West Virginia basketball has truly transformed their roster during Ross Hodge's second offseason, and people are starting to take notice on a national level.
It was already reflected in the rankings, with the Mountaineers earning a Top 15 transfer portal class according to 247Sports, and a Top 15 high school recruiting class according to ESPN. Now, some of the top college basketball analysts are taking notice of WVU's offseason haul as well, with one of the biggest being The Field of 68's Jeff Goodman.
Jeff Goodman claims West Virginia basketball becoming 'nationally relevant' after offseason moves
Goodman recently took a look at the biggest offseason winners in college basketball, and rounding out his Top 5 list in fifth was the West Virginia Mountaineers. Also named on the list were Florida, Illinois, St. Louis, and Texas.
OFFSEASON/PORTAL WINNERS NOW!!!
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) May 4, 2026
1. FLORIDA
2. ILLINOIS
3. SAINT LOUIS
4. TEXAS
5. WEST VIRGINIA https://t.co/WfurBocXEp
“What Ross Hodge has done with this West Virginia team…I mean, (Mouhamed) Sylla is really good. One of the best bigs in the portal," Goodman said.
"Finley Bizjack was really productive last year at Butler. You brought (Joson) Sanon from St. John’s, a really good, talented wing, and you got one of the best freshmen in the country in (Miles) Sadler. I think for them, it was like a little bit outperforming my expectations of what they were going to do this offseason and now becoming nationally relevant again.”
We've already highlighted how the Mountaineers have addressed some of the biggest gaps on their roster, and how this team has a much more promising make-up than last year's. Goodman's insight just goes to show that these are opinions that are shared at the national level by top basketball analysts, and that could bode well for a return to prominence for the Mountaineers in the near future.
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