In two seasons as head coach at West Virginia, Steve Sabins has consistently kept an even-keeled approach.
He didn’t go into a state of despair when the Mountaineers lost eight of 11 to end the 2025 regular season, a stretch that included one-run setbacks to Marshall and Pitt and a three-game sweep at the expense of Kansas, souring the celebration of a Big 12 Conference championship in Morgantown.
Having lost nine of 13 ahead of the NCAA Tournament, Sabins’ first West Virginia responded by going 3-0 in the Clemson Regional and qualified for a Super Regional for a second straight season.
Three weeks ago, Sabins wasn’t overly dejected when the Mountaineers did next to nothing well in a 23-1 home loss to the Panthers, and there was cause for concern later that week after WVU dropped the last two of a three-game set at Cincinnati.
Since then, the ability to stay present and not dwell on the past or rest on its laurels has helped West Virginia put together its best prolonged stretch this season — one that includes seven straight victories and a recent three-game sweep at nationally-ranked Kansas where the Mountaineers outscored the Jayhawks, 22-5.
So as WVU prepares to welcome TCU for a three-game series with a second straight Big 12 title and a top 16 national seed both well within reach for the No. 9 Mountaineers (35-12, 19-8), surely, one would figure, Sabins is harping on the importance of both.
Try again.
“We try to avoid all that stuff, because the swings are so great if you get tied up in all that stuff,” he said. “Three weeks ago, we could’ve been missing a regional or hosting and then you go from a national seed to you get spanked and sucked and don’t make a regional. The swings are too great to try to capture what you’re playing for. You’re playing to get better and play clean baseball and enjoy each other.”
But the importance of what lies ahead strictly because of what has already been accomplished isn’t lost on Sabins.
The Mountaineers have a two-game lead for sole possession of second place in the Big 12 and trail Kansas (37-15, 20-7) by one game in the league standings. A combination of at least four Mountaineer victories and Jayhawk losses would ensure WVU of a second straight Big 12 championship and the top seed in the conference tournament. The Jayhawks play three games at BYU (25-25, 13-14) starting Thursday.
Of even more importance is the opportunity to host a regional, something West Virginia did in 2019 for the second time in program history and first in 64 years with Sabins serving as an assistant.
The Mountaineers’ RPI is 18 as of Monday and they need at least a few more wins between the series with the Horned Frogs and the Big 12 Tournament to feel good about their chances of being one of 16 host teams in the NCAA Tournament.
“Every week there is some scenario in what you’re playing for whether that’s a top 25 ranking or to be seeded in this or that or whatever you’re doing,” Sabins said. “I don’t think we get caught up. We’ve been through this a lot the last decade and gotten to see all these swings and emotions. We’ve led the Big 12 and not played well down the stretch, we’ve been the other guy chasing the team in front and everything in between. For us, it’s more about showing up and playing really good baseball and trying to execute.”
Knowing full well there will be adversity throughout any college baseball season because of the high volume of games, Sabins stresses to never get too high or too low.
“It starts with the staff. You have a bunch of adults and they’re around young people day in and day out,” Sabins said. “They see how they respond, talk and approach each day. But a lot of it is talking about it in the fall and the expectations. We had a big meeting and kind of joked about it, because we pulled up tons of social media accounts from the end of our season last year into the regional. Last year, we scuffled down the stretch and there’s a lot of doubters and the season is over, we choked it off, and we did this and did that. Every game of the regional that we were trailing, a player screwed up or a coaching decision was terrible and you get back in the game and those are the greatest coaching decisions and plays in history, and then you’re trailing to win the regional and you screwed that up, but then we won the regional and everybody should get extensions and it’s the greatest team in program history.
“We showed from the beginning to the end of the season and the swings. If you lose to a regional rival, whether that’s Marshall, Pitt or Penn State, you stink. But when you play this many games and are with a group of people that are human, there are ups and downs.”
In the case of the Mountaineers, there’s been far more ups and most downs have been temporary, something that can be attributed to talent, coaching and demeanor.
“Have these guys understand, because they’re going to get kicked in the balls off the baseball field in life with whatever they’re dealing with,” Sabins said. “If it’s sick parents or kids or issues, and you either have a choice to either get totally fixated on some of the failure and adversity or you kind of keep moving and getting better. That’s always our message. Our life is just a little more highlighted because people follow along with it. I’m really excited that people care enough to be passionate about what we’re doing and live with the struggles and failures, but our job is to not get too emotionally tied into those things.”