MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — This is the second part in a two-part story highlighting the top West Virginia sports stories in 2025.
#13 – Gerald Harrison named Marshall’s Director of Athletics
Weeks prior to the start of the 2025-2026 academic year, Gerald Harrison was officially hired to replace Christian Spears as the Director of Athletics at Marshall University.
Harrison came to Huntington from Austin Peay, where he led their department of athletics for seven seasons. He was responsible for the hiring of 16 coaches at Austin Peay, six of which won Coach of the Year honors over his tenure.
Harrison navigated Austin Peay through a pair of conference transitions, including a move from the Ohio Valley to the Atlantic Sun in 2022, and more recently, an announcement that the Governors are joining the newly-formed United Athletic Conference — which provides partnership between football-playing members of the ASUN and Western Athletic Conference — for all sports in 2026.
#12 – Expansions to state tournament fields
Keeping with recent trends in sports like basketball, football and later baseball and softball, several high school sports entered the 2025-2026 academic year with expanded state tournament fields.
Cross country, golf, swimming, tennis and track are sports that have been expanded by one classification. Cross country, golf and track are now four-class sports, tennis will expand to three classes and swimming is now a two-class sport.
The 2024-2025 academic year was the first that contained four classes in softball and baseball.
In separate expansions that will be put in place for the first time in the spring of 2026, the baseball state tournament will welcome 32 teams (eight per class) and will feature 28 games. The state softball tournament will utilize an eight-team, double-elimination format, calling for up to 60 games to determine the four champions.
#11 – WVU football struggles in first season with Rich Rodriguez back to lead the Mountaineers
The 2.0 version of the Rich Rodriguez coaching tenure at West Virginia University bore resemblances to his opening season in 2001. The Mountaineers endured a 4-8 season in 2025, the program’s worst campaign since 2013. Working with a roster of over 80 new players, a rash of injuries adversely affected the quarterback and running back positions, leaving both groups perilously thin on depth throughout the second half of the season.
The Mountaineers rallied past rival Pittsburgh, 31-24 in overtime, allowing Rodriguez to gain some measure of revenge from the 2007 loss that cost WVU a spot in the national championship game. West Virginia’s best performance came at Houston in a 45-35 victory over the 22nd-ranked Cougars. However, a five-game midseason losing streak doomed the Mountaineers.
Three days after the season ended, Rodriguez welcomed a new recruiting class with 49 new players, including one of the nation’s best offensive linemen in Harrisburg High School prospect Kevin Brown.
#10 – Parkersburg native Kim Caldwell leads Tennessee to Sweet 16
Former Glenville State and Marshall head coach Kim Caldwell made a quick and highly-successful transition to one of the legacy programs in women’s college basketball. In her first season leading the Tennessee women’s basketball team, Caldwell guided the Lady Vols to a 24-10 record and a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Tennessee defeated South Florida and Ohio State in the Big Dance before falling to Texas in the regional quarterfinal round.
Caldwell, a Parkersburg South High School graduate, implemented her style of uptempo offense and pressure defense at UT. Caldwell and her husband, Justin Caldwell, celebrated the birth of their first son, Conor Scott, who was born on Jan. 20, 2025.
#9 – Huntington wins hosting rights for state baseball tournament
For the first time in nearly five decades, the WVSSAC State Baseball Tournament will be held outside of the City of Charleston. Marshall University’s Jack Cook Field will host the 2026 tournament in the opening year of a three-year agreement that also includes an option for the 2029 event.
“We are grateful for the interest shown by communities across West Virginia in hosting the baseball championships,” said Wayne Ryan, WVSSAC Executive Director. “The City of Huntington and Marshall University presented a strong proposal, and we’re excited to partner with them to provide a high-quality championship experience for student-athletes, coaches, and fans at a premier facility.
“We also want to extend our sincere thanks to the City of Charleston and our partners there who have supported and taken great care of the baseball championships for many years,” Ryan added. “Charleston continues to play a vital role in hosting several state championship events, and we value the strong relationship we’ve built with them over time.”
Marshall has played two seasons at Jack Cook Field, an all-turf facility that opened in 2024 with a seating capacity of 3,500.
State baseball has been held in Charleston annually since 1980 with the exception of 2020 when there was no tournament. Games were played at Watt Powell Park from 1980-2004 and at Appalachian Power Park, now known as GoMart Ballpark, since 2005.
The 2026 WVSSAC State Baseball Championships will be held June 6-13.
#8 – WVU rifle wins 20th National Championship
After a longer-than-usual gap between titles, the WVU rifle team claimed the program’s 20th National Championship. It is the first title for West Virginia since 2017, when WVU won their fifth of five consecutive championships.
WVU entered the final day of competition in third place and 10 points back of Kentucky ahead of the final air rifle relay.
Behind a score of 598 from Natalie Perrin and a 597 from Ashlyn Blake, the Mountaineers pulled out a one-point win over the Wildcats.
Head coach Jon Hammond now has seven National Championships in 19 seasons on his resume.
West Virginia completed the 2024-25 season with a 13-0 mark in the regular season and a 5-0 overall in the Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) competition. It marks the second straight season WVU has finished the regular season with a perfect record. The 2025 NCAA Rifle National Champions also claimed the program’s 17th GARC Conference Championship and 16th GARC Regular Season title this season.
#7 – Wayne County schools win pair of girls basketball state titles
Playing back-to-back on the final day of the WVSSAC Girls Basketball State Tournament, Wayne County schools Spring Valley and Wayne claimed state championships by posting 17-point victories.
The Pioneers defeated top-seeded Nitro, 57-39 while the Timberwolves knocked off Morgantown, 62-45. Charleston Catholic (Class AA) and Gilmer County (Class A) also won state championships.
Game highlights (Class AAA Championship): No. 2 Wayne 56, No. 1 Nitro 39: #wvgirlsbb pic.twitter.com/sBCpkVMDyV
— MetroNews Sports (@MetroNewsSports) March 15, 2025
Game highlights (Class AAAA Championship): No. 1 Spring Valley 62, No. 2 Morgantown 45: #wvgirlsbb pic.twitter.com/ZzW3rtvNNd
— MetroNews Sports (@MetroNewsSports) March 15, 2025
Game highlights (Class AA State Championship): No. 3 Charleston Catholic 55, No. 1 Wheeling Central Catholic 41: #wvgirlsbb pic.twitter.com/wDLHJvNsjI
— MetroNews Sports (@MetroNewsSports) March 15, 2025
Game highlights (Class A Championship): No. 1 Gilmer County 66, No. 2 Tug Valley 22: #wvgirlsbb pic.twitter.com/seziXV0Ccg
— MetroNews Sports (@MetroNewsSports) March 16, 2025
#6 – Frantic finishes in state high school football championships
With three games decided by seven points or less, the WVSSAC State Football Championships featured some of the most competitive matchups across the board in recent years.
Morgantown secured their first state championship since 2005 with a 28-21 win over Martinsburg in the Class AAAA final. Wheeling Central Catholic wrapped up play on Friday with a 56-34 win over Clay-Battelle in the Class A Championship.
On Saturday, Frankfort scored on a game-winning 43-yard touchdown pass from Braydn Tyler to Keiton Nestor with three seconds left to defeat Bluefield, 49-42. The Falcons have won 28 consecutive games and back-to-back Class AA state championships. In the grand finale, Princeton stopped a two-point conversion attempt inside the final two minutes to win their first Class AAA title, 36-35 over Nitro.
MetroNews Broadcast Highlights (Class AAAA Championship): No. 1 Morgantown 28, No. 3 Martinsburg 21. #wvprepfb pic.twitter.com/eLicjQZ0Ci
— MetroNews Sports (@MetroNewsSports) December 5, 2025
MetroNews broadcast highlights (Class A Championship): Wheeling Central 56, Clay-Battelle 34 #wvprepfb pic.twitter.com/O54FxGRb4I
— MetroNews Sports (@MetroNewsSports) December 6, 2025
Broadcast Highlights: Frankfort defeats Bluefield 49-42 in an instant classic for the AA State Championship pic.twitter.com/qOVtCvsZzB
— MetroNews Sports (@MetroNewsSports) December 6, 2025
Broadcast Highlights: Princeton defeats Nitro 36-35 in the AAA State Championship pic.twitter.com/CaJi4SNrSm
— MetroNews Sports (@MetroNewsSports) December 7, 2025
#5 – Down to five players, WVU bests No. 15 Duke
Without over half of their roster available in the second half, the WVU women’s basketball team found a way past then-15th ranked Duke, 57-49 in a game played at the Greenbrier Resort.
Six of the 11 Mountaineers were ejected in an incident between the two teams just prior to the conclusion of the first half. Duke’s Jordan Wood blocked a shot attempted by WVU guard Jordan Harrison as time was expiring. Wood and Harrison then got physical and pushed one another, leading to a flagrant 2 foul on both players and automatic ejections. Several other plays entered or neared the fracas, with WVU’s Gia Cooke, Kierra “MeMe” Wheeler, Jordan Thomas, Carter McCray and Maddie Parrish all ejected for coming off the bench and on the court during the dispute.
Sydney Shaw, Sydney Woodley, Riley Makalusky, CiCi Riviere and Loghan Johnson comprised West Virginia’s five for the final two quarters.
“We had like 2 minutes to come up with a game plan and how we were going to play with five,” WVU head coach Mark Kellogg said.
Facing a three-point deficit to start the second half, the Mountaineers went in front 12 seconds into the third quarter and gained the lead for good not long after, utilizing a lineup of Shaw and four reserves to outscore the Blue Devils by 11 points after halftime
#4 – Interim head coach Shannon Layton leads Spring Mills to first state title
Shannon Layton guided Spring Mills to their first basketball state title after a thrilling Class AAAA Championship game, 41-38 over George Washington. Layton, an assistant coach of the Cardinals who was promoted to their permanent head coach following the season, helped Spring Mills to a 24-1 season.
Bridgeport (Class AAA), Wheeling Central Catholic (Class AA) and Tug Valley (Class A) also secured state championships on the final day of the basketball season.
Game highlights (Class AAAA state championship): No. 1 Spring Mills 41, No. 3 George Washington 38: #wvprepbb pic.twitter.com/tPdW106O92
— MetroNews Sports (@MetroNewsSports) March 22, 2025
Game highlights (Class AAA state championship): No. 1 Bridgeport 62, No. 3 Nitro 40: #wvprepbb pic.twitter.com/Ct2RDWKBe6
— MetroNews Sports (@MetroNewsSports) March 22, 2025
Game highlights (Class AA state championship): No. 2 Wheeling Central Catholic 59, No. 1 Williamstown 40: #wvprepbb pic.twitter.com/4Gt3pBW4jp
— MetroNews Sports (@MetroNewsSports) March 22, 2025
Game highlights (Class A state championship): No. 1 Tug Valley 65, No. 2 Tucker County 45: #wvprepbb pic.twitter.com/PnhfIzdWW3
— MetroNews Sports (@MetroNewsSports) March 23, 2025
#3 – Darian DeVries leaves after one season, Ross Hodge becomes WVU’s fourth head coach in four years
Hours after the WVU men’s basketball team was denied a bid to the NCAA Tournament, first-year head coach Darian DeVries jettisoned Morgantown for Bloomington to coach the Indiana Hoosiers.
“Coach DeVries informed me of his plans to accept the head coaching position at another institution,” WVU Director of Athletics Wren Baker said in a statement released through the university. “Coach and I had several conversations in recent weeks focused on working together to build on a strong foundation and continue to grow our program. I made it clear to him that WVU is committed to invest in him and provide the resources needed to compete in the Big 12 and nationally. Ultimately, he decided to move on, and I want to thank him for his time at WVU.”
The 49-year-old DeVries helped guide the Mountaineers to a 19-13 record, 10 wins in Big 12 play and non-conference victories over Gonzaga and Arizona in his lone season.
A week after DeVries’ departure, Baker hired Ross Hodge to become WVU’s fourth head coach in four seasons. Hodge came from North Texas, Baker’s former program, to become the 24th leader of the Mountaineers. WVU is off to a 9-4 start this season heading into conference play.
#2 – WVU baseball wins Big 12 regular season title, returns to NCAA Super Regionals
Two trophies were added to the display at Kendrick Family Ballpark in Steve Sabins’ first season leading the WVU baseball team. West Virginia won the outright Big 12 regular season championship and the Clemson Regional in the NCAA Tournament.
West Virginia posted a 19-9 Big 12 regular season record. They were the only Big 12 team without double-digits in conference losses. The Mountaineers entered the NCAA Tournament with a 41-14 record. WVU went 3-0 in the opening-round regional at Clemson, defeating the Tigers once and Kentucky twice, including a 13-12 win over the Wildcats in the regional championship game.
The following weekend, West Virginia dropped both games in their Super Regional series at LSU. The Tigers went on to win the national championship. WVU’s season ended with a record of 44-16.
#1 – WVU men’s basketball team snubbed from NCAA Tournament
A sudden end to the season for the WVU men’s basketball team was soon followed by the sudden departure of their head coach. In a stunning move, the Mountaineers were denied a bid into the NCAA Tournament. They were listed as the last team left out of the field of 68.
“West Virginia had an outstanding year and knowing Tucker DeVries was hurt, player availability is something we talk about quite a bit,” said Bubba Cunningham, Chair of the NCAA Selection Committee, who also serves as Director of Athletics at North Carolina.
The Tar Heels were the last team to make the field as one of four at-large play-in teams.
The Mountaineers (19-13, 10-10) finished No. 51 in the NCAA Net Rating, having defeated six Quad 1 opponents in 16 matchups.
WVU was 11-2 at one point, including a 6-2 start with DeVries in the lineup before he was shut down for the season due to a shoulder injury.
After Darian DeVries departed for Indiana two days after the selection show, WVU did not accept a bid to any other postseason tournament.