As the 2025 baseball season begins this Friday for the West Virginia baseball, Mountaineer faithful should be on the lookout for one big hitter in the lineup. Logan Suave, junior catcher and Boiling Springs, Pa. native, will be a player that could have a huge impact on the success of WVU this spring on the diamond.
The WVU backstop will look to become an impact bat in the middle of the lineup after the departure of JJ Wetherholt. Wetherholt was the seventh overall pick by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2024 MLB Draft, and his departure leaves a huge hole in the Mountaineer lineup that Sauve has the talent to fill.
Last year for the Mountaineers, Sauve was a consistent presence in the top half of the lineup. After the departure of Wetherholt, there is more responsibility to be absorbed by players like Sauve, Grant Hussey, and Sam White. But Sauve is perhaps the brightest of the bunch in consistent hitting ability -- he finished the 2024 season hitting .308, tallying 8 home runs while driving in 37 RBIs. And in addition to his hitting stats, Sauve showed his prowess in the field as he threw out 9 baserunners.
The Mountaineers are coming off a stellar 2024 season. Finishing 36-24, WVU advanced to the Super Regional before falling short to the UNC Tar Heels. Following Randy Mazey’s final season at the helm, the Mountaineers are predicted to have another good year with first-year head coach and long time Mazey assistant Steve Sabins.
Voted on by the league's baseball head coaches, WVU is predicted to finish fourth in the conference this year according to the 2025 Big 12 Baseball Preseason Poll. It is the program's highest projected league finish in a preseason poll since joining the Big 12 in 2013.
Their high ranking in the Big 12 Baseball Preseason Poll was not the only preseason award that was doled out to the Mountaineers, though -- Sauve was named to the 2025 Big 12 Preseason Team, following an NCAA Regional performance in Tucson last spring that saw him named to the All-Tournament team.
Sauve is not the only WVU player that has received preseason recognition, either. The team's right-handed pitcher Gavin Van Kempen was selected as a Preseason All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
WVU will begin their season on Friday in Florida with the first clash in a four-game series against Jacksonville. The season home opener is scheduled for February 25th, when the Mountaineers take on the Ohio Bobcats at Wagener Field at Kendrick Family Ballpark.