West Virginia baseball is on a historic run right now, punching it's ticket to its second NCAA Super Regional in as many seasons. But head coach Steve Sabins is still building for the future while making history in the moment.
Storming back after trialing Kentucky twice on Sunday, the Mountaineers were able to outlast the Wildcats in a 13-12 win to secure their spot in the Super Regionals. On the same day, Sabins and the coaching staff received a commitment from a top hitter in the transfer portal from the Division II level in Colorado Mesa outfielder Paul Schoenfeld.
Landing a big-time player such as Schoenfeld is majorly important for Coach Sabins. With several players graduating, and many seemingly having an opportunity to enter the 2025 MLB Draft, there will be a lot of holes for the current first-year head coach Steve Sabins to fill.
One big hole that will need to be filled is the production that Kyle West has brought to the team. West is out of eligibility following this season and will surely be missed by WVU fans. A second-team All-Big 12 Team and Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Team selection, he currently leads the team in OPS, total home runs, slugging percentage, walks, and on-base percentage -- the loss of West will be a major task for Sabins to tackle ahead of the 2026 season.
A very realistic potential option to try to replace the offensive contributions could be Schoenfeld. The senior outfielder will join the Mountaineers, bringing a strong bat and great defensive tools. In his most recent campaign, the Wichita, Kansas, native posted a .420 batting average, a .479 batting average, and a .661 slugging percentage, also adding nine home runs and 19 stolen bases. His almost 20 stolen bases will definitely transition well to a Mountaineer team that is aggressive on the basepaths and loves to steal. Sabins has been adamant about bringing in athletes who can be a threat to swipe some bases.
Schoenfeld brought home some hardware for his fantastic senior season for Colorado Mesa. He was awarded Second Team All-American, D2CCA and NCBWA All-Region First Team, and All-RMAC First Team.
Potentially following the same style of path as West, who spent his first two seasons with Division II University of Charleston before making the move to Morgantown, could Schoenfeld be the next Division II transfer to blossom in Morgantown? It will be exciting to watch and find out.