West Virginia
Rodriguez Explains Why Portal Quick Fixes Will Not Drive the West Virginia Rebuild
One thing is clear when it comes to the future of West Virginia football — this is going to be built the old school way, for the most part. And no, Rich Rodriguez isn’t going to go full Dabo Swinney and completely neglect the transfer portal (I’m not sure where that narrative comes from), but there will be a heavy emphasis on the high school ranks, as there should be.
“The idea would be if you had a choice to get the same guy player-wise that’s got one year left or four years left, you’re going to take the guy that’s got four years left because he’ll grow in your program,” Rodriguez said on Wednesday. “Now, if the guy that’s got one year left or two years left and is a whole lot better player or is more ready to go right now than the other guy, then you’ve got to take that guy. The ideal thing would be to get 2:1 or 3:1 freshman or JC guys compared to the one-year or two-year guys. It’s probably a lesser cost to get the high school guy because they’re unproven at the college level. The portal guys seem to be more expensive, and you’ve got to pay more to get the true experienced, plug-and-play guy out of the portal.”
WVU took a large freshman class because it had to. They were losing 40-some seniors, and you’re not going to be able to go into the transfer portal and fill a bunch of those vacancies, while addressing the depth at every position. Doing so would put you in a very similar situation to last offseason, where you’re spreading your dollars thin, taking yourself out of the running for top-tier talent in the portal.
The other part of this is this group making up for a very watered-down recruiting class a year ago. Yes, the recruiting staff that’s no longer here did a great job of getting things to the finish line with the majority of the class, but a good chunk of those players either ended up requesting release from their NLI (National Letter of Intent) or entered the transfer portal after spring ball, leaving a small group of freshmen.
Rodriguez isn’t going to sign 40 freshmen every year, mainly because you simply can’t, as there are roster limits in place. This class is going to be the group that truly sets the foundation. If they can hit on 15 to 20 of these kids, the rebuild will be accelerated. That sounds like a small number, but it’s really not. Signing 15 players who have starting potential is really strong for a singular recruiting class.
Rodriguez does plan to add somewhere in he neighborhood of 12-15 transfers in January, but with such a large percentage of the roster being freshmen, some more patience will be required in 2026.
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West Virginia
West Virginia Lottery results: See winning numbers for Powerball, Lotto America on March 2, 2026
The results are in for the West Virginia Lottery’s draw games on Monday, March 2, 2026.
Here’s a look at winning numbers for each game on March 2.
Winning Powerball numbers from March 2 drawing
02-17-18-38-62, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lotto America numbers from March 2 drawing
03-08-17-24-34, Star Ball: 06, ASB: 02
Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Daily 3 numbers from March 2 drawing
7-4-8
Check Daily 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Daily 4 numbers from March 2 drawing
1-1-9-6
Check Daily 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 25 numbers from March 2 drawing
02-03-05-07-19-22
Check Cash 25 payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the West Virginia Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 11 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10:59 p.m. ET Tuesday and Friday.
- Lotto America: 10:15 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Daily 3, 4: 6:59 p.m. ET Monday through Saturday.
- Cash 25: 6:59 p.m. ET Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Another successful weekend for the West Virginia Mountaineers results in another slight bump up in the top 25 rankings. WVU took two of three from Kennesaw State on the road, allowing them to slide up to No. 23 in D1Baseball’s new batch of rankings.
D1Baseball’s Top 25 for Week 3
1. UCLA
2. LSU
3. Texas
4. Mississippi State
5. Georgia Tech
6. Arkansas
7. Auburn
8. North Carolina
9. Florida
10. Southern Miss
11. Georgia
12. Oklahoma
13. NC State
14. Clemson
15. Wake Forest
16. Coastal Carolina
17. TCU
18. Oregon State
19. Tennessee
20. Florida State
21. Kentucky
22. Texas A&M
23. West Virginia
24. Miami
25. UTSA
Missed opportunity
West Virginia had a 6-0 lead in game three of its series against Kennesaw State, looking well on their way to a clean three-game sweep of the Owls.
Unfortunately for Steve Sabins, the bullpen imploded following another strong five-inning outing from the big lefty Maxx Yehl. Bryson Thacker, Carson Estridge, and David Perez combined to give up four runs on five hits over the final three innings, allowing the Owls to steal Sunday’s game.
The loss frustrated West Virginia fans and rightfully so, but there’s no need to panic. The name of the game is to continue winning the series. You do that, you’ll find yourself in a position to make the NCAA Tournament and earn a high seed. Obviously, you don’t want to blow the opportunity of a sweep, especially when you’re up 6-0, but it’s not a loss that is going to ruin their resume. Losing the series, on the other hand, would have.
What’s next for the Mountaineers?
No single mid-week game this week for West Virginia. Instead, they’ll play a quick two-game series against Radford at home beginning Tuesday. They’ll get one day of rest before opening up a three-game series at home against Columbia, which will be the final series of non-conference play. WVU will have a single mid-week game against Maryland on Tuesday, March 10th, before beginning Big 12 action on the road against Baylor.
The full remaining schedule
Mar. 2-4 Radford
Mar. 6-8 Columbia
Mar 10 Maryland
Mar 13-15 at Baylor
Mar. 17 Penn State
Mar. 29-21 BYU
Mar. 24 at Marshall
Mar. 27-29 at Arizona State
Mar. 31 at Arizona
Apr. 3-5 UCF
Apr. 7 Marshall
Apr. 10-12 at Texas Tech
Apr. 15 at Penn State
Apr. 17-19 Houston
Apr. 21 Pitt
Apr. 24-26 at Cincinnati
Apr. 29 at Penn State
May 1-3 Kansas State
May 5 Marshall (Charleston, WV)
May 8-10 at Kansas
May 14-16 TCU
May 20-23 Big 12 Championship (Surprise, AZ)
West Virgnia built a six-run lead through five and half innings, but the Kennesaw State Owls (5-5) scored seven unanswered runs in three frames to knock off the Mountaineers (8-2) Sunday afternoon 7-6.
West Virginia captured an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first after sophomore Matt Ineich hit a leadoff single before sophomore Gavin Kelly and senior Paul Schoenfeld were issued walks to load the bases with two outs on the board. Then, redshirt freshman Ryan Maggy line a two-RBI single to centerfield in his first career start.
The Mountaineers extended their lead in the second when Kelly hit a three went opposite field for a three-run home run, his first of the season, for a 5-0 advantage.
West Virginia starting southpaw pitcher Maxx Yehl threw five scoreless innings. The redshirt junior recorded four strikeouts on the day and limited the Owls to four hits.
Kelly added a run in the sixth, clearing the centerfield wall for his second home run of the afternoon and a 6-0 WVU lead.
Redshirt sophomore Bryson Thacker took the mound in the six. After a high and wide throw on a ground ball, a walk, and with two outs, junior Cooper Williams drooped an RBI single in right field to put the Owls on the board. Then, a pitch in the dirt rolled to the backstop to add another run, closing the gap to four, 6-2.
Carson Estridge was handed the ball in the seventh. The senior right-hander gave up a leadoff double before registering the next two outs, including a strikeout, before freshman McCollum line an RBI single just out of the reach of the glove of Kelly. Senior Jackson Chirello cut the deficit one, hammering the 3-1 pitch well over the right field wall and into the Waffle House parking lot for a two-run home run.
West Virginia head coach Steve Sabins turned to the clubhouse leader in saves David Perez to get the Mountaineers out of the inning. The freshman returned to the mound in the eighth. Senior Jamarie Brooks reached after hitting a sharp ground ball over to first that went between the legs of senior Ben Lumsden. Then, Williams blasted a two-run home run and a 7-6 Owls lead.
In the ninth, senior Matthew Graveline nearly tied the game with the swing of the bat, driving 0-2 pitch off the top of the left field wall for a one-out double to put the Mountaineers into scoring position. However, redshirt senior Harry Cain sat the last two Mountaineer hitters to collect his second win of the season as the Owls completed the comeback with the 7-6 decision.
West Virginia is back in action on Tuesday for the first of a two-game series against Radford. Game one and game two (Weds) are both scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and the all the action will stream on ESPN+.
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