West Virginia
West Virginia gets their mojo back in win over Cincinnati
Over the past two weekends, West Virginia was chasing down a Big 12 title. That title chase, while successful, slowed down the Mountaineers’ momentum.
Thursday’s win over Cincinnati hopes to have restored that momentum as that winning feeling returned to the West Virginia dugout.
“It felt like we had pressed, and we had pushed, and we had pressed. And there was a Big 12 regular season title on the line. And no matter what you say and how you prepare, when these kids pour this much into being great, they do feel that. And so I felt over the course of the last few weeks, maybe the guys were pressing for hits or trying to have success for the program. That’s all they want, man. These guys go to work every day to do something special for our state, community, and university,” West Virginia head coach Steve Sabins said.
WVU won their first outright Big 12 title last weekend, but this weekend, they are hoping to win their first Big 12 Tournament title. That motivation does not come from Sabins who is in his first season as head coach, but it is player driven for the Mountaineers.
“I don’t think anything I say at this point is going to change how these guys play or perform. It’s their team. It’s been their team for a long time. They’ve taken ownership of this team. Guys like these [Griffin Kirn and Kyle West], these guys will dictate how far this team goes. I’m going to try to put them in positions to be successful. That’s my job at this point. But there’s no rah, rah speeches. There’s nothing that I can say or do at this point,” Sabins said.
That feeling of accountability is something West feels. He’s in his second season as a Mountaineer, but understood what this team went through each of the last two weeks.
“I think coming the last two weeks were obviously not what we wanted. We lost two series. We had time to regroup, think about what had happened the past two weeks, reflect on it for positive. When you start looking into the negative, you get so deep down a rabbit hole, and you try and fix everything. But on the surface, we’re an elite-level baseball team. So, try and regroup, recuperate on what we do well, and take that into this weekend. And I think we showed tonight what we did all season. So I think it’s a great start, and looking forward, I think we’re in a great position,” West said.
The thing that helped West Virginia flush what happened in the regular season is the idea that once the tournament start, it’s an entirely new season.
“But I do think before we came here, we did remind the guys that there’s certainly some doubters. So we just won a Big 12 title, and we tied the most wins in program history, and there’s still a lot of doubters of what that was. And so you have a choice. You can either play with a chip on your shoulder. You can use that for fuel. Or you can ignore it. Those are the options,” Sabins said.
It seems as though West Virginia used it for fuel, as a 10-3 win over Cincinnati put the Mountaineers in the Big 12 Semifinals.
“I have my preference. [Kirn] probably has his preference. Kyle West has his preference. But everybody in that locker room knows how special this team is and what we’ve accomplished. I think the most important thing you hit on, stumbled at the end. Well, this is the beginning. And so we don’t really want to look at it like the end, because if you think it’s the end, then it’s the end. And so we talked about something new, a rebirth, getting to go start a new season basically today,” Sabins said.
WHEELING, W.Va. — The West Virginia First Foundation visited the Wheeling Police Department to commend its efforts in addressing the area’s mental health and opioid crisis.
Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger presented to the WVFF board, highlighting the department’s progress.
Schwertfeger attributed a 14% decrease in Group A crimes from 2024 to 2025 to the department’s crisis intervention program.
“Just another great partnership,” he said. “More collaboration in this area that we are very proud of and we want to keep the momentum going,.”
WVFF Executive Director Jonathan Board praised the program’s success.
“This in particular, the CIT program, that isn’t just in the ether, but is showing success – actual scientific success about de-escalation, about bringing together services providers and to boots on the ground and first responders, this is vitally important to not only this region but the entire state,” Board said.
The visit was part of WVFF’s ‘Hold the Line’ tour across the state.
Now that you know about West Virginia’s 2026 recruiting class, I figured it’d be a good time to give a little insight into those who were once committed to the Mountaineers and landed elsewhere.
What happened, and where did they go?
QB Brodie McWhorter (Mississippi State)
McWhorter committed to Neal Brown and his coaching staff, but reopened his recruitment when the coaching change was made. Rich Rodriguez did recruit him at the beginning, holding several conversations with him before backing off and pursuing Jyron Hughley and Legend Bey. Hughley committed, Bey committed to Ohio State (signed with Tennessee), while WVU added two more quarterbacks in Wyatt Brown and John Johnson III.
RB Jett Walker (Texas)
Walker fit the bill for what Rodriguez wanted in the backfield. A big, physical presence who could absorb contact and hammer it in between the tackles. With multiple backs committed and feeling good about a few others, WVU didn’t feel pressed to hold onto him. Walker flipped to Minnesota and then flipped to Texas just three weeks later
WR Jeffar Jean-Noel (Georgia Tech)
Jean-Noel was the second recruit to commit to Rodriguez in the 2026 class, but reopened his recruitment in mid-April. He then considered Purdue, Pitt, Kentucky, UCF, and Florida State before landing at Georgia Tech.
OL Justyn Lyles (Marshall)
The Mountaineers had a number of offensive line commits, and with the late additions of Kevin Brown and Aidan Woods, and their chances of securing Jonas Muya, Lyles took a visit to Marshall and flipped his commitment.
LB Caleb Gordon (North Carolina)
Gordon’s commitment to WVU was very brief. As a matter of fact, it was the shortest of the bunch, announcing his pledge on November 24th and then flipping to NC State on the first day of the early signing period (December 3rd).
LB Daiveon Taylor (Kent State)
Taylor was the first commit in the class; however, it was so early that he was committed to Neal Brown’s staff, announcing his decision in April of 2024. He backed off that pledge the very day Brown was fired (December 1st) and eventually signed with Kent State.
CB Emari Peterson (unsigned)
Peterson decommitted from WVU just days before signing day, likely due to the Mountaineers zeroing in on a pair of JUCO corners in Rayshawn Reynolds and Da’Mun Allen. He will sign in February and currently has offers from Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Bowling Green, Charlotte, Cincinnati, East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, FIU, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Kentucky, Liberty, LSU, South Florida, Southern Miss, Texas A&M, Toledo, Wake Forest, and a few others.
S Aaron Edwards (committed to Tulsa)
West Virginia chose to part ways with Edwards and ultimately replaced his spot with fellow JUCO safety Da’Mare Williams.
S Jaylon Jones (undecided)
Jones decommitted in late October and did not sign during the early signing period. He will likely choose between Central Michigan, Hawai’i, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, and Texas State.
S Taj Powell (Louisville)
Taj is the brother of former Mountaineer basketball guard Jonathan Powell, who is now at North Carolina. He decommitted the day after West Virginia lost to Ohio and flipped to Louisville that same day.
MORE STORIES FROM WEST VIRGINIA ON SI
Two Michigan Players WVU Should Pursue if They Enter Portal Following Coaching Change
Cooper Young Adds Name to Growing List of Expected WVU Portal Entries
WVU is Set to Lose Former Top In-State Recruit to the Transfer Portal
Former West Virginia Coordinator Fired After Just One Season at Texas
Another West Virginia Running Back Expected to Hit the Transfer Portal
A West Virginia National Guard member who was fatally shot last month in the nation’s capital was laid to rest with full military honors in a private ceremony.
Spc. Sarah Beckstrom’s funeral took place Tuesday at the West Virginia National Cemetery in Grafton, Gov. Patrick Morrisey said in a statement.
“The ceremony was deeply moving and reflected the strength, grace, and love of a remarkable young woman and the family and friends who surrounded her,” Morrisey said.
Beckstrom graduated with honors from Webster County High School in 2023 and joined the National Guard several weeks later. She served in the 863rd Military Police Company.
Beckstrom and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe were ambushed as they patrolled a subway station three blocks from the White House on Nov. 26. She died the next day.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who was also shot during the confrontation, has been charged with murder. He pleaded not guilty.
Morrisey has said Wolfe, who remains in a hospital in Washington, is slowly healing and his family expects he will be in acute care for another few weeks.
Georgia’s Utility Regulator Rushes Deal for Georgia Power Before Public Hearing – CleanTechnica
Hawaii senator introduces bill to reunite, protect immigrant families
Charges dropped against BYU-Idaho student accused of kidnapping baby at Costco – East Idaho News
Advocates, opponents seek to sway Gov. JB Pritzker on medical aid in dying legislation passed by Illinois General Assembly
Indiana redistricting: Senate Republicans side with Democrats to reject Trump’s voting map
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
Video: Hiker Rescued From Quicksand in Arches National Park
The Speaker’s Lobby: What Congress’ December script means for healthcare next year
Coalition of the Willing calls for transatlantic unity for Ukraine
In a setback for Trump, Indiana lawmakers defeat redistricting plan
House Dem to force Trump impeachment vote on 2 articles
-
Alaska5 days agoHowling Mat-Su winds leave thousands without power
-
Politics1 week agoTrump rips Somali community as federal agents reportedly eye Minnesota enforcement sweep
-
Ohio1 week agoWho do the Ohio State Buckeyes hire as the next offensive coordinator?
-
Texas6 days agoTexas Tech football vs BYU live updates, start time, TV channel for Big 12 title
-
News1 week agoTrump threatens strikes on any country he claims makes drugs for US
-
World1 week agoHonduras election council member accuses colleague of ‘intimidation’
-
Washington3 days agoLIVE UPDATES: Mudslide, road closures across Western Washington
-
Iowa5 days agoMatt Campbell reportedly bringing longtime Iowa State staffer to Penn State as 1st hire