The WVU Baseball season is over. It's now time to keep track of the transfers in and out of the program, while keeping tabs on the roster as a whole.
Chris Anderson
West Virginia University's 2023-24 season - and the final season of the Randy Mazey tenure - is over. The Mountaineers finished the year at 36-24 overall, 19-11 in the Big 12 Conference, and advanced to the Super Regionals for the first time in the history of the program. Sadly, in the world of college sports, there is little time to reminisce and enjoy the moment, as players will be entering the NCAA Transfer Portal and/or announcing their MLB Draft plans. Here is EerSports' WVU Baseball Transfer and Roster Tracker.
Before we get started, though, a couple notes. Scholarships are different for baseball than they are for basketball and football. That could change with pending NCAA legislation but, with it being the way it is right now, we're going to list every player on the WVU roster (per the school's official website) and go from there. We will also use that to determine eligibility so, if there are any complaints with that, point your anger in that direction.
Second, a little refresher on MLB Draft rules. The draft that most fans know about is technically the Rule 4 Draft, which is the First-Year Player Draft. The full rules can be found at the MLB site, but the two important factors for this exercise are this: A player is eligible directly out of high school. If they go to a four-year college (i.e. WVU), then they are not eligible again until they finish their junior year or they turn 21 years old no later than 45 days after the draft (key note on that which we will discuss later), whichever comes first.
Finally, this tracker will be similar to our football tracker. We will list the transfers out of the program, and then go position group by position group breaking down what the situation is at each - right-handed pitcher, left-handed pitcher, catcher, infield, outfield. We've seen how creative Mazey has been with moving guys around and, presumably, the apple (Sabins) won't fall far from the tree on that, sogetting more specific than those groups may be a futile exercise.
Without further ado.....
- June 12th - Manhattan shortstop Chase Swain has committed to WVU. Swain batted .392 this past year and successfully stole 15 bases on 16 attempts. He was a sophom*ore this past season.
- June 11th #2 - Reserve catcher Luke Szepek is in the NCAA Transfer Portal. As a freshman, Szepek appeared in 18 games, getting 17 bats and registering two hits.
- June 11th - Kent State transfer pitcher Jack Kartsonas has committed to WVU. The right-handed pitcher started off rough last year (two starts, 14 earned runs allowed), but then finished by allowing just 14 earned runs in his next nine appearances.
Transfers Into the Program:
Griffin Kirn, LHP, Quincy University
Jack Kartsonas, RHP, Kent State
Chase Swain, SS, Manhattan
Players with EligibilityLeaving via the MLB Draft:
JJ Wetherholt, SS (unofficial, but.... yeah)
Transfers Out of the Program:
Andrew Callaway, LHP
Nick Barone, IF
Tony Konopiots, IF
Lincoln Pack, OF
Tyler Cox, OF
Luke Szepek, C
below classes listed are projected for 2024-25 and assume zero redshirts
Right-Handed Pitchers
Finished Eligibility:Hambleton Oliver, Hayden Cooper
Leaving via Transfer:N/A
Leaving via MLB Draft or Retirement:N/A
Returners with Eligibility (* indicates also eligible for MLB Draft):Aidan Major (Sr.*),Robby Porco (Jr.), Tommy Beam (r-Jr.), Carson Estridge (Jr.), Bryce Amos (Jr.), Gavin Van Kempen (Jr.), Luke Lyman (Jr.), David Hagaman (Jr.), Aidan Smith (So.), Chase Meyer (So.), JJ Glassco*ck (So.)
Transfer Commitments: Jack Kartsonas
High School Commitments:Maclelland Stiffler, Carlos Caraballo, Aiden Cody, Tucker DeLisle, David Hagen, Ben Hudson, Bryson Hoff, Bryant Yoak
Projected 2024-25 Roster Total:20
Left-Handed Pitchers
Finished Eligibility:Derek Clark
Leaving via Transfer:Andrew Callaway
Leaving via MLB Draft or Retirement:N/A
Returnerswith Eligibility (* indicates also eligible for MLB Draft):Tyler Switalski (Sr.*), Cole Fehrman (Jr.), Maxx Yehl (Jr.) Joseph Fredericks (So.)
Transfer Commitments:Griffin Kirn
High School Commitments:JD Costanzo, Ryan Press
Projected 2024-25 Roster Total:7
Catchers
Finished Eligibility:N/A
Leaving via Transfer:Luke Szepek
Leaving via MLB Draft or Retirement:N/A
Returnerswith Eligibility (* indicates also eligible for MLB Draft):Logan Sauve (Jr.* - turns 21 within 45 days of draft), Brody Dalton (So.)
Commitments:Gavin Kelly, Sammy Laux
Projected 2024-25 Roster Total:4
Infielders
Finished Eligibility:Reed Chumley
Leaving via Transfer:Nick Barone, Tony Konopiots
Leaving via MLB Draft or Retirement:JJ Wetherholt
Returnerswith Eligibility (* indicates also eligible for MLB Draft):Grant Hussey (Sr.*), Brodie Kresser (Sr.*), Kyle West (Sr.*), Ellis Garcia (Jr.), Spencer Barnett (So.), Armani Guzman (So. - but played half in the outfield)
Transfer Commitments:Chase Swain
High School Commitments:Ryan Maggy, Bransen Hensley, Jackson Ingram, Maxwell Molessa, Robert Phelps
Projected 2024-25 Roster Total:12
Outfielders
Finished Eligibility:N/A
Leaving via Transfer:Lincoln Pack, Tyler Cox
Leaving via MLB Draft or Retirement:N/A
Returnerswith Eligibility (* indicates also eligible for MLB Draft):Skylar King (Jr.), Ben Lumsden (Jr.), Sam White (Jr.), Alex Marot (So.), Michael Perazza (So.), Aaron Jamison (So.)
Commitments:Griffin Burkholder, Jorge Valdes
Projected 2024-25 Roster Total:8
