By: James Gravley | WV Sports Chat
Baseball season is quickly approaching with the Mountaineers set to head out on the road to start the season for six straight games against Georgia Southern and then Liberty.
Below is the full list of transfers into the baseball program for the 2026 season.
•LHP Andrew Middleton – (UMass)
•LHP Joshua Surigao – (Hawaii)
•LHP Bryson Thacker – (Tennessee)
•RHP Ian Korn– (Seton Hill – D2)
•RHP Dawson Montesa – (Adelphi – D2)
•RHP Chansen Cole – (Newberry – D2)
•OF Paul Schoenfeld – (Colorado Mesa – D2)
•INF Matt Ineich – (Ohio)
•C Michael Smosna – (McMurry – D3) *no longer with the team*
•C Matthew Graveline – (Ohio State)
•OF Brock Wills – (UNCW)
•OF Sean Smith – (GA Southern)
•INF Colton Sims – (Vandy)
•C Creed Erdos – (JMU)
Not only that, but West Virginia, while under Sabins, now has five incoming freshman ranked inside the Top 35 of the Big 12 heading into 2026.
With that, two of West Virginia’s incoming transfers have been ranked inside the top eight of the Big 12.
Those two players are catcher Matthew Graveline and outfielder Sean Smith. Earlier this offseason, I rated my top five incoming transfers for the baseball program with Graveline coming in at number three and Smith coming at number five.
According to 64Analytics, Graveline is the third best incoming Big 12 transfer while Smith is rated as the eighth best incoming Big 12 transfer.
Here are my three positional players to watch for a breakout 2026 season for WVU:
No. 1 — Sean Smith, OF, Georgia Southern
— Smith transferred to Georgia Southern in 2024 where he six home runs, 27 RBI, and 17 extra base hits. This past season with the Eagles he had nine homers and 36 RBI while posting a batting average of .352. Look for him to be used everyday in the outfield and as a designated hitter in a bolstered lineup for the Mountaineers.
No. 2 — Matthew Graveline, C, Ohio State
— Graveline played in all 56 games for Ohio State this past season and comes in with tons of experience behind the dish with leadership that is unmatched. He also hit 10 home runs last season, which was tied for first on the team. He also drove in 53 runs, which led the Buckeyes. This product on the offensive side will help lead the Mountaineers back to the postseason in 2026.
No. 3 — Brock Wills, OF, UNCW
— Wills had a .450 on-base percentage and a .545 slugging percentage this year while recording 16 multi-hit games. He also produced a .351 batting average with six home runs and 22 RBI. He also tallied a total of 13 extra base hits, six of those being doubles. He has flashy speed and is extremely patient at the plate.
Photo: Tyler Prusina
