West Virginia
Three Questions Heading Into WVU’s Exhibition vs. Charleston
Friday night marks the unofficial start of the Darian DeVries era in Morgantown as the West Virginia Mountaineers are set to host an exhibition game against an in-state opponent, the Charleston Golden Eagles, from the Division II level.
With a whole new coaching staff and essentially a brand new roster, there are a ton of questions surrounding what Mountaineer basketball will look like in 2024-25.
Here are my top three entering the night.
Everything we’ve heard from Darian DeVries and the players so far is that this is going to be uptempo offense that likes to push the ball in transition and really stretch the floor.
Defensively, DeVries has always had his guys playing well on that end of the floor, but how does he combat not having much at the center position? Is this going to be a group that presses much? Mix in any zone? Halfcourt trapping? Or will it just be straight-up man-to-man?
For a team mostly made up of newcomers, they have to buy into DeVries’ vision and find an area of the game that they can rely on. Whether that be intense defense, pushing the pace, shooting the three-ball extremely well, etc.
The Mountaineers only have one true center on the roster, Eduardo Andre, and he’ll more than likely be coming off the bench. Illinois transfer Amani Hansberry has a high ceiling as an undersized five, but he’s going to need some help battling in the paint, especially when going up against some of the bigs in the Big 12.
Aside from Andre who is 6’11”, the Mountaineers don’t have anyone taller than Hansberry and true freshman Abraham Oyeadier, who stands at 6’8″. DeVries will need to see his guards crashing the boards hard to avoid getting crushed on the boards.
One player who has seemed to have turned a lot of heads thus far is true freshman guard Jonathan Powell. Is he able to earn some minutes right out of the shoot? Obviously, we won’t know for sure by the end of tonight, but it could give us a good idea as to where he is in his development.
Fellow true freshman guard KJ Tenner seems to be more of a long-term project, but perhaps he surprises.
Really, the only other youngster that I’m most intrigued with is sophomore Ofri Naveh who is the only returning player from last year’s team. I’m not sure that he’ll factor much into the rotation at the start of the season, but once again, we’ll be able to get a good read on his situation tonight.
West Virginia and Charleston will throw the ball up in the air at 7 p.m. EST on ESPN+.
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West Virginia
It Took 10 Years, but WVU Women’s Basketball Finally Has Another West Virginia Native
For the first time since the 2015-16 season, the West Virginia Mountaineers women’s basketball roster will feature a West Virginia native.
Wheeling product Alexis Bordas transfers in after having a tremendous freshman season up the road at Duquesne, where she averaged 15.5 points (ranked fifth in the A-10) and 3.1 rebounds per game while shooting 34.6% from beyond the arc. At season’s end, she was named to the A-10 All-Rookie Team.
Morgantown’s Olivia Seggie was the last West Virginia-born player on the women’s hoops roster.
Of course, WVU was Bordas’ dream school. Pretty much her entire family went to school here and grew up coming to Mountaineer games, so Mark Kellogg probably didn’t have to do much convincing once he made it known that they wanted her.
“Chase Harler’s from Wheeling, so I came to a lot of his games. Jevon Carter, my brother, loved him. We watched a lot more of the men back then, but Kysre Gondrezick, she was someone that I always watched.”
When asked what it’s like to finally be in a Mountaineer uniform and practicing with the group, she responded, “Yeah, it’s great to finally be here and get to meet all my teammates and become such good friends with them already. It’s been super fun, and just seeing the difference from day one to now, and how much we’ve progressed already, it’s super exciting to see.
“All the fan support last night, we had an event, and just seeing all the fans and how it’s June, and everyone’s already so excited and rallies around this team,” she added. “I know it’s extra special being from West Virginia, and I’m sure lots of little girls will look up to me and hope to be playing here one day, so it’s great to be a role model for them, too.”
Nine times last season, Bordas registered 20+ points, and of course, as a true West Virginian would, she had her best performance against the Pitt Panthers, dropping 38 on them in an 84-69 win. She went 11/22 from the field in that one, including a 10/18 day from three-point range.
Bordas is a high-volume shooter from range, as 58.8% of her attempts came from downtown last season. When you shoot 34% from there and can maybe hit the high 30s, no one will care about the shot diet being so reliant on the three-ball.
Under the new rules, Bordas will have four years of eligibility remaining.
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West Virginia
$450,000 announced for Clendenin Streetscape project
CLENDENIN, W.Va . (WSAZ) – Gov. Patrick Morrisey visited Clendenin West Virginia Saturday during Summerfest.
10 years ago a devastating flood swept through the community.
The governor announced $450,000 of funding for a Streetscape project during a commemoration for the June 2016 flood. The funding will go toward Clendenin’s main street – improving sidewalks, landscaping, and other pedestrian amenities.
Funding for the project comes from the Transportation Alternatives Program – a federal initiative to fund smaller scale transportation projects.
Copyright 2026 WSAZ. All rights reserved.
West Virginia
History Made: WVU Has Two First-Team All-Americans in the Same Season
It was a phenomenal year for the West Virginia Mountaineers on the diamond, and even with the season having been over for over a week now, the honors continue to roll in.
On Friday, second baseman/catcher Gavin Kelly and left-handed starting pitcher Maxx Yehl were both named First-Team All-Americans by D1Baseball.com. It is the first time in program history that two Mountaineers have been recognized as First-Team All-Americans in the same season.
Gavin Kelly
Kelly was essentially everyone’s pick to have a breakout season for the Mountaineers in 2026, but I’m not sure anyone expected him to do it the way he did. He hit nearly .400 all year and went on a power surge out of nowhere toward the end of the season, becoming one of the top home run hitters in the country over the last month or so of the year.
Kelly was named a Golden Spikes Award semifinalist, the MVP of the Morgantown Regional, and is currently participating in the Team USA Collegiate National Team training camp in Cary, North Carolina. For the year, he hit .382 with 19 home runs and 63 RBI, cementing himself as a top draft prospect in 2027.
Maxx Yehl
Maxx Yehl was one of the best stories in all of college baseball that didn’t get talked about nearly enough. He was forced to sit out the 2025 season as he was recovering from Tommy John surgery, and prior to this season, Yehl worked exclusively out of the bullpen. The plan all along was to eventually stretch him out into a starter, and in his first year in the role, he was one of the best in the entire country.
Steve Sabins and Co. did a good job of playing it safe with him early, letting him only go two and four innings in his first two starts before turning him loose. There were a couple of moments where Mountaineer fans had to take a deep breath after he was removed from two starts, one of which was in the Morgantown Regional against Kentucky. He bounced back strong and two days later, pitched a gem against the Wildcats, helping the team advance to the super regionals for the third straight season.
Yehl finished the season with a 9-3 record, an ERA of 2.13, and 112 strikeouts to just 26 walks. He was also the first WVU hurler to win Big 12 Pitcher of the Year since Alek Manoah, who did it in 2019.
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