Randy Mazey Has Changed the Expectations at West Virginia

If you haven't already, it's time to buy stock in the Mountaineers.

It wasn't the ending that Randy Mazey or anyone inside the WVU baseball program wanted, but it doesn't take away from all that the Mountaineers accomplished this season.

They tied a program record with 40 wins, won the Big 12 regular season championship, had the Big 12 Player of the Year, JJ Wetherholt, who was also the best hitter in the nation, and set attendance records left and right.

"When we joined the Big 12 eleven years ago, everybody in our circle said, 'Yeah, football, they'll be fine and Coach Huggins in basketball, he'll be fine. But poor baseball. What's going to happen to the baseball program?' And ten years later, here we are going to three regionals, played in the Big 12 championship twice, and have a trophy in our trophy case now for winning the Big 12 championship," Mazey said following Sunday's loss. 

"So, the last ten years has been really, really good. We've been ranked in the top 25 now in parts of seven consecutive seasons. And for West Virginia, the outlier in the Big 12, with all of our challenges geographically and weather-wise and travel-wise, for us to what we've done over the past ten years is literally nothing but a tribute to the coaches that I've had, the culture that we have in our program, the blue-collar mentality we have in our program, the play with a chip on your shoulder mentality, that's how we've done it. The ten years have been really good for us. I think the next ten years can even be better. We've put ourselves in a position now that if you're a high school baseball player or somebody going to think about playing college baseball somewhere, West Virginia's been in the top 25 for seven straight seasons. Why wouldn't I look at the Mountaineers? We've gotten this program to that point and I'm proud of the people who are responsible for it."

The baseball program has come a long, long way, as the WVU skipper stated. Prior to Mazey's arrival in 2013, West Virginia had not reached the NCAA Tournament since 1996. During the 21-year gap, the Mountaineers had seven losing seasons and won more than 30 games just six times. Mazey has already matched that having won 30+ games six times in 10 seasons (if we don't include the 16-game COVID year) and has finished with a sub .500 record once.

When Mazey took over, the program lacked the resources to seriously compete in the Big 12. Hawley Field was considered one of the worst "stadiums" in all of Power Five college baseball and it's not hard to see why. I mean, just look at how big of an upgrade Monongalia County Ballpark is.

Hawley Field - Photo courtesy of WVU Athletics Communications

Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark - Photo courtesy of WVU Athletics Communications

No one expected this kind of success at West Virginia. And the most exciting part about it is, they're just getting started. This is how programs are built. Land a quality head coach, invest in resources, set program records, establish new expectations, reach new levels of success, and put guys in the big leagues. 

In my opinion, there is no ceiling for this program. They can reach the pinnacle of college baseball. It may take time, but they can do it. Fan and recruiting interest is at an all-time high and when you have that high level of buy-in, special things can take place. 

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