West Virginia baseball could not have started their season any better. Under first-year head coach Steve Sabins, the Mountaineers are off to a hot start, with them receiving some attention from in an early season college baseball poll.
During their opening weekend series, the Mountaineers (3-0) completed a three-game sweep over the Jacksonville Dolphins (0-3). WVU finished up the series on Saturday and is currently in the midst of a six-day break before traveling to Nashville, Tennessee, to play Lipscomb in a three-game series this weekend.
On Monday, the National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) released their first set of Division 1 rankings for the season. The NCBWA ranked the West Virginia Mountaineers 25th overall in the poll.
But that wasn't the only recognition the Mountaineers have received to start the season. Amid their three-game sweep last Friday, baseball outlet Perfect Game ranked WVU at 21st overall in their first set of 2025 rankings.
Checking in on the polls!#HailWV pic.twitter.com/NF8VN5xiVV
— WVU Baseball (@WVUBaseball) February 18, 2025
WVU’s terrific opening weekend that saw all three phases (hitting, pitching, and defense) of their game on point.
Leading the way for the Mountaineers was junior Skylar King. The South Carolina native and WVU outfielder had an incredible weekend in the Sunshine State, dominating during the team's doubleheader on Saturday. King was one of the biggest spark plugs in the opening series.
There were also a lot of good pitching performances over the three-game series. Starting with the impressive outing in his first game in a WVU uniform, Griffin Kirn gave Mountaineer fans a lot to be excited about this season. Kirn was spectacular in the first game of the season, going 5.2 innings with only one hit allowed and one run allowed and adding four strikeouts.
The Mountaineers got some other notable efforts from Carson Estridge, Reese Bassinger, and Gavin Van Kempen. WVU’s defense had some good moments in the field as well. Armani Guzman made a diving play in right field during Game One while 2025 Big 12 Preseason Team catcher Logan Sauve hit threw out a potential base stealer in Game 2. Some Mountaineer pitchers also demonstrated a strong ability to field their positions well by getting off the mound and making a defensive play on bunt attempts.