The Mountaineers have had two great seasons, and they are not dwelling on the past. The landscape of college athletics is vastly different from ever before, and the turnover each team experiences year-to-year is at an all-time high. WVU is not excluded from the turnover, and head coach Steve Sabins is adapting to the landscape as a new head coach entering his second season in Morgantown. The baseball team is gearing up for fall practice, but Sabins will have some decisions to make to cut down his roster for the upcoming season. Read more: WVU Baseball Summer Update.
WVU Baseball Summer Update
The roster size for NCAA Division I baseball is 34 players, which is a reduction from the previous limit of 40 players. The fall roster has no cap for the upcoming (2026) season, but it will be 38 in the following years. WVU has around 50 players, including returning players, incoming first-year students, and incoming recruits. According to sources close to the team, they will have around 42 healthy players.
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Sabins will not have to make any hard decisions, however. He will have some wiggle room because players grandfathered in without counting against the new roster limitations. This means teams can exceed roster limits, but only with players who were already on the roster or were recruited to join the roster before the new rules were implemented. The deadline to declare the roster is December 1st, 2025, so he will have to evaluate the players during the fall.
Mountaineers in the Summer League
Several players from the team last year and transfer players got playing time in summer leagues. Most players attempt to stay active after the season in collegiate summer leagues, and there were some strong performances from key players.
Armani Guzman played in the Northwoods League for the Willmar Stingers in Minnesota. He batted .361, with an OPS of .963. He had the highest batting average on the team and the second-highest OPS. Guzman led the team in doubles with 12 and had the second-most hits with 56. The significant statistic that Sabins will love is his team-high 28 stolen bases.
WVU had 111 stolen bases last season, which ranked 44th in the nation. Sabins is aggressive on the basepaths and should be again in 2026. They lost their seven leading home run hitters. WVU had 60 home runs in 2025, and only nine were from returning players. They will rely on putting themselves in scoring position, like they did last season.
Gavin Kelly played in the Cape Cod League this summer for the Bourne Braves. He batted .277 with a .684 OPS, but did damage when it mattered. He finished with 16 RBIs, which tied for fourth on the team. It was not a great summer season for the 19-year-old, but it was solid for a growing player.
Infielder Ryan Maggy redshirted with WVU in 2025 as a true freshman, but he played well in the Appalachian League for the Tri-State Coal Cats. He batted .279 with a .889 OPS, which was suitable for third and second on the team. He also had five home runs, which led the team, and could provide power to the Mountaineers’ lineup this season.
