By: James Gravley | WV Sports Chat
The West Virginia Mountaineers are set to start its second season under Steve Sabins who led the club to an impressive 44-16 record that also had them with a 17-7 record at home and a whopping 24-7 record on the road and finished 19-9 in the conference.
With that, what we do know is that Matthew Graveline, who transferred in from Ohio State will be the primary catcher along side Gavin Kelly. If Graveline isn’t catching he may see time either in left field or as the designated hitter.
As for Kelly, if he isn’t catching, you can expect to see him at second base this season.
Matt Ineich, who transferred in from Ohio will be the everyday man at shortstop.
Third base will be anchored down by juco grad Tyrus Hall (Bossier Parish CC). Hall also brings pop to the plate, which is also a plus side.
The only real open question mark headed into the new season for WVU is first base. As Ryan Decker of Gold and Blue Nation notes here, WVU has a platoon of guys that could be at first base.
“Ryan Maggy played first base. Ben Lumsden played first base. Freshman Zahir Barjam played first base. I put Schoenfeld, Brock Wills, Brodie Kresser, Tyrus Hall, Matt Robaugh at first base,” Sabins said. “Everybody at some point put on the big mitt over there to see if they could pick the ball.”
Kresser though, along with Maggy likely get the nod at first base this season. How much time for each is still to be determined throughout the season.
Below is my projected 2026 lineup. Opening Day is Friday night as WVU opens its season on the road with a three-game series against Georgia Southern. After that series, WVU will then travel to Liberty for another three-game series before its home opener against Canisius on February 24.
CF – Armani Guzman
RF – Paul Schoenfield
C – Gavin Kelly
DH – Matthew Graveline
3B – Tyrus Hall
LF – Brock Wills
1B – Ryan Maggy
2B – Brodie Kresser
SS – Matt Iniech
Of course that can change and likely will change as the season progresses as to where players fit better throughout the season.
Photo: WVU Athletics
