ARLINGTON, Texas – Seven months after legendary WVU men’s basketball coach Gale Catlett retired, Kyle West was born.
The Mountaineers outfielder and the longtime roundball coach share the hometown of Hedgesville, population 318.
The tiny hamlet tucked away in the Eastern Panhandle claims the winningest WVU men’s hoops coach, and now a 22-year-old outfielder who helped the WVU baseball program win the most games in program history (41).
To put that in context, WVU baseball started in 1892 – just 29 years after statehood.
It was West’s solo home run that ended a Cincinnati no-hitter in the fourth inning and spurred the top-seeded Mountaineers’ 10-3 quarterfinal win over eighth-seeded Cincinnati.
‘It’s super encouraging to know that we had an approach set in, and it’s different for every pitcher,” West said. “But I think we as a team stuck to that approach per pitcher the whole game. And at the end of the game, we’re grinding out at-bats. And when that happens, I think it’s a very dangerous game for the other team.”
It was West’s 10th home run of the season, after he hit 14 homers a year ago.
But he’s improved dramatically in several other categories. West’s batting average is .352, up from .260 in 2024, and his 57 hits is up from 51 a year ago. His biggest improvement is on-base percentage. That was 34% of the time last season, but is an amazing 49.5% this season, meaning West is on base nearly half the time he’s at the plate. It’s the ninth-best on-base percentage in program history.
He’s heading to the Big 12 semifinals on Friday night against Arizona with a 10-game hitting streak. During that run, West is batting .487 with nine runs scored and 12 RBIs.
And the Mountaineers still have the NCAA tournament remaining.
WVU head coach Steve Sabins was impressed with the star left fielder.
“Kyle West hit the ball about 150 miles an hour through the bleachers,” Sabins said. “Both (West and Griffin Kirn) are deserving of being able to hold on to the (wins record) forever.”
While Gatlett, now 84, honed his coaching skills as an assistant coach at smaller universities like Richmond and Davidson, West began his college baseball career at the University of Charleston, a Division II school.
West is one of eight players on the Mountaineers’ roster who played in mid-major Division I or Division II before coming to Morgantown. Both West and pitcher Griffin Kirn started their careers at the Division II level. Pitcher Jack Kartsonas started at Division III John Carroll before playing at Kent State.
