Room is being made on the West Virginia baseball roster as the prodigal son of the team'sCollege World Series runnow has the opportunity to play one more season in the old-gold-and-blue.
While the new 5-for-5 eligibility passed this summer by the NCAA does not cover Class of 2022 athletes getting a fifth season if they exhausted their eligibility under the previous rules last season, a string of lawsuits late this summer has cleared a potential path for some of those athletes to return.
And while much focus in Morgantown has been on how that might affect the football team and basketball team entering this season, with both programs having players publicly interested in a return, Steve Sabins and the baseball team sneakily just made a major addition (or rather, a re-addition) to the pitching staff that will have a big impact this coming season.
West Virginia native Ben McDougal returning for a fifth season on the mound
Astute WVU baseball fans noticed this week that the team's roster online has been updated, with pitcher Ben McDougalreappearing on the rosteras a graduate student: indicating that one of West Virginia's top relief pitchers will be back for the Mountaineers.
A potential return for West Virginia baseball:
— Quinn Robie (@QuinnRobie1)August 11, 2026
Ben McDougal appears to be returning to the Mountaineers for a fifth season as a graduate student, according to WVU’s updated roster.#WVU@_wvsportsnationpic.twitter.com/rMgEkA78h6
After struggling with an injury much of last season, the Bridgeport, West Virginia native stepped up in a big way for the Mountaineers at the end of the season, playing a critical role in WVU baseball wins against Kentucky in the NCAA Regional Round, Cal Poly during the NCAA Super Regional Round, and Troy at the College World Series. He finished the season with 13 appearances, posting a 1-0 record and 3.14 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 14.1 innings pitched.
McDougal's return adds crucial depth to a pitching staff that is already set to return one of their weekend starters in Chansen Cole, standout underclassman David Perez, and veteran presences such as David Hagen and JJ Glasscock – and that doesn't account for the incoming portal additions and freshman class.
So while it's possible the Mountaineers didn't neccessarily need more arms, you'll never see a coach turn down a veteran returner if he wants to play one more season – especially one that has performed at a high level on some of the biggest stages in college baseball such as McDougal. And with his return, the pitching staffjust got significantly betteras West Virginia plots their return to Omaha.
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