Shanna Rose | WV Sports Chat
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Senior Night at West Virginia is always emotional, but for this year’s Mountaineers, the moment carried a different kind of meaning.
Six players were honored on the special night and all six spent only one season in Morgantown. Still, the connection they formed with the program, the fans and the state made their final home game inside the Hope Coliseum feel like the end of a much longer journey.
Mountaineer head coach Ross Hodge cherished seeing those players experience the tradition with their families and it was one of the most meaningful parts of the night.
“So incredibly thankful for those seniors and incredibly happy for them and their family to be able to experience senior night here at West Virginia, get the win, be able to hear country roads with their families in attendance,” he said. “It’ll be a moment that they will never forget as a family union for the rest of their lives. Honestly, it’s one of the if you know, it’s one of the coolest sports traditions, if not the coolest. And again, for them to be able to experience that on a senior night, that’s what I’m just so happy for.
“I’m so happy for the players in the locker room and their families and I mean that’s that’s about where my heart is is just thankful for them and the commitment and the time they’ve put in to this program and being somebody’s got to be first and somebody’s got to take the first step without really knowing what what it looks like and these guys did and I’ll be forever grateful for them and just really excited and happy for their families as well. Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and there’s a big reason why these guys are so resilient and have so much character and their families have a lot to do with that.”
For the last couple of years, the basketball program saw four coaches and virtually a new roster rotate through. With a fourth coach, WVU’s senior class was built largely through the transfer portal, bringing together veteran players from different programs for one final collegiate season. Despite arriving from different places, the experience of wearing the old gold and blue quickly creates a deeper connection.
“I think when they decided to come here, that was part of the attraction and they knew that they wouldn’t just be representing a basketball program or a university, that you actually represent a state,” Hodge said. “And the way that they’re received in public with by real people, they they run into people and whether it’s grocery stores or parking lots, just the level of appreciation and gratitude that they feel from people in Morgantown is ultimately why they wanted to come here to begin with. It’s special to play here and represent this state and there’s not a lot of places like it.”
For players who spent just one season wearing the Flying WV, those interactions with fans helped build a bond with the community that extended far beyond the basketball court.
“Man, I’ll say I’ve never seen anything like it,” senior guard Honor Huff said. “This is the first time I’ve been in a state where the college team is the only team in the state and it’s just been nothing but love and we all appreciate it every game. especially those games, they help us win and we just keep trying to play hard for them.”
The Mountaineers experienced the highs and challenges of a long season together, but the support surrounding the program helped make Morgantown feel like home for the group of seniors.
“It’s been obviously a bumpy road as all things are in life, but it it’s a special moment,” Huff said. “There’s not I’ve been in college for a minute and there’s not a better feeling than what you do after a win here and singing that and be able to evoke yourself with emotion in a positive way. I I can’t thank Coach Hodge enough and this staff for allowing me to display my talents even further on the highest stage and the vision they had in me from my first phone call with Coach Hodge.”
As they walked onto the floor with their families and later celebrated the win inside the Coliseum, the moment marked the end of their time playing in front of Mountaineer fans.
“It was a very emotional day for us, but after the ceremony and whatnot, we just try to get a win for the fans, get a win for the guys and I execute and just go out swinging the best as possible,” senior forward Brenen Lorient said.
But even after just one season, the connection they built with the program and the state will remain part of their legacy.
WVU will head to Kansas City for the Big 12 Championship and look to keep its season alive a little longer.
Photo Credit: WVU Athletics- Dale Sparks- All Pro Photography
