West Virginia with a lot to replace following 2025 MLB Draft
With the 2025 MLB Draft over, there are now a lot of answers in terms of what West Virginia is going to bring back next season.
The Mountaineers had five players get drafted and another two get signed through free agent deals. Out of those seven, four had eligibility remaining, while all seven had a major impact for West Virginia this past season.
Pitching
West Virginia lost only one pitcher who was eligible to return, as the Los Angeles Dodgers drafted Robby Porco. Outside of him, the major losses for WVU on the mound came from Griffin Kirn and Jack Kartsonas leaving due to eligibility, as well as multiple guys entering the transfer portal.
Overall, West Virginia totaled 534 innings on the mound in 2025, with 190 of those innings leaving due to graduation. The mountaineers then lost another 76 innings to the transfer portal, meaning before the draft, they were set to return 49.94 percent of their innings from last season.
Porco was one of a handful of draft-eligible players for the Mountaineers, but he did not tally too many innings. He pitched 21.1 innings last season, meaning WVU is now set to return 45.94 percent of their innings from last season.
Out of that group, Reese Bassinger, Carson Estridge, and Chase Meyer are the top returners in terms of innings, with Bassinger leading the way in terms of innings pitched, despite not starting a single game.
Beyond just the innings, WVU is also losing overall production on the mound. West Virginia is returning 43.2 percent of their strikeouts from last season, and returning only 25 percent of their games started.
Lineup
While WVU’s pitching staff is having to replace a lot, the Mountaineers are also going to have to find answers at the plate heading into next season.
West Virginia had three hitters drafted, and another signed, and unlike on the mound, three of the four were eligible to return.
The Mountaineers lost Logan Sauve, Skylar King, and Sam White, as those three combined for a lot of the production on offense. Between the three of them, they had 30 percent of WVU’s at-bats, 29 percent of their runs scored, 30 percent of their hits, and 27 percent of their runs batted in from this past season. They also accounted for only 21 percent of WVU’s team strikeouts at the plate.
Overall, WVU is set to return 26 percent of their at-bats, 27 percent of their runs scored, 24.5 percent of their hits, 15 percent of their home runs, and then 25 percent of their overall games started. One piece to that puzzle is Brodie Kresser, who will return for a final year of eligibility.
Kresser’s return does WVU a big favor, as without him, they would’ve been left with only 15.8 percent of their returning at-bats, 16 percent of their runs scored, 15 percent of their hits, 10 percent of their home runs, and 14 percent of their games started.
Still, with Kresser returning, WVU only returns two of their top ten hitters in terms of at-bats from last season. The only other returner on the list would be Gavin Kelly, who had 167 at-bats this past season. Other important returners include Armani Guzman and Ben Lumsden, both of whom started for WVU during the postseason this year.
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