West Virginia baseball loses two members of starting lineup to transfer portal

West Virginia baseball has been racking up transfer commitments over the past week, but also will bid farewell to a pair of starters who have decided to leave the program and seek a new home in the transfer portal.

The news broke on Tuesday afternoon that West Virginia right-handed pitcher Gavin Van Kempen and infielder/outfielder Chase Swain will both be entering the transfer portal. Van Kempen's announcement came from his own social media account, while Swain's father shared the news on his personal social media.

Both players served in critical roles in the starting lineup for the Mountaineers this past season as the team secured a program-record 44 wins and advanced to their second-consecutive NCAA Super Regional.

Van Kempen made 13 starts on the mound for WVU this season and appeared in 14 games, serving as a consistent weekend starter before injuries kept him from postseason play. The Mountaineers won all but three games he appeared in, and he recorded a 2-0 record on the mound during the season. However, he recorded a career-worst ERA of 6.13 on the year -- he tossed 37 strikeouts on the season while also walking 28 batters.

Swain appeared in 49 of West Virginia's 60 games on the season, starting 39 contests for the Mountaineers and seeing action at various positions. In the field, he tallied 25 putouts, 40 assists, and nine errors on the year. At the plate, Swain batted an average of .321, tallying 43 hits, 40 runs, and 30 RBIs -- he also managed to hit a pair of home runs on the season.