West Virginia baseball coach Steve Sabins and his staff have been working tirelessly to bring in new players through the transfer portal to contribute in the 2026 season, and the past few days have been no different, with five new players announcing they’ll call Morgantown home in 2026, highlighted by some of the most acclaimed players in the lower divisions. Read More: Sabins adds to strong portal class with five more players.
Michael Smosna
Michael Smosna comes to West Virginia from McMurry State, where he was named the NCAA Division III Catcher of the Year. The Lubbock, Texas native produced good numbers as a freshman (.942 OPS) and as a sophomore (1.049 OPS). He really made a name for himself his junior year, where he hit .439/.507/.672 en route to a 1.248 OPS and national honors.
Smosna will compete with Southern Illinois transfer John Lemm and returning sophomore Gavin Kelly for playing time at catcher.
Dawson Montesa
Having seen success from Derek Clark in 2024 and Griffin Kirn in 2025, WVU is starting to be a pipeline of sorts for Division II pitchers, and that’s reflecting in their transfer portal strategy. After bringing in Division II National Pitcher of the Year Ian Korn and first team All-South Atlantic Conference freshman Chansen Cole, Dawson Montesa from Adelphi University will also be donning the Blue and Gold next spring.
Montesa was stellar in his sophomore campaign. He struck out 105 batters in 72.1 innings and accumulated a 1.99 ERA across 11 starts in 12 games. Montesa was named a first team All-American, as well as the East Region Pitcher of the Year.
Josh Surigao
Josh Surigao will make the long trip back east to play for the Mountaineers, as the Myrtle Beach native spent the past season with Hawaii. Surigao will look to get on the mound more, since he as only able to make two appearances for 1.2 innings with the Rainbow Warriors in 2025.
However the southpaw is having a better time this summer, as he has pitched six scoreless innings for the Danbury Westerners of the New England Collegiate Baseball League.
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Bryson Thacker
Surigao won’t be the only lefty pitcher coming to West Virginia, as Sabins also secured Tennessee lefty Bryson Thacker.
Thacker had a 2.08 ERA in five games for the Volunteers in 2025, and also has been scoreless in 13.1 innings for the Johnson City Doughboys of the Appalachian League this summer. The former Perfect Game Preseason All-American was ranked as the No. 52 left-handed pitcher nationally by the PG, and will look to be a major contributor out of the bullpen for WVU in 2026.
Sean Smith
For a team that is set to lose their entire starting outfield, the Mountaineers sure acted like it. After All-Region Colorado Mesa outfielder Paul Schoenfield and UNC Wilmington left fielder committed to the Mountaineers, Sabins landed his third: Georgia Southern star Sean Smith.
The righty hitter put up back-to-back stellar years in Statesboro, hitting .321/.417/.587/1.004 as a year one before an even better follow-up campaign: .352/.458/.599 with a 1.057 OPS.
Smith only has appeared at left field and first base, so it remains to be seen if him and Wills will take the corner spots with Schoenfield in center, or if he’ll see more time at first base or designated hitter after the departure of all-time WVU home run leader Grant Hussey. The Moss Point, Mississippi native spent his first two years at the JUCO level with Mississippi Gulf Coast, and was ranked as a top 10 first baseman nationally by Perfect Game.
All in all, this is shaping up to be a great class for the Mountaineers, who are ranked by 64 Analytics as having the No. 13 transfer portal class nationally.
Sunday Night Portal Update:
6,114 in the portal (5,090 was the max in 2024). Top 25 Team Rankings. @Vol_Baseball makes a jump after the @_LandonMack news, @LibertyBaseball is having a solid portal class, and we’re seeing more schools get to that 8 player commit number. pic.twitter.com/jmjtsWsLcK
— 64Analytics (@64Analytics) June 30, 2025
