MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — South Charleston High School graduate Xavier Bausley is headed back home to West Virginia. After two seasons at Jacksonville State, the offensive lineman announced on Sunday that he is transferring to WVU.
“The transfer portal is a whole lot different than the high school recruiting process. You have a very short amount of time. It almost feels like speed dating to get to know these coaches very quickly. It all came down to the coaches that built the best relationship with me in the very short amount of time we had,” Bausley said on Sunday’s Citynet Statewide Sportsline.
“It is finding out how interested they really are and the best chance that you have to play. You have to look out for a lot of these Power 5’s that are looking to recruit you for depth and not have an actual shot at the starting position. The schools in my top three (WVU, Kentucky, Pittsburgh) appeared to have a need at tackle and that need was expressed to me by the coaches.”
💛💙 pic.twitter.com/23vM3CXkAE
— Xavier Bausley (@BausleyXavier) January 7, 2024
Bausley graduated from South Charleston in 2021. He was a member of three playoff teams at SCHS and the Black Eagles’ undefeated team in 2020.
Bausley redshirted in 2022 at Jacksonville State. In his first season of action in 2023, Bausley started 11 of 12 regular season games at right tackle. He was named to the Freshman All-America team by The Athletic. Bausley was also named to the Conference USA All-Freshman Team. Jacksonville State, led by former WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez, went 9-4 this season with a win over Louisiana in the New Orleans Bowl. Former WVU assistant coach Rick Trickett was Bausley’s position coach at JSU.
“I have nothing but respect for Jacksonville State. I love Rich Rodriguez and that whole staff. I really had a blast getting to know those guys. I built life-long relationships with the coaches and the players. But I just felt like there were bigger opportunities out there for me and my family.”
Bausley says playing close to home was a significant factor in his decision.
“I am a big family guy with a pretty big family that loves to come to my games. When I was at Jacksonville, it was about an eight-hour drive. So it was really tough to make it especially since we have a lot of midweek games at Jacksonville just to get on national TV.”
The 6-foot-5, 315-pound Bausley visited West Virginia and Kentucky this weekend in his final recruiting stops. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining.