In the summer of 2023, Ben Lumsden entered the transfer portal, leaving U.T. Arlington after a season. Lumsden started in 51 games at third base for the Mavericks, and he led the team in home runs with 11. Head coach Steve Sabins saw the tape and knew the player and person he was, and just had to bring him to West Virginia.
Sabins took the recruiting call while walking around the concourse of Kendrick Family Ballpark, and eventually, after a conversation, Lumsden was convinced.
Almost three years after that call, Lumsden hit two home runs against Cal Poly in the super regional to help the Mountaineers have a big offensive performance, and beat the Mustangs 17-1 to advance to their first College World Series in program history.
“Ben Lumsden, for god’s sake, that guy has been through every up and down over the course of history,” Sabins said. “He just keeps coming back for more. Two homers, and to send us to Omaha.”
Lumsden has had as good a postseason as anybody. He had two homers against Cal Poly, and in the regional opener against Binghamton, he had a big three-run homer to make it 5-1, essentially putting the game out of reach. But it’s not just the homers. Lumsden has a hit in every NCAA tournament game so far, and had three in the College World Series clinching game. He had 10 hits over seven games. He also worked 10 walks.
Lumsden was asked almost every postseason press conference about how he’s been lighting it up in the NCAA tournament, but he’s humble and credits his teammates.
“It’s been awesome,” Lumsden said. “But, everybody has kind of played awesome. One through nine have been unreal. All the pitchers have been. The whole team has been incredible for two weeks now.”
It’s even more impressive because Lumsden hasn’t done this all season. Lumsden hasn’t even played most of the regular season. Brock Wills started in the outfield during the regular season, so Lumsden only started in 10 games before the NCAA tournament. In those games, Lumsden had 11 hits on 52 at-bats for a batting average of .211. He didn’t hit a single home run.
Lumsden could’ve folded and put his name in the transfer portal, like some of his teammates. But he stuck with it.
“I love this place,” Lumsden said. “The state as a whole is behind us so well. The program has been going in such a good direction. There’s no place I’d rather be.”
Wills was banged up and wasn’t performing as well, so Lumsden got his chance. He’s maximized every at-bat he’s received, and has totaled 12 RBIs, and had five in the game to send WVU to the College World Series.
“We’ve stuck with him so long because he’s the right kid,” Sabins said. “He’s super talented. Everybody’s time has a different curve when it hits. Sure is nice to hit right now.”
Lumsden saw the Mountaineers lose back-to-back super regionals. He shared a common goal with his team of getting to the College World Series. As a senior, Lumsden finally gets to go to Omaha with a real chance of winning a national championship. Lumsden, who was an afterthought throughout the regular season, was a major reason why the Mountaineers created history in this NCAA tournament.
Sabins knew it when he recruited Lumsden, and he expects him to make an impact on people outside of the ballpark.
“If you stick with it long enough, you got a chance,” Sabins said. “You’re here for a reason. He’s gonna make an impact on a lot of people’s lives for the rest of his life. He’s capable of that. He gets it.”
