."
Star player Gavin Kelly, from nearby Collier, Pennsylvania, is certainly excited about the prospects of playing more home games in 2026.
"Morgantown is going to be electric. It's a dream come true, and it's really awesome. The state and the city deserve this," he concluded.
First pitch for Friday night's game against Binghamton is scheduled for 5 p.m., and the contest will be televised on ESPN+.
Players Mentioned
UTL
/ BaseballNCAA Baseball Selection Show | Morgantown Regional
Monday, May 25
Steve Sabins, Ian Korn | Kansas Postgame
Sunday, May 24
TV Highlights | Big 12 Baseball Tournament Semifinal
Saturday, May 23
Steve Sabins, Brodie Kresser, Sean Smith | Arizona State Postgame
Saturday, May 23
