WVU Baseball revealed its uniforms for Monday’s Game 7 final of the 2026 Morgantown Regional via X. The Mountaineers are set to don the sleek “Coal Rush” kits, which comes with a meaning that unifies the entire Mountain State. They are also known as “Built on Bravery” uniforms.
On the other hand, the Mountaineers have been less than stellar in these. That goes beyond baseball. Read more: WVU Baseball brings the Coal Rush for Monday: WVU Athletics’ track record with the uniforms.
Introduced by WVU Athletics in 2024, primarily with football, Coal Rush brought black uniforms to the table. It was a massive hit at Milan Puskar Stadium, with plenty of grandeur to go around.
Honoring the hard-working coal miners who keep the lights on and have helped build West Virginia into the state it is today is always a good gesture. The uniforms just also happen to be one of the best-looking in the department’s rotation.
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The pride steeped into those uniforms has showed off for baseball in that time, but not for WVU Athletics as a whole. WVU Baseball can hope the spirit of the state is in every thread Monday night.
Baseball’s ties to Coal Rush
The brand did not make it to the diamond until 2026, and has been used sparingly since. It started well for the baseball edition with a 7-4 win over BYU on March 19.
The next time it was used did not have as good of a result. UCF came into Morgantown on a Friday night and put a damper on the black-out affair, winning 5-0 on April 3.
Fortune turned back in favor of the Mountaineers with a 7-1 win over Houston on April 18.
The uniforms have not been worn since then. While the baseball squad is 2-1 in Coal Rush kits, the department in general has seen mixed results.
Other programs and their luck
WVU Football is 0-2 when turning to the dark side. It is the program that spearheaded the new look when it played Iowa State in 2024. The passion in Milan Puskar Stadium on that October night was something else, but the Mountaineers fell, 28-16. More recently, the 2025 Coal Rush game ended with a similar result against TCU. Incredible atmosphere went by the wayside when the Horned Frogs simply had too much talent, beating WVU in a one-score game.
The men’s basketball team is 1-1 in the uniforms, defeating Utah in February 2025 before falling short against powerhouse Texas Tech this past season. Women’s basketball, on the other hand, has a perfect 2-0 record on the special occasions.
WVU Gymnastics fell narrowly to BYU in its lone outing with the black uniforms. The loss came this past season.
The wrestling squad got smoked by Oklahoma State in December 2025, losing 34-3 in a highly-anticipated conference duel. The defeat set the Mountaineers at 0-2 when donning the black uniforms on the mat, with the debut against Pitt also resulting in a loss the season before.
WVU Volleyball picked up a historic win against BYU this past October, too.
Overall, Coal Rush has served as a mixed bag of luck for WVU Athletics. The Mountaineers are 4-6 outside of baseball, and 6-7 if you include it.
At the end of the day, it is a solid gesture to the blue-collar folks who make West Virginia the state that it is.
Back in black on Monday
For WVU fans, they can hope the black does not signal a funeral for the magical 2025-26 WVU Baseball season. No matter what uniforms the Mountaineers decided to break out, it is do-or-die time once more. WVU has a chance to bring the NCAA Super Regional round to Morgantown for the first time. It is just one win away.
First pitch from Kendrick Family Ballpark is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday.
Tune in to 100.9 FM The Torch or any of its affiliate stations across the John Fredericks Media Network for play-by-play coverage of WVU Baseball against the Kentucky Wildcats. A spot in the supers hangs in the balance.
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