MORGANTOWN — The best news for West Virginia, as it gets set to host its second NCAA baseball tournament regional since 2019 on Friday, is the Mountaineers will be at relative full health.
That includes catcher/second baseman Gavin Kelly, who took a fastball across his hand in last week’s Big 12 tournament championship loss against Kansas.
“I’m all good,” Kelly said Monday, after the Mountaineers (39-14) were chosen as the 16th seed for the tournament. “I’m 100 percent.”
Kelly was hit by the pitch in his first at-bat of the title game. He flexed his hand and fingers, but remained in the game.
The all-Big 12 first-team selection has had a marvelous season, leading the Mountaineers in batting (.379), home runs (13) and RBIs (48).
The sophomore is also one of four WVU position players – along with Armani Guzman, Brock Wills and Brodie Kresser – to play in the NCAA tournament. Guzman and Kresser have previously been a part of two WVU runs in the NCAA tournament, while Wills played in two NCAA tournaments at UNC Wilmington.
Kelly had a four-game hitting streak in last season’s NCAA tournament as a freshman, including a 3 for 4 performance with a home run against LSU in the Game 1 of the super regional.
Guzman appeared twice as a pinch runner as a freshman in the NCAA tournament and then was named the MVP of the Clemson Regional last season after driving in six runs and going 8 for 12 in the regional.
Kresser has started all 10 of WVU’s NCAA games the past two seasons and is 9 for 34 in those games. He had a four-hit game against Clemson last season and also drove in three runs against Grand Canyon in 2024.
“We have a bunch of guys who have been there before and know what it takes to advance,” Kelly said. “We also know what it feels like to lose when you’re there. It’s a special group. It’s nice to have guys like Brodie Kresser around, who has already been in it twice. It’s a unique feeling.”
Who to start on the mound?
As of Tuesday, WVU head coach Steve Sabins has yet to announce who his starting pitcher will be in the opening game against Binghamton (31-20). It’s likely that decision won’t be made public until Thursday, when all four teams in the Morgantown Regional will have practices inside Kendrick Family Ballpark and press conferences.
“We’ve got to go look, but I have no idea what they’re doing as a team,” Sabins said after the NCAA’s selection show. “We need to look at some general match-up stuff, left versus right and how they’ve done offensive and where they stack up. We’ll have to see what pitcher may be a good match-up against them.”
Going by traditional standards, top-seeded teams in each region generally don’t throw their ace against the No. 4 seeds. WVU pitcher Maxx Yehl, who was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year, likely won’t pitch until Saturday.
WVU also has sophomore Chansen Cole – a first-team all-Big 12 selection – and how Sabins uses Cole could be interesting. Sabins could start Cole on Friday, if the thought is to not take any gambles. The other line of thinking is it would be a great benefit for WVU to have Cole available on Sunday for any type of championship or elimination game, but that would only be the case if WVU doesn’t get upset in the earlier games.
Kentucky again
Someone needs to ask the NCAA selection committee if there is some type of law that states both WVU and Kentucky must end up in the same regional in the NCAA tournament.
This is the fourth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance for WVU, with three of those four regionals also including the Wildcats.
It’s also worth noting the Mountaineers already have some experience playing against Kentucky and Wake Forest this season. WVU traveled to both of those schools during fall workouts and scrimmaged both teams.
“Three of the last four years we’ve matched up with (Kentucky),” Sabins said. “We get to add a little bit of flare, because this fall we actually played Kentucky and Wake Forest in fall competitions. Our team is familiar with those jerseys and with those players. I think that’s good for our team.”
In 2023, WVU fell to Kentucky, 10-0, in the Lexington Regional. In 2025, WVU beat Kentucky twice to win the Clemson Regional. The Mountaineers scored in the ninth inning to win a walk-off, 4-3. In the second game, WVU scored six runs in the eighth inning to win 13-12.
This season, Kentucky faces Wake Forest in the opening game, before any type of possible rematch would come against WVU.
