West Virginia baseball junior pitcher Gavin Van Kempen has earned third-team Preseason All-American honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Van Kempen is just the 11th player in WVU program history to be named a Preseason All-American, but is the fourth player in the past five years to earn the accolade for the Mountaineers,
The New York native is coming off a 2024 campaign that saw him make 13 appearances and 5 starts in 2024 and finish with a 7-1 record. He posted a 3.14 ERA and struck out 35 batters in 28.2 innings played.
Van Kempen is entering his third season with the Mountaineers, and he's made 25 appearances for the program over those two seasons -- overall, he holds a record of 10-1 with a 4.09 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 55.0 innings. Over his career, he has also recorded multiple earned wins over rival programs, including a pair over Pitt in the Backyard Brawl.
Van Kempen and the Mountaineers are now just a week out from the opening of their 2025 regular season slate, their first season under new Head Coach Steve Sabins following the retirement of veteran leader and program legend Randy Mazey. The Mountaineers will kick the year off on February 14th with a road trip to face Jacksonville.
For local WVU fans gearing up to catch the Mountaineers in person this season, the Mountaineers are currently set to open their home slate against Ohio on February 25th from Wagener Field at Kendrick Family Ballpark.