Joe Brocato, Author at WV MetroNews

Ineich drives in six as WVU takes series from Columbia, 16-1

Joe Brocato — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 21:32:32 +0000

GRANVILLE, W.Va. — West Virginia scored runs in six of their eight innings at the plate to take the rubber game of their weekend series with Columbia in emphatic fashion, 16-1. After dropping Friday’s series opener, 7-4, the Mountaineers scored 25 runs in the final two games to win their fourth weekend series in four tries this season.

“I think the guys probably played their best baseball of the weekend today,” said WVU head coach Steve Sabins. “Yesterday was a really gritty win where I think we had to fight through a lot of things and we did it defensively.”

Leadoff batter and shortstop Matt Ineich broke the game open with a grand slam to cap a six-run second inning. Ineich added a two-run single in the third inning to finish the game with six runs batted in.

“It is a really good ballpark here with the win blowing out to left field. It definitely rewards misses for left-handed hitters. To be able to see a fastball like that and stay through it to the backside, I let the wind do the rest,” Ineich said of his grand slam.

Gavin Kelly, Brodie Kresser and Sean Smith also had two hits each. Kresser drove in three runs.

“The consistency of that kid as a human is what I like the most,” Sabins said of Kresser. “He is a Mountaineer through and through. He shows up everyday poised and confident. He is team-oriented. Regardless of the results, he is going to give you host best effort every single day.”

Redshirt junior southpaw Maxx Yehl authored another impressive start for the Mountaineers. He allowed just one run in a season-high six innings of work. He yielded five hits and struck out a season-high nine batters. Yehl has allowed one run in 17 innings of work over four appearances this season. Yehl has increased his innings in each of his four starts.

“It was just the confidence with everything,” Yehl said. “Every time I looked down and saw the pitch called, I was convicted with everything I threw. It just felt good and I kept running positive thoughts through my head.”

“Maxx Yehl gave us an incredible start,” Sabins said. “That was the longest outing of his career. He has now done that for four consecutive weekends.”

Hurricane High School graduate and 2025 West Virginia Player of the Year Weston Smith made his collegiate debut for the Mountaineers in the eighth inning. Smith allowed two hits but he later induced an inning-ending double play to put up a scoreless frame.

“He had been banged up to start the season,” Sabins said. “He had an injury and he had been back and available for about seven days. As a freshman coming back from injury, obviously that is a lot of trust in a coaching staff to then put you in a real game. We have ultimate trust in Weston Smith.

Joshua Suriago and JD Costanzo also posted scoreless innings in relief for West Virginia.

West Virginia (10-3) will host Maryland Tuesday at 2 p.m.

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Kresser’s walk-off grand slam lifts WVU over Columbia in 10 innings, 9-5

Joe Brocato — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 22:37:16 +0000

GRANVILLE, W.Va. — Denied a chance to potentially be the hero in the ninth inning, WVU second baseman Brodie Kresser did not waste a second opportunity when another came in the tenth. Kresser delivered his first walk-off home run at any level of baseball with a grand slam as the Mountaineers defeated Columbia, 9-5 in 10 innings.

With two out, Kresser launched a line drive home run just beyond the wall to the left of the bullpen in left field, touching off a raucous celebration in front of a crowd of 2,885 fans at Wagener Field/Kendrick Family Ballpark.

“I kind of blacked out there. But I knew it had a chance,” Kresser said.

“It was a barnburner today. Things weren’t going our way and then we’d get things going. They answered right back. To do it in extras in the tenth inning was pretty special.”

“When you accomplish certain things, you get to carry yourself differently. You get to walk tall or you get to have that confidence,” said WVU head coach Steve Sabins. “Kresser has been swinging the bat well. But he hadn’t driven the ball like that in a while. I think that was really important for him and our team. You saw jubilation out of that team today.”

With the game tied at 5 in the bottom of the ninth, Kresser stepped to the plate with a runner on first. He hit a sharp ground ball down the left field line that could have produced the winning run but would have at least put two runners in scoring position for West Virginia. However, Sabins called for time just before the pitch was thrown.

“That was unbelievable. We have PitchCom, which is how you control the signs. I gave Kresser a bunt the first pitch. I gave Kresser a bunt on the second pitch. But the PitchCom has different modes. Essentially, the mode had flipped over and I pushed ‘steal’. We did not want to steal in the biggest moment in that situation. So I called timeout pretty early. Unfortunately, that was not granted in a hurry,” Sabins said.

“It is poetic the fact that Kresser comes up later that game with the bases loaded and hits a homer. He is screaming in my face to not feel sorry about the timeout call. He is just a team-oriented guy and knows how this thing flows.”

The game-winning opportunities may not have been possible without a pair of brilliant defensive plays from left fielder Matthew Graveline. With the game tied at 5 in the top of the ninth, Graveline, who shares time at catcher with Gavin Kelly, robbed Owen Estabrook of a potential two-run home run.

“The wind was blowing out pretty hard today,” Graveline said. “I didn’t get much action in the first few innings. I just stayed ready. I was playing pretty deep just in case something like that happened. The ball was traveling pretty well today. I wasn’t too far from the fence. Once I got to the fence, I kind of just jumped up and caught it.”

An inning earlier, Graveline cut down the potential go-ahead run for Columbia. A Jackson Brewer double scored Hunter Snyder to tie the game. However, Graveline’s throw home ended the inning.

“I knew I had to make a really good relay to Matt Ineich,” Graveline said. “It was a good throw and he also made a really good throw to home. [Gavin] Kelly made a really good tag.”

In addition to Graveline’s defensive heroics, first baseman Armani Guzman made a pair of sterling defensive plays in the early innings. Guzman’s first collegiate start at first base came last week in WVU’s home opener against Ohio.

“Guzman was incredible. You guys are learning as I am too because he has played a lot of infield. But you don’t necessarily know what you are going to see when the lights turn on and you’ve got a different glove. He was exceptional.”

WVU starting pitcher Chansen Cole produced five scoreless innings before running into trouble in the sixth. A four-run rally from the Lions (2-6) gave them a 4-3 lead.

“He kept them off balance. He did what he does. He got to 87 pitches today. It looked like going out for the sixth, it didn’t look like the same stuff,” Sabins said of Cole.

“But if you give the Mountaineers five innings, five hits, three runs, we are going to be in every ballgame.”

David Perez (2.1 IP) earned the win in relief for West Virginia.

“We just played really clean defense that allowed us to stay in the game the entire day,” Sabins said. It wasn’t easy, that’s for damn sure. Nothing has been easy for a couple days. It felt like our team needed that. They had been working for that. Maybe they were pressing a little bit. But man, they battled.”

Brewer had two hits and drove in two runs for the Lions. Kelly and Sean Smith each collected three hits for WVU (9-3).

The rubber game of the series will be played Sunday at 12:30 p.m.

Steve Sabins on the value of an extra-inning, walk-off victory to halt a 2-game losing streak: pic.twitter.com/IQeuD6Rn7I

— Joe Brocato (@joebrowvm) March 7, 2026

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Mountaineers sweep regular season series with UCF, 77-62

Joe Brocato — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 04:53:24 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Three days removed from perhaps their most disappointing loss of the season at Kansas State, West Virginia’s all-senior starting lineup authored one more memory on their home court as the Mountaineers pulled away from UCF, 77-62 on Senior Night at Hope Coliseum.

Mar 6, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Ross Hodge celebrates with his players after defeating the UCF Knights at Hope Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images

After defeating the Knights in Orlando three weeks earlier, the Mountaineers secured a regular season sweep of UCF, a team that looks to be on the good side of the NCAA Tournament bubble.

With the win, West Virginia (18-13, 9-9 Big 12) secured an opening-round bye in the Big 12 Conference Tournament. WVU will open play in Kansas City on Wednesday. If Cincinnati loses to TCU Saturday, West Virginia will be the No. 7 seed. If the Bearcats win in Fort Worth, WVU will be the No. 8 seed. West Virginia’s Big 12 Tournament seeding and potential opponents will be finalized Saturday night following the last seven games on the regular season schedule.

“Now it is 0-0 for everybody. And we’re just trying to get as many wins as we can,” said WVU senior forward Brenen Lorient.

WVU’s senior class of six players combined for 74 of WVU’s 77 points.

“It has been, obviously a bumpy road as all things are in life. It is a special moment,” said WVU senior guard Honor Huff. “I have been in college for a minute and there is not a better feeling than what you do after a win here, singing and being able to evoke yourself in emotion in a positive way.”

“It was a very emotional day for us after the ceremony and whatnot,” said WVU senior forward Chance Moore. “We just tried to get a win for the fans, get a win for the guys and execute. Just go out swinging as best as possible.”

“Be able to hear Country Roads with their families in attendance, it will be a moment they will never forget as a family unit for the rest of their lives,” said WVU head coach Ross Hodge.

Slow starts have cost the Mountaineers in many of their losses. On this night, West Virginia built a double-digit first-half lead (22-10) on the strength of a 9-0 run. WVU led 32-23 at intermission.

Mar 6, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Honor Huff (3) shoots a three-point shot during the second half against the UCF Knights at Hope Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images

“Jasper [Floyd] got us off to a good start and finished some baskets around and close to the basket. Trey [Eaglestaff] made a tough three,” Hodge said.

UCF pulled within four points (44-40) midway through the second half before the Mountaineers rebuilt their sizable lead with a 15-4 run and they kept a double-digit advantage the rest of the way. West Virginia turned the ball over just seven times and UCF was held to four fast break points.

“They are so explosive in transition and [Themus] Fulks is such a good passer,” Hodge said. “They have such good athleticism, if you are going to give them live-ball turnovers, they are going to convert.

“I thought we just did a little bit of a better job condensing the open spaces. Harlan [Obioha] did a really good job with his ball screen coverage and he made them play in tighter space.”

Huff led the Mountaineers with 24 points. He went a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line.

“He has grown so much as a player, he has seen just about every defense you can imagine,” Hodge said. “He has been the focal point of every team’s defense that we have played.”

The Mountaineers made 21 of their 25 attempts from the charity stripe.

Mar 6, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Honor Huff (3) celebrates late in the second half with the fans against the UCF Knights at Hope Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images

“If Honor is shooting 10 of your 20 free throws, you are probably going to have a good night at the foul stripe,” Hodge said.

Lorient scored 14 points while Moore chipped in with 13 and Floyd added 10.

UCF (20-10, 9-9 Big 12) was led by Fulks and Riley Kugel. Both players scored 16 points.

West Virginia has their work cut out for them at the Big 12 Tournament, likely facing one of the league’s top two teams in the quarterfinal round if they win their opening game on Wednesday.

“If you have hopes of winning a tournament, you want to play the fewest amount of days possible,” Hodge said.

“Yeah, you are fighting to keep playing games, but if you really care about each other, you are fighting for one more film session, one more plane ride, one more bus trip.

“We put this team together with the belief that we could win games in March and make a run in the NCAA Tournament. I still believe that this team can do that.”

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Columbia holds off late WVU rally to take the series opener, 7-4

Joe Brocato — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 00:07:24 +0000

GRANVILLE, W.Va. — West Virginia was held to a season-low hit total and they could not erase a sizable deficit in a 7-4 series-opening loss to Columbia. The Mountaineers fell behind 6-0 in the fifth inning and saw their comeback bid fizzle out in the late innings.

“Guys played tough. A little bit of press today, I think. I think they came out wanting to play. They were excited to play,” said WVU head coach Steve Sabins. “I thought when we got down early, maybe there was a little bit of press, offensively.”

In his fourth start of the season, WVU pitcher Dawson Montesa allowed a season-high five runs in four innings of work. Columbia (2-5) sent nine batters to the plate in a five-run second inning.

“His fastball today had cut on it. So the velocity was good — 93-96 like it traditionally is. But it was really cutting on him. So that affected his curveball and his splitter. His cutter was different today. Everything was kind of taking off glove side. So he just didn’t have feel.”

Montesa’s counterpart, Alex Sotiropoulos pitched into the sixth inning, allowing three runs [one earned] and three hits.

“Good pitcher, really good. He’s a sophomore and a big-bodied dude at 94-96 [mph]. He’s got plus stuff. He was out of the zone a little bit. But he always kind of got back in the zone.”

WVU’s bullpen kept the game in range by allowing two runs in five innings. Ian Korn allowed one run in three innings.

“He was crisp. It was his longest outing. It was his least amount of traffic. He had three strikeouts in three innings. I thought he took a big step forward today.”

Reese Bassinger allowed an insurance run in the ninth in a two-inning stint.

West Virginia (8-3) chipped away at their six-run deficit with two runs in the fifth and runs in the sixth and seventh innings. Their runs came on a groundout, a throwing error, a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly. The top four hitters in WVU’s lineup combined to go 2-for-15.

“We had one hit [each] between [Gavin] Kelly and [Matt] Ineich today. That’s unusual for us. Those guys have really been fire starters for our offense. We just didn’t quite get in rhythm. We ended up having five hits and four walks. So there was just not a ton of traffic and not a ton of pressure. I thought we made it fairly comfortable for them.”

West Virginia had three runners erased on the base paths, one on an attempted steal of home and another on a double steal.

“Probably our biggest mistake of the game was getting thrown out at second with the trail runner and then being back-picked on a dirt ball read. In those situations, you can’t afford an out, because the outs are precious, especially when you are trailing at that point. Baserunning was probably the worst part of our game today that we need to clean up and do better at.”

Jimmy Chadwell and Cole Fellows each had two hits for Columbia, as the Lions outhit WVU 10-5. Payton Soske pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save.

Game two of the series is set for noon Saturday and the series finale will be at 12:30 Sunday.

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2026 WVSSAC Girls Basketball State Tournament schedule

Joe Brocato — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 05:18:26 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — 32 teams have qualified for the WVSSAC Girls Basketball State Tournament. The five-day, 28-game event will begin on March 10 at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center. Radio broadcasts of all state tournament games will air on the MetroNews Radio Network and will be streamed at wvmetronews.com. MetroNews will also produce HD video broadcasts of the four championship games.

Tuesday, March 10

Game 1 – (Class A Quarterfinal): No. 3 St. Marys vs. No. 6 Pocahontas County, 9:30 a.m.

Game 2 – (Class AA Quarterfinal): No. 4 Charleston Catholic vs. No. 5 Wyoming East, 11:15 a.m.

Game 3 – (Class A Quarterfinal): No. 2 Tug Valley vs. No. 7 Greater Beckley Christian, 1 p.m.

Game 4 – (Class A Quarterfinal): No. 1 Gilmer County vs. No. 8 Webster County, 5:30 p.m.

Game 5 – (Class AA Quarterfinal): No. 1 James Monroe vs. No. 8 Lincoln, 7:15 p.m.

Game 6 – (Class A Quarterfinal): No. 4 Tucker County vs. No. 5 Ritchie County, 9 p.m.

Wednesday, March 11

Game 7 – (Class AAA Quarterfinal): No. 3 Nitro vs. No. 6 Princeton, 9:30 a.m.

Game 8 – (Class AA Quarterfinal): No. 3 Wheeling Central Catholic vs. No. 6 Wayne, 11:15 a.m.

Game 9 – (Class AAA Quarterfinal): No. 2 Spring Valley at No. 7 East Fairmont, 1 p.m.

Game 10 – (Class AAA Quarterfinal): No. 1 Greenbrier East vs. No. 8 Hampshire, 5:30 p.m.

Game 11 – (Class AA Quarterfinal): No. 2 Williamstown vs. No. 7 Philip Barbour, 7:15 p.m.

Game 12 – (Class AAA Quarterfinal): No. 4 John Marshall vs. No. 5 Keyser, 9 p.m.

Thursday, March 12

Game 13 – (Class AAAA Quarterfinal): No. 3 Morgantown vs. No. 6 Cabell Midland, 9:30 a.m.

Game 14 – (Class A Semifinal): Game 1 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 11:15 a.m.

Game 15 – (Class AAAA Quarterfinal): No. 2 Parkersburg vs. No. 7 University, 1 p.m.

Game 16 – (Class AAAA Quarterfinal): No. 1 George Washington vs. No. 8 Washington, 5:30 p.m.

Game 17 – (Class A Semifinal): Game 4 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 7;15 p.m.

Game 18 – (Class AAAA Quarterfinal): No. 4 Martinsburg vs. No. 5 Parkersburg South, 9 p.m.

Friday, March 13

Game 19 – (Class AA Semifinal): Game 8 winner vs, Game 11 winner, 9:30 a.m.

Game 20 – (Class AAA Semifinal): Game 10 winner vs. Game 12 winner, 11:15 a.m.

Game 21 – (Class AA Semifinal): Game 2 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 1 p.m.

Game 22 – (Class AAAA Semifinal): Game 16 winner vs. Game 18 winner, 1 p.m.

Game 23 – (Class AAA Semifinal): Game 7 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 7:15 p.m.

Game 24 – (Class AAAA Semifinal): Game 13 winner vs. Game 15 winner, 9 p.m.

Saturday, March 14

Game 25 – Class A Championship, 10 a.m.

Game 26 – Class AA Championship, 12:30 p.m.

Game 27 – Class AAA Championship, 5 p.m.

Game 28 – Class AAAA Championship, 7:30 p.m.

Regional round results:

Class AAAA North Region:

Friday, February 27

Preston 44, Jefferson 32

Wheeling Park 63, Spring Mills 25

Wednesday, March 4 (winners to state tournament)

Morgantown 76, Preston 15

Washington 56, Musselman 41

Martinsburg 49, Wheeling Park 29

University 54, Hedgesville 46

Class AAAA South Region:

Friday, February 27

Oak Hill 51, Riverside 48

Hurricane 52, Buckhannon-Upshur 36

Wednesday, March 4 (winners to state tournament)

George Washington 72, Oak Hill 43

Cabell Midland 47, Huntington 34

Parkersburg South 59, Hurricane 39

Parkersburg 92, Woodrow Wilson 46

Class AAA Region I:

Thursday, February 26

Fairmont Senior 42, North Marion 25

Grafton 72, Brooke 21

Tuesday, March 3 (winners to state tournament)

John Marshall 47, Fairmont Senior 30

East Fairmont 69, Grafton 28

Class AAA Region II:

Thursday, February 26

Elkins 53, Bridgeport 37

Hampshire 54, Robert C. Byrd 34

Tuesday, March 3 (winners to state tournament)

Keyser 58, Elkins 21

Hampshire 55, Lewis County 52

Class AAA Region III:

Thursday, February 26

Greenbrier East 102, PikeView 29

Princeton 88, Shady Spring 24

Capital 58, Herbert Hoover 43

Nicholas County 41, Ripley 29

Tuesday, March 3 (winners to state tournament)

Greenbrier East 66, Nicholas County 42

Princeton 47, Capital 38

Class AAA Region IV:

Thursday, February 26

Winfield 41, Lincoln County 31

Spring Valley 95, Point Pleasant 9

St. Albans 39, Chapmanville 28

Tuesday, March 3 (winners to state tournament)

Nitro 50, Winfield 25

Spring Valley 70, St. Albans 25

Class AA Region I:

Friday, February 27

Oak Glen 47, Ravenswood 35

Wheeling Central Catholic 87, Weir 40

Doddridge County 77, Tyler Consolidated 53

Thursday, March 5 (winners to state tournament)

Williamstown 71, Oak Glen 39

Wheeling Central Catholic 57, Doddridge County 48

Class AA Region II:

Friday, February 27

Lincoln 69, South Harrison 22

Moorefield 53, Frankfort 29

Philip Barbour 73, Berkeley Springs 27

Petersburg 62, Braxton County 32

Thursday, March 5 (winners to state tournament)

Lincoln 73, Moorefield 46

Philip Barbour 50, Petersburg 40

Class AA Region III:

Wednesday, February 25

Mingo Central 59, Liberty Raleigh 16

Friday, February 27

James Monroe 98, Mingo Central 14

Independence 50, Midland Trail 35

Westside 57, Summers County 52

Wyoming East 59, River View 42

Thursday, March 5 (winners to state tournament)

James Monroe 58, Independence 29

Wyoming East 70, Westside 48

Class AA Region IV:

Tuesday, February 24

Poca 56, Clay County 31

Friday, February 27

Charleston Catholic 59, Poca 25

Buffalo 56, Sissonville 51

Wayne 76, Scott 42

Logan 48, Roane County 40

Thursday, March 5 (winners to state tournament)

Charleston Catholic 46, Buffalo 42

Wayne 53, Logan 44

Class A Region I:

Tuesday, February 24

Valley 65, Madonna 43

Wood County Christian 50, Notre Dame 21

Thursday, February 26

St. Marys 87, Valley 26

Parkersburg Catholic 54, Wood County Christian 32

Cameron 52, Magnolia 40

Ritchie County 68, Clay-Battelle 33

Wednesday, March 4 (winners to state tournament)

St. Marys 72, Cameron 31

Ritchie County 65, Parkersburg Catholic 47

Class A Region II:

Thursday, February 26

Pendleton County 43, Paw Paw 33

Pocahontas County 93, Union 12

Tygarts Valley 60, East Hardy 16

Wednesday, March 4 (winners to state tournament)

Tucker County 70, Pendleton County 25

Pocahontas County 74, Tygarts Valley 50

Class A Region III:

Thursday, February 26

Greater Beckley Christian 71, Richwood 27

Greenbrier West 29, Meadow Bridge 24

Sherman 48, Montcalm 25

Webster County 50, Mount View 12

Wednesday, March 4 (winners to state tournament)

Greater Beckley Christian 47, Greenbrier West 43

Webster County 37, Sherman 28

Class A Region IV:

Thursday, February 26

Gilmer County 73, Hannan 26

Tolsia 52, Wahama 30

Wirt County 51, Man 11

Tug Valley 66, Calhoun County 24

Wednesday, March 4 (winners to state tournament)

Gilmer County 60, Tolsia 27

Tug Valley 59, Wirt County 37

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Philip Barbour pulls away from Petersburg, 50-40 to clinch fifth consecutive regional title

Joe Brocato — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 04:08:42 +0000

PHILIPPI, W.Va. — Philip Barbour head coach Rick Mouser had a feeling a Petersburg run was coming. Unlike in their previous meeting in January, his Colts would not relinquish the lead as Philip Barbour held on to defeat the Vikings 50-40 in the Class AA Region II co-finals.

Leading by as many as ten points in the first half, PB (16-8) saw their advantage shrink to a single point in the third quarter (31-30). However, the Colts immediately answered with a 13-0 run that extended into the fourth quarter, providing the winning margin.

“They are always scrappy. They play a lot like we do, off of hustle and things like that. They came here tonight to play,” Mouser said.

“When we played them in the regular season, we led by about 12 the whole night like we did tonight. They actually took the lead with a couple minutes left and we ended up winning by four (51-47). We were kind of prepared and ready for that because we knew they would make a run.”

Philip Barbour never trailed in the contest. They ended the first quarter on a 12-2 run to build a 17-7 lead through the opening eight minutes.

“I think they were just ready. They were ready to play. They found a few quick baskets early. That usually fuels us a little bit.”

PB junior center Izzy Knotts led all scorers with 22 points.

“She just usually outworks and out hustles everybody. And she is only getting better. She is adding more to her game. All the girls have improved as the year has gone on.”

With the victory, Philip Barbour will play in the state tournament for the fifth consecutive season. The Colts are the No. 7 seed and they will meet No. 2 Williamstown in the quarterfinal round March 11 at 7:15 p.m.

“These girls just work their butts off. Most of them, their sport is not even basketball, it is volleyball or soccer. They just come out and work hard and try to out hustle everybody.”

Miley Tingler led Petersburg (15-7) with 18 points.

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WVSSAC Class AA Girls Basketball State Tournament schedule

Joe Brocato — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 01:44:39 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Eight teams have qualified for the WVSSAC Class AA Girls Basketball State Tournament. The five-day, 28-game event will begin on March 10 at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center. Radio broadcasts of all state tournament games will air on the MetroNews Radio Network and will be streamed at wvmetronews.com. MetroNews will also produce HD video broadcasts of the four championship games.

Class AA State Tournament seeds:

James Monroe (22-1)
Williamstown (19-3)
Wheeling Central Catholic (19-5)
Charleston Catholic (15-9)
Wyoming East (17-6)
Wayne (17-6)
Philip Barbour (16-8)
Lincoln (16-8)

Day-by-day schedule:

Tuesday, March 10 (Quarterfinals)

Game 1 – No. 4 Charleston Catholic vs. No. 5 Wyoming East, 11:15 a.m.

Game 2 – No. 1 James Monroe vs. No. 8 Lincoln, 7:15 p.m.

Wednesday, March 11 (Quarterfinals)

Game 3 – No. 3 Wheeling Central Catholic vs. No. 6 Wayne, 11:15 a.m.

Game 4 – No. 2 Williamstown vs. No. 7 Philip Barbour, 7:15 p.m.

Friday, March 13 (Semifinals)

Game 5 – Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 9:30 a.m.

Game 6 – Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 1 p.m.

Saturday, March 14 (Championship)

Game 7 – Championship, 12:30 p.m.

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St. Marys returns to the state tournament with 72-31 win over Cameron

Joe Brocato — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 02:04:39 +0000

ST. MARYS, W.Va. — St. Marys took control of their Class A Region I co-final early and never looked back in a 72-31 win over five-time defending regional champion Cameron. The Blue Devils return to the state tournament after advancing to the Class AA semifinals a year ago.

“I was sick the last two days worrying about this. You never know what is going to happen in the tournament. I like this team. We’ve got no seniors. We’ve got three juniors and two that start,” said St. Marys head coach Fred King.

“I like our chances down there as far as playing well. But I can’t say what is going to happen. At the state tournament, things happen. I feel like we’re got a nice ball club. I think we will represent our school. I think we will represent ourselves, our families and our community very well down there.”

The Blue Devils jumped out to a 21-2 lead midway through the first quarter and they led 24-6 after the opening eight minutes. St. Marys built a 41-15 halftime advantage. They did not allow the Dragons to score in double figures in any quarter.

“We played pretty good man-to-man. We doubled down. We try to force teams to their weak side, which we did a pretty good job of tonight. We created a lot of turnovers and deflections which ended up as easy baskets. When you get easy baskets, the 12-to-15 footers fall better.”

Brynnley Bulluck led the Blue Devils with 26 points. The 5-10 forward stepped outside and connected on a pair of three-pointers.

“It makes driving lanes a lot simpler. The driving lanes open her up for three. They had to back off because she penetrated a couple times. Then when she steps back, the way we do that is we find an open person in that weave and they are wide open because you have to double down.

Anna Bennett scored 20 points for the Blue Devils (20-4) while Laney Watkins added 17.

“We’ve got four girls out there that can score in double figures.”

St. Marys has earned the No. 3 seed in the Class A state tournament. The Blue Devils will face No. 6 Pocahontas County (16-2) in the tournament lid lifter on March 10 at 9:30 a.m.

Cameron (15-8) was led by Kendra Thomas’ seven-point game.

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WVSSAC Class A Girls Basketball State Tournament schedule

Joe Brocato — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 01:55:27 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Eight teams have qualified for the WVSSAC Class A Girls Basketball State Tournament. The five-day, 28-game event will begin on March 10 at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center. Radio broadcasts of all state tournament games will air on the MetroNews Radio Network and will be streamed at wvmetronews.com. MetroNews will also produce HD video broadcasts of the four championship games.

Class A State Tournament seeds:

Gilmer County (22-2)
Tug Valley (19-4)
St. Marys (20-4)
Tucker County (17-5)
Ritchie County (15-7)
Pocahontas County (16-2)
Greater Beckley Christian (16-7)
Webster County (12-11)

Day-by-day schedule:

Tuesday, March 10 (Quarterfinals)

Game 1 – No. 3 St. Marys vs. No. 6 Pocahontas County, 9:30 a.m.

Game 2 – No. 2 Tug Valley vs. No. 7 Greater Beckley Christian, 1 p.m.

Game 3 – No. 1 Gilmer County vs. No. 8 Webster County, 5:30 p.m.

Game 4 – No. 4 Tucker County vs. No. 5 Ritchie County, 9 p.m.

Thursday, March 12 (Semifinals)

Game 5 – Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 11:15 a.m.

Game 6 – Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 7:15 p.m.

Saturday, March 14 (Championship)

Game 7 – Championship, 10 a.m.

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WVSSAC Class AAAA Girls Basketball State Tournament schedule

Joe Brocato — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 01:54:09 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Eight teams have qualified for the WVSSAC Class AAAA Girls Basketball State Tournament. The five-day, 28-game event will begin on March 10 at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center. Radio broadcasts of all state tournament games will air on the MetroNews Radio Network and will be streamed at wvmetronews.com. MetroNews will also produce HD video broadcasts of the four championship games.

Class AAAA State Tournament seeds:

George Washington (21-1)
Parkersburg (16-6)
Morgantown (15-7)
Martinsburg (19-2)
Parkersburg South (17-5)
Cabell Midland (17-5)
University (14-7)
Washington (14-8)

Day-by-day schedule:

Thursday, March 12 (Quarterfinals)

Game 1 – No. 3 Morgantown vs. No. 6 Cabell Midland, 9:30 a.m.

Game 2 – No. 2 Parkersburg vs. No. 7 University, 1 p.m.

Game 3 – No. 1 George Washington vs. No. 8 Washington, 5:30 p.m.

Game 4 – No. 4 Martinsburg vs. No. 5 Parkersburg South, 9 p.m.

Friday, March 13 (Semifinals)

Game 5 – Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 5:30 p.m.

Game 6 – Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 9 p.m.

Saturday, March 14 (Championship)

Game 7 – Championship, 7:30 p.m.

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WVU’s Jordan Harrison named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year

Joe Brocato — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 04:03:38 +0000

Jan 11, 2026; Ames, Iowa, USA; Against the Iowa State Cyclones, West Virginia Mountaineers guard Jordan Harrison (10) shows some frustrations during the second half at James H. Hilton Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — After the graduation of JJ Quinerly, Jordan Harrison made sure that one of the Big 12’s top honors remained in the WVU family. The West Virginia senior guard has been named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.

Quinerly, who will soon enter her second season with the WNBA’s Dallas Wings, won the award the two previous seasons.

In addition to the top Big 12 defensive honor, Harrison was one of ten players named to the All-Big 12 first team.

Harrison leads the Big 12 with 94 steals, helping WVU’s defense that yielded just 60.9 points per game, the second-best mark in the conference.

Harrison also made the Big 12’s all-defensive team last year as a junior.

WVU newcomers Gia Cooke and Kierra Wheeler earned honorable mention distinction from the Big 12.

No. 15 West Virginia (24-6, 14-4 Big 12) opens the Big 12 Tournament Friday at 6 p.m. in the quarterfinal round against Arizona, Arizona State or Iowa State.

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East Fairmont returns to Charleston with 69-28 win over Grafton

Joe Brocato — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 03:16:59 +0000

PLEASANT VALLEY, W.Va. — East Fairmont outscored Grafton 24-0 in the second quarter en route to a 69-28 win over Grafton in the Class AAA Region I co-finals. EFHS (16-6) clinched a spot in the state tournament and the seventh-seeded Bees will face No. 2 Spring Valley in the quarterfinal round on March 11.

“We are getting a lot of experience back at the right time,” said East Fairmont head coach James Beckman. “The kids are hungry. I take it back — they’re not hungry, they were starving. They were starving to get back to Charleston. They made the first punch and we didn’t look back after that.”

Leading 16-9 after the opening eight minutes, the Bees shutout the Bearcats in the second quarter to build a 40-9 halftime advantage. A consistent full court pressure allowed East to get several fast break opportunities.

“Turnovers are turnovers and it led to our offense. We wanted to play transition and we wanted to play an uptempo style. They were fun to watch today.

“It is a game of runs. We just weathered the storm on the first one. I thought we held our composure. We were patient in what we did offensive-wise. One of the biggest things we wanted to do this year was run efficient offense. I thought we were patient and got the quality shot we wanted.”

Beckman credited sophomore Audrey Singer for her work on the defensive end of the court.

“We shot the ball well. Singer was all over the floor tonight. With her intensity, she was keeping loose balls and those 50-50 balls and offensive rebounds. She did a lot of dirty work for us to get out and run tonight.”

Senior Ella Thompson scored nine of her 12 points in the second quarter, converting on a trio of three-point field goals.

“That was huge in the second quarter. From the junk defense they were playing to constant change defensive-wise, she came right off the bench, found her moment, she got in the rhythm of the game. She hit some big threes in the second quarter.”

Thompson and Kailee Haymond led the Bees in scoring with a dozen points. Emma Moore and Kasey Rogers each added 11 points for East.

The Bees defeated the Bearcats in their regular season meeting at Grafton, 48-34 on January 31.

“We got healthy. We got a bunch of kids back. We got a little cardio under us. We continued to do what we do.”

East Fairmont will end their season at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center for the fourth consecutive season.

“It means a lot for this program. The kids have worked extremely hard to get there. I am extremely proud of them. With everything we endured this year, for them not to use that [injuries] as an excuse and to find a way, they found a way to get back to Charleston.”

Kenna Keener led Grafton (13-10) with ten points.

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WVSSAC Class AAA Girls Basketball State Tournament schedule

Joe Brocato — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 01:57:36 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Eight teams have qualified for the WVSSAC Class AAA Girls Basketball State Tournament. The five-day, 28-game event will begin on March 10 at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center. Radio broadcasts of all state tournament games will air on the MetroNews Radio Network and will be streamed at wvmetronews.com. MetroNews will also produce HD video broadcasts of the four championship games.

Class AAA State Tournament seeds:

Greenbrier East (24-0)
Spring Valley (15-6)
Nitro (18-4)
John Marshall (17-5)
Keyser (17-3)
Princeton (16-6)
East Fairmont (16-6)
Hampshire (16-8)

Day-by-day schedule:

Wednesday, March 11 (Quarterfinals)

Game 1 – No. 3 Nitro vs. No. 6 Princeton, 9:30 a.m.

Game 2 – No. 2 Spring Valley vs. No. 7 East Fairmont, 1 p.m.

Game 3 – No. 1 Greenbrier East vs. No. 8 Hampshire, 5:30 p.m.

Game 4 – No. 4 John Marshall vs. No. 5 Keyser, 9 p.m.

Friday, March 13 (Semifinals)

Game 5 – Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 11:15 a.m.

Game 6 – Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 7:15 p.m.

Saturday, March 14 (Championship)

Game 7 – Championship, 5 p.m.

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Despite another massive roster overhaul, Rodriguez believes culture continues to be established at WVU

Joe Brocato — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 19:52:44 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The 2.0 version of the 2.0 tenure for WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez continues Saturday with a key benchmark in the building of his roster. The Mountaineers will take the field for the first of 15 spring practices.

For the second consecutive season, the bulk of the West Virginia roster has been turned over. After fielding a senior class with over 40 players in the 2025 season, just 31 players return to this year’s roster. Those players combined to make 33 starts last fall.

Oct 3, 2025; Provo, Utah, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Rich Rodriguez coaches during the fourth quarter against the Brigham Young Cougars at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images

“There’s not a lot of returning starters, of course. We feel comfortable with what we have and where our program is at right now,” Rodriguez said.

“There’s so much more competition, true competition at every position. That’s something all coaches want to have. I think we truly have that from a player standpoint. We brought that in with some of the transfers that we got in and a really good high school freshman class that we brought in. And a couple of junior college guys we signed back in December I think are really going to be able to help us as well.”

West Virginia is coming off a 4-8 season in 2025, the worst season for the program in a dozen years. Hired in mid-December of 2024, Rodriguez quickly assembled a large class of one-year players from the transfer portal.

“A year ago, it was everything. We knew it was going to be kind of hectic. I thought we would be a little deeper than what we were, but we weren’t as deep as we wanted to be. The injury part probably exposed that a little bit. Until we start practicing, I am never sure. But I think we have a better football team certainly now than we did a year ago at this time.”

Despite having just six players that started a game for West Virginia in 2025 back for this fall, Rodriguez believes the departed seniors made important contributions in building a foundation for the program.

Offensive lineman Landen Livingston. Photo by Teran Malone

“There’s different challenges now. You still have to establish the culture. We took so many transfer guys last year. I think you kind of had to because of where we were at and we were late in the process. This year, we intentionally took a lot more high school guys. We don’t have 40-some seniors who are one-and-done. We’ve got 21 or 22 seniors. Everybody else are guys we want to have now and we want to keep and finish their careers here. I think we are able to build it the way we want to. We should get better every year.

“The seniors, even the six-month guys we had last year helped us establish that [culture] for this year. There’s enough returning players that have been in our program for the last 12 months that are helping us move forward with it too. It wasn’t all bad. It was more bad than good. But it wasn’t all bad.”

With a larger high school and junior college recruiting class in place for the 2026 season, Rodriguez is hopeful his team can avoid another significant shuffling of players in and out by signing players to multi-year agreements.

“Going forward, that’s always going to be the first thing after the season, the retention. We don’t have guys on like four-year contracts like the NFL. We’ve got guys, a lot of them are one year. We are trying to get more on two-year. I wouldn’t mind getting some guys on three-year contracts. All that is kind of an ongoing process that we are dealing with.”

Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr.. left, scrambles away from Kent State defensive lineman Mason Maddox (6) during the first half of an NCAA football game between the Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and Kent State Golden Flashes at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.

One of the most notable transfer portal acquisitions this offseason is former Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. He played in nine games over the course of two seasons with the Sooners. Hawkins Jr. will compete with returning signal callers Scotty Fox Jr. and Max Brown. Fox Jr. accounted for ten total touchdowns in ten games (six starts) last year as a true freshman.

“Obviously we had some guys that were at Oklahoma that saw [Hawkins Jr.] in person, who he was as an athlete and who he was as a person. We wanted somebody to come in and compete with Scotty and Max for the job, somebody we thought had the skill set to be special. Mike has that and he has shown that so far. He is a smart guy. It is really important to him and he works hard.”

Two starters return on West Virginia’s offensive line with Nick Krahe [12 starts] and Landon Livingston [11 starts] in place to lead the group.

“Landon has played. Nick Krahe has played. And Malik Agbo has played a little bit. Some of those guys have played. And some of the guys that are young guys behind them I think have gotten better. We signed a really good freshman class. And we’ve got some transfers on the O-line that we are so much deeper now with guys that have experience playing. Last year, we got some transfers in but they didn’t have a whole lot of experience as a starting offensive lineman.”

Dec 2, 2017; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles offensive line coach Rick Trickett is carried off the field after the game against the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks at Doak Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports

A pair of Jacksonville State transfers who played for Rodriguez at Jacksonville State joined the Mountaineers this offseason. Both were starters for the Gamecocks last fall.

“Bubba Grayson and Cam Griffith know the system and they know the offense. They also know a lot of the techniques and things that Coach [Rick] Trickett installs. That helps. They are helping teach the guys, ‘Hey, this is what he wants here and this is what he wants there’. They are great guys. They are great program guys.”

The most notable addition to the Mountaineer coaching staff comes with the return of Preston County native and Glenville State College graduate Rick Trickett. Trickett was the architect of WVU’s Sugar Bowl champion offensive line in Rodriguez’s first tenure at WVU. His son, Chance, is also joining the staff as the Director of Player Evaluation.

“Why I hired Chance is because I wanted some NFL scouting experience. He’s done it for 12 years. The system and how they go about scouting and evaluating prospects and all that, we’re not just evaluating high school guys, we are evaluating other college prospects and guys that have gone in the portal. Chance’s experience has already helped.

“Rick, we’ve worked together a lot. I think he is the preeminent offensive line coach in college football and has been for a long, long time. He knows the system and he knows how to get the best out of his players. It has been really good to have him. Of course, [Senior Offensive Assistant] Travis is on the staff and is doing a great job as well.”

No schedule for spring practices has been announced, but Rodriguez did confirm that a “Spring Festival” has been set for Saturday, April 18.

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No. 17 West Virginia wraps regular season with 118-60 win over Cincinnati

Joe Brocato — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 22:41:00 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — If all goes well for the WVU women’s basketball team over next weekend at the Big 12 Conference Tournament in Kansas City, the Mountaineers may earn at least another game inside Hope Coliseum. If not, the final home contest for WVU’s class of five seniors will be remembered as a record-breaking performance. The No. 17 Mountaineers rolled over Cincinnati, 118-60. West Virginia set a scoring record against a Division I opponent.

Sydney Shaw (left) and Riley Makalusky celebrate WVU’s 118-60 win over Cincinnati.

Four Mountaineers (three seniors) reached the 20-point mark. Sydney Shaw led the way with a career-high 24 points. Kierra Wheeler scored 21 points and she grabbed ten rebounds. Jordan Harrison also notched a double-double with 20 points and ten assists. Gia Cooke added 20 points.

“That was as complete of a game, I think, as we have probably played the entire season, said WVU head coach Mark Kellogg. “I am just proud of them for this one. Their energy was great, which I expected it to be with seniors, when you have five of them that have given a lot to this program.

“Did we put the whole 40 [minutes] together? No. We gave up 23 in the fourth quarter. That’s a little disappointing. I understand it. It was hard and we were having fun. The kids were relaxed. When you are making shots like that and you are defending at a high level, there’s fun to that and you can relax as a coach.”

In addition to her career-high in points, Shaw also set a new single-game personal mark with six three-pointers.

“It means the world only because I didn’t know,” Shaw said. “I was just out there playing. To hear that just felt amazing, especially to do that in front of the fans that came out to see us on Senior Night. If that is the last way I end it here, I am glad I ended it like that.”

“When you start to see one or two go with a kid like Sydney, that rim starts looking pretty big,” Kellogg said. “There were a couple of those where I don’t even know if she saw the rim. It was hand in face and you just have the feel.”

West Virginia led 30-9 after the opening quarter and they scored at least 25 points in all four quarters.

WVU connected on 15 of 30 attempts from three-point range and they shot 58 percent from the floor.

“That’s what I am probably the most pleased with, we are making perimeter shots at a much higher rate now than we were earlier in the year, which gives us a chance to have a little more balance on that end,” Kellogg said.

WVU’s senior class of Harrison, Cici Riviere, Shaw, Wheeler and Sydney Woodley took the floor as a group to start the fourth quarter before Kellogg substituted seniors out one-by-one to rounds of applause from the crowd of 6,095 fans.

“I was just ready to play,” Harrison said. “Once we got all the tears out and the good-byes, just knowing that it is not over. We plan on playing in this building again. It was pretty easy for me to get over it and just get ready to play.”

“The idea is that you try to get most of the emotion out yesterday, so we don’t have to do it today,” Kellogg said. “But all of a sudden, I look out there and a bunch of them are crying and emotional. We got over it pretty quick.”

Senior Day ceremonies for the WVU women’s basketball team:

Kierra Wheeler, Sydney Woodley, Cici Riviere, Sydney Shaw and Jordan Harrison: pic.twitter.com/PEIkScC3ts

— Joe Brocato (@joebrowvm) March 1, 2026

Midway through the fourth quarter, Riley Makalusky connected on back-to-back three-pointers, giving the Mountaineers a new scoring record against Big 12 opponents.

WVU turned the ball over just four times while the visitors had 18 turnovers. West Virginia swept the season series against the Bearcats after winning the meeting at Fifth Third Arena, 84-76 on January 18.

All 11 players on the WVU roster entered the game and played at least six minutes.

Mya Perry led Cincinnati (11-19, 6-12 Big 12) with 19 points.

Just like that, the #Big12WBB regular season comes to a close… but the best is yet to come.

Ladies and gentlemen: the OFFICIAL 2026 Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Tournament Bracket pic.twitter.com/VI7njw8a8L

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) March 1, 2026

TCU denied West Virginia a chance at sharing the Big 12 regular season championship. The Horned Frogs (15-3 Big 12) defeated Baylor late Sunday to secure sole possession of the title. WVU will be the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 Conference Tournament. The Mountaineers will open play Friday at 6:30 p.m. in Kansas City against either Arizona, Arizona State or Iowa State.

The Top 16 teams selected by the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee earn hosting rights in the NCAA Tournament. WVU (NCAA Net ranking: 19), was not selected in Sunday’s reveal of the second committee rankings

“I am sure we need to win at least a couple games in the tournament,” Kellogg said of possibly hosting NCAA Tournament games. “I think if we win it, I would hope that would probably. But we may need a little help too. We may need some of those other 4-line teams to get beat. That’s something we really can’t put a whole lot of emphasis on.”

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Wyoming East sweeps regular season series from Logan, 74-54

Joe Brocato — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 23:04:19 +0000

NEW RICHMOND, W.Va. — A balanced offensive attack allowed Class AA No. 2 Wyoming East to collect their eighth consecutive win, 74-54 over Logan. With the victory, the Warriors swept the regular season series against the Wildcats.

Five weeks ago, the Warriors were tested for 32 minutes before holding on for a 62-56 win at Willie Akers Arena.

“I think we were more prepared for the zone. Down there, I just didn’t anticipate Coach [Mark] Hatcher going to a zone. He has been predominately a man-to-man type of guy. When we were down there and they pulled the zone out, we just weren’t prepared for it. It stymied us, made us stagnant and standing around,” said Wyoming East head coach Kent McBride on the differences between the two games. “I thought we were much more prepared in where we could get shots in attacking that zone.”

Sophomore guard Talan Muscari led four Warriors scoring in double-digits. He scored 22 points while connecting on five three-pointers.

“Talan has really been shooting the ball well lately. Him making those shots and kind of relaxing everybody, it pulled them out and gave us driving lanes. Making those shots early was big.”

Keegan Davidson scored 14 points for the Warriors (18-2). Broc Johnson added 13 points and Konnor Fox chipped in with 10.

“You look at our averages and I think we are 16, 14, 13, 12 and I think we have an 8. That’s kind of how we play. Each game it is somebody different. It was Talan tonight going. Last game, I think Broc Johnson had 26. We have Keegan [Davidson]. We are blessed in that manner.”

The 54 points scored by the Wildcats are their third-fewest in a game this season.

“We knew they were going to play through Ivan Miller kind of at the one. They use him in a unique situation. That’s a tough spot for us because we have Konnor [Fox] at 6-foot-9 and that pulls him out. So it is kind of a chess match between [Hatcher] and I. So we were prepared for that.”

East has earned the No. 1 seed in the Class AA Region III tournament. They will host the winner of the Mingo Central/Summers County game on March 6. Their two losses are the second-fewest in Class AA behind only defending state champion Wheeling Central Catholic (19-0).

“I think we have played the best [Class] AA schedule in the state. We did that our purpose. We went through some hard times, individually and collectively. I think it got us to where we are to where now we have kind of hit a bit of a groove. We have been playing really good since we left the Greenbrier earlier this month, we hit a groove. So we have to keep that going.”

Lucas Lambert led Logan (9-13) with 23 points. Miller added 14. The Wildcats will host Scott on March 6 in the Class AA Region IV tournament.

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Wheeling Central rolls past Weir in postseason opener

Joe Brocato — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 01:46:18 +0000

WHEELING, W.Va. — Wheeling Central Catholic passed their first postseason test in their hopes to return to Championship Saturday at the state tournament by defeating Weir, 87-40 in the opening game of the Class AA Region I tournament.

Central scored the first 13 points of the game as they improved to 18-5 on the season. The Maroon Knights led 32-11 after the first quarter and 54-19 at halftime before inserting reserve players early in the third quarter.

Bella Fitzsimmons and Erin Maxwell each scored 18 points to lead Wheeling Central. Addie Payton added 13 points.

Wheeling Central Catholic will host Doddridge County Thursday in the regional final. The winner advances to the state tournament. Doddridge defeated Tyler Consolidated, 77-53 on Friday.

Ryann Jeter led Weir (5-17) with 24 points and Gianna Siegel added 14 points.

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Seniors lead the way for No. 1 Wheeling Central in 73-60 win over No. 4 Washington

Joe Brocato — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 23:43:53 +0000

WHEELING, W.Va. — Trailing by ten points at the end of the first quarter, Wheeling Central Catholic outscored Class AAAA No. 4 Washington, 66-43 the rest of the way to finish off an undefeated regular season, 73-60.

The Class AA No. 1 Maroon Knights trailed by a basket at halftime, 37-35 while allowing the Patriots to connect on ten three-pointers. After halftime, Central yielded just three shots from behind the arc.

“We adjusted a little bit and started switching some of their action to make sure we got somebody out there with a hand,” said Wheeling Central Catholic head coach Mel Stephens. “I didn’t feel like they would shoot it as well in the second half for whatever reason. Maybe they got a little tired. Maybe our defense was a little better. They made some shots and they made it tough for us.”

The Patriots closed out the first quarter on an 8-0 run to take a 17-7 lead. Central erased that deficit with a lengthy scoring run in the second quarter. The Knights closed the third quarter on a 16-2 burst and they held on to a double-digit lead for most of the minutes in the fourth quarter.

WCCHS seniors Eli Sancomb and Max Olejasz combined for 53 points. Sancomb, a Liberty University signee, scored 30 points while Olejasz added 23.

“When the chips were really down, put the ball in Eli’s hands and he makes good plays. Whether he scores, he hade some great passes to Max. Max does a really good job of sneaking behind that defense and he is able to get to the rim and finish.”

Staked to a sizable lead early in the fourth quarter, Central controlled the pace of play in the fourth quarter, yielding just ten points to the Patriots in the final stanza.

“We’re getting better at that. Earlier in the year, we were in such a hurry and wanted to score so bad that we didn’t really understand time and score real well. The last couple weeks we are starting to get a feel for what it takes and what you basically have to do to finish games out, especially with a lead.”

The Knights (19-0) enter a lengthy break before their regional matchup on March 12. The defending state champions are seeded first in the Region I tournament. Central will host the winner of the Tyler Consolidated/Oak Glen game, which will be played on March 6.

“It is a good win for us. We finish the regular season undefeated. That is a huge accomplishment for these guys considering the type of schedule that we play. Now we get a little bit of time off and we’ll get ready for tournament time.”

Kris Doleman led Washington (16-3) with 19 points. Avorie Brown added 12 points and Cam Shedrick scored 11. The Patriots will play at Wheeling Park Saturday afternoon to complete a two-game road trip.

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Still holding Big 12 title hopes, WVU concludes regular season Sunday vs. Cincinnati

Joe Brocato — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 17:47:36 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Two results must fall in West Virginia’s favor Sunday for the Mountaineers to claim their second Big 12 regular season championship in program history. The first is in WVU’s control while the second is not.

No. 17 West Virginia (23-6, 13-4 Big 12) hosts Cincinnati (11-18, 6-11 Big 12) at Hope Coliseum at 2 p.m. Shortly after the Mountaineers and the Bearcats clear the court in Morgantown, league-leading TCU (26-4, 14-3 Big 12) will tip off against Baylor (24-6, 13-4 Big 12) at 4 p.m.

While WVU has no path to claim the No. 1 seed in next week’s Big 12 Conference Tournament, West Virginia can still clinch a share of the Big 12 title for the first time since 2014. If WVU defeats Cincinnati and Baylor knocks off TCU, the Mountaineers, Horned Frogs and Bears will all share the Big 12 title with 14-4 records.

“If we are fortunate enough to beat Cincinnati and something else happens later Sunday, awesome, you are a Big 12 champion,” said WVU head coach Mark Kellogg. “If not, we’ll be a No. 2 seed. That’s pretty damn good too and you are playing for all sorts of NCAA stuff.”

WVU can finish no lower than the No. 3 seed in the Big 12 Tournament, clinching a double bye into the quarterfinal round. They will open play in Kansas City on Friday, March 6.

Mark Kellogg on coaching Jordan Harrison for four seasons (1 at SFA, 3 at WVU):

WVU hosts Cincinnati Sunday on Senior Day. pic.twitter.com/rHdN3sg6ht

— Joe Brocato (@joebrowvm) February 27, 2026

The Mountaineers remain very much in the mix for a Top 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament and hosting rights for the first two rounds. In Charlie Creme’s latest ESPN Bracketology, WVU is listed as a No. 5 seed in the Norman regional. West Virginia checks in at No. 19 in the latest NCAA NET ratings.

West Virginia is coming off a 74-62 win at UCF on Wednesday. The Mountaineers defeated the Knights by 50 points two weeks ago.

“UCF played much better, much, much better. Getting [Khyala] Ngodu back changes their whole look. It wasn’t as simple as that. I am making it much simpler than it is. Certainly we made some shots, hit some threes, got out in transition a little bit before that defense could set.”

Jordan Harrison looks to disrupt an inbound pass. Photo by Greg Carey

Although the Mountaineers hope to host NCAA Tournament games, Sunday’s contest could be the last at Hope Coliseum for WVU’s senior class of Jordan Harrison, Cici Riviere, Sydney Shaw, Kierra Wheeler and Sydney Woodley.

Harrison was one of Kellogg’s first recruits at WVU. She played for Kellogg at Stephen F. Austin as a freshman. The 2022-2023 Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year has developed into one of the Big 12’s elite guards, earning all-league honors in each of the last two seasons. Harrison averages 12.7 points per game and she leads the Mountaineers in minutes per game (31.7), assists (146) and steals (90).

“I’ll probably try not to have emotion unless she has some emotion,” Kellogg said. “That might trigger it a little bit more. But I will try to be the calm, cool, collected guy out there.”

“She is amazing. I love Jordan so much. She is a sweet girl. She is funny,” Wheeler said. “I mess with her all the time just because you’ve got to mess with the little people. As post players, they feel your presence. Jordan has been amazing, just having somebody that is passionate about basketball and somebody that is willing to be kind but will also let me know what it is and what it isn’t.”

Shaw has played two seasons at WVU after transferring in from Auburn. Woodley and Riviere are also two-year Mountaineers after transferring in from Long Beach State and NW Florida State, respectively. Wheeler joined the WVU roster from Norfolk State during the most recent offseason.

“Stepping on the floor for our last time in our last home game is definitely going to be emotional, especially for Jordan and Cici and those that have been here for so many years,” Wheeler said. “The fans love them and they adore them. I am just excited to see how much they show up for them.”

Iowa State Cyclones’ guard/forward Sydney Harris (25) put high pressure on Cincinnati Bearcats guard Caliyh Devillasee (4) during the first quarter in the Big-12 women’s basketball on Jan. 21, 2026, at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.

West Virginia defeated Cincinnati at Fifth Third Arena, 84-76 on January 18. Leading 43-26 at halftime, the Mountaineers struggled to pull away from the Bearcats in the second half before winning by eight points. Five WVU players scored in double digits and they were led by Wheeler’s 17-point effort.

“Obviously, we have played Cincinnati several times, multiple times a year in our tenure,” Kellogg said. “One time, it was three when we played them in the tournament as well. So there is some familiarity, obviously there. They are playing better. They are playing people close. They had TCU down at half and TCU went on a big run in that third quarter. Cincinnati still punched back a little bit late. They are certainly more than capable and they are playing with a lot of confidence.”

Cincinnati stands 13th in the Big 12 standings. The Bearcats come to Morgantown with three wins in their last five games after knocking off Arizona, BYU and UCF.

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Solid performance in second quarter propels Morgantown to 18th win, 79-63 over Martinsburg

Joe Brocato — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 03:37:03 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Playing on back-to-back nights for the third time in the last three weeks, Morgantown created distance on the scoreboard in the second quarter to defeat Martinsburg, 79-63.

After defeating Buckhannon-Upshur, 74-73 on Wednesday night, Morgantown head coach Dave Tallman backed off of the team’s customary pressure defense, opting for more zone than his team usually employs.

“I am not an excuse guy. But we had a long one last night. I think we have had three doubleheaders in the last two weeks. We’ve got tired bodies. Everybody is fatigued, including the coach. I knew tonight was a game we had to fight and grind out. We went to some zones, which we haven’t done all year. We haven’t really worked on them much. But just to kind of keep Max [Frey] and Waylon [Colistra] in the game in longer stretches and they didn’t have to run around doing havoc,” Tallman said.

“I think it helped us today. Our defense is not where we want it to be right now. But we are starting to click a little bit on offense.”

Leading 19-15 after the first quarter, the Mohigans (18-1) outscored the Bulldogs 25-14 in the second quarter to build a double-digit lead that they would hold for the remainder of the game. Marcus Goins drained four triples in the opening half with three of those coming in the second stanza. Goins finished the game with 13 points.

“Marcus is a weapon, for sure. He had a bad knee injury last year. So I just think getting back and kind of getting his feet under him, he is a guy we are counting on.”

Waylon Colistra led all scorers with 29 points.

“Waylon was awesome tonight, man. Like I told him yesterday, ‘Besides Sharron Young, you might have played more minutes than anybody on this floor’. He has dealt with my [stuff] and I have dealt with his. We butt heads sometimes, but I love him to death. He is a great kid. He’s super-competitive. When he is a 1-on-1 matchup in the post, he is almost unstoppable. And he is really starting to make the right plays. When people start doubling, he is kicking it out to our shooters.”

Frey added 16 points for the Mohigans. Morgantown leads Class AAAA in victories. Having already secured the No. 1 seed in the North Regional, the Mohigans will face Brooke (Monday) and George Washington (Thursday) next week to close out their regular season.

“Sam Frey is out but he should be back soon. He was our leading steal and deflections guy. People kind of forget about him. That has kind of hurt our defense. We’ll get back to work. We’ve been there before. I think Quad-A is as good as it has been in many years. Who knows who is going to win it. We are not going to worry about it. We are going to go one game at a time. Coaches are going to work their tails off to get ready and so are players. These are great kids and they are a lot of fun. Hopefully we can coach them through Championship Saturday.”

Mikey Green led the Bulldogs (8-12) with 16 points. Nykeem Thompson (12), Cody Shallis (11) and Boston Todd (10) also scored in double-digits for the visitors.

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WVSSAC Boys Basketball regional brackets

Joe Brocato — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 15:04:07 +0000

VIENNA, W.Va. — The West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission has released brackets for the regional round of the boys basketball playoffs. Seeds were voted upon by coaches within their regions.

Single-elimination play is in place for all rounds. Two teams from each region in Class AAA, Class AA and Class A will advance to the state tournament. Four teams from each region will advance to the state tournament from Class AAAA.

WVSSAC Boys Basketball Regional Brackets_

Class AAAA:

North Region

Friday, March 6

Jefferson 64, Hedgesville 48

Wheeling Park 58, Preston 54

Wednesday, March 11 (winners advance to the state tournament)

No. 8 Jefferson at No. 1 Morgantown

No. 7 Wheeling Park at No. 2 Washington

No. 5 Musselman at No. 4 University

No. 6 Martinsburg at No. 3 Spring Mills

South Region

Friday, March 6

Parkersburg 71, Buckhannon-Upshur 69 (2OT)

Woodrow Wilson 61, Oak Hill 51

Wednesday, March 11 (winners advance to the state tournament)

No. 9 Parkersburg at No. 1 George Washington

No. 7 Woodrow Wilson at No. 2 Parkersburg South

No. 5 Cabell Midland at No. 4 Huntington

No. 6 Hurricane at No. 3 Riverside

Class AAA:

Region I

Thursday, March 5

John Marshall 54, Grafton 39

Fairmont Senior 58, Brooke 49

Tuesday, March 10 (winners advance to the state tournament)

No. 5 John Marshall at No. 1 North Marion

No. 3 Fairmont Senior at No. 2 East Fairmont

Region II

Thursday, March 5

Elkins 66, Lewis County 56

Keyser 52, Hampshire 41

Tuesday, March 10 (winners advance to the state tournament)

No. 4 Elkins at No. 1 Bridgeport

No. 3 Keyser at No. 2 Robert C. Byrd

Region III

Thursday, March 5

Ripley 87, PikeView 49

Herbert Hoover 43, Princeton 39

Greenbrier East 55, Capital 52

Shady Spring 63, Nicholas County 35

Tuesday, March 10 (winners advance to the state tournament)

No. 5 Herbert Hoover at No. 1 Ripley

No. 3 Greenbrier East at No. 2 Shady Spring

Region IV

Thursday, March 5

Chapmanville 79, Lincoln County 34

South Charleston 63, St. Albans 62

Winfield 63, Point Pleasant 32

Nitro 59, Spring Valley 54

Tuesday, March 10 (winners advance to the state tournament)

No. 4 South Charleston at No. 1 Chapmanville

No. 3 Nitro at No. 2 Winfield

Class AA:

Region I

Friday, March 6

Tyler Consolidated 46, Oak Glen 41

Doddridge County 83, Weir 41

Williamstown 57, Ravenswood 48

Thursday, March 12 (winners advance to the state tournament)

No. 5 Tyler Consolidated at No. 1 Wheeling Central Catholic

No. 3 Williamstown at No. 2 Doddridge County

Region II

Friday, March 6

Petersburg 89, Philip Barbour 69

Braxton County 52, South Harrison 38

Frankfort 55, Berkeley Springs 49

Lincoln 64, Moorefield 53

Thursday, March 12 (winners advance to the state tournament)

No. 4 Braxton County at No. 1 Petersburg

No. 3 Lincoln at No. 2 Frankfort

Region III

Tuesday, March 3

Mingo Central 67, Summers County 45

Liberty 70, River View 44

Friday, March 6

Wyoming East 69, Mingo Central 44

Westside 51, Independence 41

James Monroe 87, Liberty 39

Bluefield 67, Midland Trail 45

Thursday, March 12 (winners advance to the state tournament)

No. 4 Westside at No. 1 Wyoming East

No. 3 Bluefield at No. 2 James Monroe

Region IV

Tuesday, March 3

Sissonville 57, Roane County 31

Friday, March 6

Charleston Catholic 54, Sissonville 46

Logan 46, Scott 38

Wayne 67, Poca 32

Buffalo 69, Clay County 53

Thursday, March 12 (winners advance to the state tournament)

No. 4 Logan at No. 1 Charleston Catholic

No. 3 Buffalo at No. 2 Wayne

Class A:

Region I

Tuesday, March 3

Notre Dame 76, Madonna 72

St. Marys 51, Cameron 48

Wood County Christian 77, Valley 51

Thursday, March 5

Parkersburg Catholic 70, Notre Dame 46

Clay-Battelle 83, St. Marys 49

Magnolia 69, Trinity 62 (OT)

Ritchie County 102, Wood County Christian 49

Wednesday, March 11 (winners advance to the state tournament)

No. 5 Magnolia at No. 1 Parkersburg Catholic

No. 3 Ritchie County at No. 2 Clay-Battelle

Region II

Thursday, March 5

East Hardy 83, Harman 25

Union 52, Tygarts Valley 42

Pendleton County 89, Pocahontas County 48

Tucker County 95, Paw Paw 48

Wednesday, March 11 (winners advance to the state tournament)

No. 4 Union at No. 1 East Hardy

No. 3 Tucker County at No. 2 Pendleton County

Region III

Thursday, March 5

Sherman 82, Richwood 17

Webster County 69, Montcalm 44

Greater Beckley Christian 72, Mount View 45

Greenbrier West 63, Meadow Bridge 50

Wednesday, March 11 (winners advance to the state tournament)

No. 4 Webster County at No. 1 Sherman

No. 3 Greenbrier West at No. 2 Greater Beckley Christian

Region IV

Tuesday, March 3

Calhoun County 75, Hannan 49

Tolsia 87, Van 50

Thursday, March 5

Tug Valley 104, Calhoun County 51

Huntington St. Joseph’s 80, Tolsia 52

Man 57, Wahama 49

Wirt County 63, Gilmer County 51

Wednesday, March 11 (winners advance to the state tournament)

No. 5 Man at No. 1 Tug Valley

No. 3 Wirt County at No. 2 Huntington St. Joseph’s

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Mountaineers cruise past Ohio in home opener, 19-6

Joe Brocato — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 01:09:11 +0000

GRANVILLE, W.Va. — With Wagener Field at Kendrick Family Ballpark covered in a fresh blanket of snow four hours before first pitch of WVU’s home opener against Ohio, quick snow removal efforts and a 16-hit attack allowed the Mountaineers to roll past the Bobcats, 19-6. West Virginia (6-1) scored in six of their eight innings at the plate while 24 players took the field for the Mountaineers.

The scheduled first pitch of 1 p.m. was delayed by 30 minutes to allow snow removal efforts to continue.

“To be honest, we had an early lift and walking out of the apartment this morning and seeing all the snow, it was questionable,” said WVU senior infielder Matt Ineich. “You look out the window at lift and it is still snowing. You are thinking, are we going to play? It was definitely in the back of my mind. I am glad it cleared up and got sunny. It wasn’t too bad out there.”

“Waking up and there’s snow on the ground, we practice and play in the snow a lot,” said WVU senior outfielder Brock Wills. “So I think just being ready and getting your body warm, you kind of just overcome that mental block of playing when it is freezing out.”

Steve Sabins. Photo by Greg Carey WVU defeated Ohio, 19-6

Playing against his former Ohio University teammates, Ineich drove in three runs and he went 4-for-5 with three runs scored.

“It felt good,” Ineich said. “I was just kind of trying to do what I do best, it just happened to be against my former team. It is definitely good to get a win against those guys.”

Armani Guzman also had three hits while Matthew Graveline, Gavin Kelly, Paul Schoenfeld, Brodie Kresser, Brock Wills and Tyrus Hall had multi-hit games. Wills and Graveline hit home runs in the fourth and sixth innings, respectively. 16 Mountaineers had at least one at bat.

“I think we can be one of the best offenses in the country,” Wills said. “When you’ve got guys behind you and you are just trying to pass the sticks, I think good things happen and I think we can play with anybody so when that better competition comes, I think we will be ready.”

Eight pitchers took the mound for the Mountaineers. Starting pitcher David Hagen did not allow a run in two scoreless frames.

“Hagen was good. Hagen is a sophomore that got some starts for us as a true freshman,” said WVU head coach Steve Sabins. “He ended up getting hurt. So he has worked really hard coming back from this injury. We feel like he is kind of right back where he left off freshman year, developmentally.

“We went into today with a plan of trying to get eight arms in the game. There are quite a few pitchers that haven’t pitched for us yet because we hadn’t played a midweek [game]. All that with getting guys in, that’s a luxury. You have to be able to win the game, first and foremost. If you want to be best at the end of the season, you have to get guys experience. There is no way around it.”

Tennessee transfer Bryson Thacker inherited a bases loaded, no out jam in the third inning. He recorded the next three outs in succession without allowing a run.

“We view Bryson as a strike thrower. And now Thacker leads the team in appearances. I believe he has four on the year. Last year at Tennessee, he had four innings total. We just feel like we hit the jackpot with Bryson Thacker because he loves the moment.”

In a different defensive alignment, Guzman started a first base, a position he had almost no experience with. He recorded seven putouts.

“Armani has never taken a ground ball at first before today. That’s pretty unusual. He played second the entire fall. And he started in a Super Regional and a regional at third base. He is a capable infielder, for sure. It has come down to today, we wanted to get nine specific players in the game offensively and we wanted to start Gavin Kelly behind the dish. In order to do that, we had to make a decision to put Guzman at first.”

Playing in his first home game as a Mountaineer, Morgantown High School graduate Weston Mazey reached on a walk in the eighth inning and he later scored on a wild pitch. Former Calhoun County and Gilmer County pitcher Bryant York picked up the final three outs in the ninth inning.

Will Henson went 2-for-3 for the Bobcats (1-7) with three runs batted in.

No. 24 West Virginia heads to Kennesaw State for a three-game series starting Friday at 4 p.m.

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No. 2 Chapmanville dominates late stages in 63-47 win over No. 1 Capital

Joe Brocato — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 02:49:16 +0000

CHAPMANVILLE, W.Va. — Through the first three quarters of Tuesday’s No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown between Capital and Chapmanville, neither team led by more than seven points and both teams had lengthy scoring runs of at least seven points. However, in the fourth quarter the second-ranked Tigers outscored the top-ranked Cougars 22-6 to collect an impressive 63-47 victory.

With the game tied at 41 entering the final frame, Chapmanville scored the first eight points in the fourth and they never looked back.

“We just hung in there,” said Chapmanville head coach Brad Napier. “We had some rough moments and we knew Capital was a great team. They put a lot of pressure on you. We were just able to dig in. We stopped turning the ball over and we executed better in the fourth quarter.

“I think we got sped up a bit early in the first half. We were able to slow down a little bit and execute. We would see the open guys and we were able to get some easy baskets on the back end.”

Chapmanville started each quarter well. They opened the game on a 9-2 run, and then scored the first five points in the second and third quarters. Six Tigers scored at least eight points in a balanced offensive attack.

The Tigers held the Cougars to a season-low point total against an in-class opponent. Tre Tyson (12 points) and David Robinson, Jr. (11 points) were the only players in double figures for Capital (17-4).

“We mixed it up. We played some zone, a lot more zone tonight than what we normally do. We played some 1-3-1 and 2-3. Then we played some man too and just kind of mixed it up.”

Jay Brock led the Tigers (16-3) with 13 points. Dakota Dalton added a dozen and Benji Adkins scored ten points while handling the ball well against pressure and contributing on the defensive end of the floor.

“Benji was solid tonight. He did a lot of the ball handling. We wanted the ball in his hands more tonight than what we normally do. We thought with his size and strength that he could handle the traps a little better.”

In foul trouble for most of the game, 6-foot-7 sophomore forward Keaton Terry scored six of his nine points in the fourth quarter to help the Tigers pull away.

“He is a monster. When we can keep him on the court, he is a difference maker. He kind of took over in the fourth quarter with his ability to rebound and score around the basket.”

Chapmanville has won seven consecutive games and 11 of their last 12.

“We haven’t been voted No. 1 by the coaches or anybody all year. Our guys, that kind of motivated them because we play an extremely tough schedule. Our only loss in-state was to Greater Beckley in that first game. These guys kind of take that personal.”

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Spring Mills shakes off slow start to defeat Martinsburg, 73-48

Joe Brocato — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 03:06:30 +0000

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Seeking their second victory over Martinsburg in four days, Spring Mills outscored the Bulldogs 23-2 in the second quarter to sweep the regular season series against their city rivals, 73-48.

The Bulldogs led 14-12 after a deliberately-paced first quarter before Spring Mills broke the game open in the second stanza to build a 35-16 halftime lead.

“I told them that we needed to get out in transition,” said Spring Mills head coach Shannon Layton. “We are really good when we push the tempo and they finally decided to follow the game plan. When we did that, we probably went on about a 14-0 run. The goal was to get out in transition, get them on their heels, and good things will happen.”

For the sixth time in their nine conference games, Spring Mills held their opponent under 50 points.

“The goal was to keep them under 45 points tonight. They had 48, but I still consider that reaching our goal. I know in order to compete again for another state championship, we have to get after it on the defensive end.”

Chase Jones led Spring Mills (16-2) with 21 points. Akwasi Opoku-Achampong added 20 for the Cardinals.

“Akwasi does a lot for this team, on and off the court. But on the court, he gets into the paint. He gets kickouts to the Jones’ and other players on the floor to get them wide open shots. Not only does he do it on the defensive end, offensively he gives us 20 points a game and he averages about six assists per game. That’s a tough guy to deal with if you are an opposing team.”

Tyler Jones was the third player in double digits for Spring Mills. He scored 16 points. WVU football signee Xavier Anderson scored eight points in his return to the lineup after missing a month due to injury.

“He brings so much energy to our program. He gets after it on defense. He gets us rebounds.”

Coming off a season where the Cardinals won their first Class AAAA state championship, they are on a four-game winning streak heading into Wednesday’s matchup with Hedgesville. The Cardinals have added a game to their schedule on March 5 at University.

Nykeem Thompson led Martinsburg (8-11) with 15 points. Brayden Amsler scored 13 points and Mikey Green added 11.

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Lewis nets 33 as GW reclaims the MSAC title, 81-72 over Parkersburg South

Joe Brocato — Sun, 22 Feb 2026 03:20:08 +0000

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A 33-point performance from Noah lewis and solid contributions throughout their lineup allowed George Washington to claim their first Mountain State Athletic Conference Championship since 2023 with an 81-72 win over Parkersburg South at the South Charleston Community Center. GW posted runner-up finishes in each of the last two seasons.

“Our kids really, really wanted this,” said George Washington head coach Rick Greene. “This was our eighth championship game in a row. Teams beat us the last two but we felt like we had a chance to win those two. They really wanted to finish it and get a championship.

“That’s two really good teams. I think they will be at the [Charleston] Civic Center. Hopefully we will be and we may very well see them again.”

In a game where both teams enjoyed lengthy scoring runs, Parkersburg South (15-5) scored the final nine points in the first quarter to take a 22-20 lead. South added five more points to open the second quarter to build a 27-20 advantage. However, GW took a lead they would not relinquish with a 16-2 burst. Greene’s club led 36-29 at halftime. Tyler Mattox scored 13 of his 20 points in the first half.

“I thought our kids settled down and hit some shots. I thought Tyler was great early.

“They all contributed. I thought our bench did a really good job. When they help and take some pressure off Noah, obviously it makes us a lot better.”

South crept within a point (42-41) early in the third before GW answered with a 12-0 run. PSHS drew within three points (67-64) midway through the fourth quarter, but they were unable to take the lead away.

In addition to Lewis’ (33) and Mattox’s (20) double-digit scoring efforts, Dominic Sprouse added 18 points for GW (16-2).

“We’ll catch our breath. And then we have Senior Night coming up, which is good. Then we go to University and I have a lot of respect for Joe [Schmidle]. Then you are finishing at Woodrow [Wilson] and then at home with Morgantown. I think we will stay focused.”

Harry Silvis led South with 28 points while Taj Joyce added 27.

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GW avenges lone loss, defeats Parkersburg in MSAC final

Joe Brocato — Sun, 22 Feb 2026 01:01:13 +0000

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Highlights from George Washington’s 59-54 win over Parkersburg in the championship game of the Mountain State Athletic Conference Night of Champions.

George Washington (20-1):

Rayana Breckenridge – 22 points
Jeriyah Pryor – 14 points
Adyston Gumm – 10 points

Parkersburg (15-6):

Kennedy Porter – 18 points
Frances Guice – 15 points

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Capital collects 17th win, 81-66 over South Charleston in the MSAC third place game

Joe Brocato — Sat, 21 Feb 2026 21:05:14 +0000

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Highlights from Capital’s 81-66 win over South Charleston in the third place game of the Mountain State Athletic Conference Night of Champions.

Capital (17-3):

DeShaud Williams – 19 points
Josiah Greene – 14 points

South Charleston (10-11):

Brycen Orcutt – 27 points
Malcolm Brown – 17 points
Aiden Graley – 12 points

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Spring Valley takes third place in the MSAC with 101-48 win over PSHS

Joe Brocato — Sat, 21 Feb 2026 18:33:53 +0000

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Highlights from Spring Valley’s 101-48 win over Parkersburg South in the third place game of the Mountain State Athletic Conference Night of Champions.

Parkersburg South (15-4):

Lindsey Logston – 22 points

Spring Valley (13-6):

Brooklyn Ellis – 22 points
Sophi Hutchison – 21 points
Emma Edwards – 14 points
Bella Perdue – 12 points
Lucy Jackson – 12 points
Maelyn Cook – 10 points

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Ferris scores 30 as Tug Valley pulls away from Tucker County, 63-43

Joe Brocato — Sat, 21 Feb 2026 02:24:04 +0000

NAUGATUCK, W.Va. — Two-time defending Class A state champion Tug Valley completed a regular season sweep of Tucker County with a 63-43 win in which the Panthers held the lead for the final 19 minutes of the game. After defeating the Mountain Lions 66-65 in Hambleton on January 3, a 14-2 run to open the fourth quarter allowed Tug Valley to pull away for a comfortable victory in front of a large crowd on their home court.

“The defense was obviously it,” said Tug Valley head coach Garland Thompson of the fourth quarter run. “We started getting after them and created some turnovers there. Braydun [Ferris] made a lot of plays. Zade [Rash] made a lot of plays. And Bryson [Elia] was very good. He made five or six steals right there. That translates into transition offense.

“Anytime you can beat a Tucker County team, I will take that. We have been a little up and down for the most part this year. To beat Tucker County, now we have to go to Bluefield tomorrow.”

Tug Valley (14-5) scored the first six points of the game to build a 13-8 lead after the opening eight minutes. Tucker County surged ahead to their first lead midway through the second quarter when Mikey Mitchell hit a three-pointer and he was fouled, giving TCHS a 22-21 lead. However, the Panthers closed the second quarter on a 8-1 run and they lead 31-26 at halftime.

Ferris led all scorers with a 30-point effort.

“He was very efficient. Other than the two free throws he missed, I thought he played very, very well. He has the ability to create shots. He can get off any shot he wants. When he is hitting his three like he did tonight, that just opens up driving lanes for him.”

Rash added 15 points for the Panthers.

Playing four games in a span of five days, Thompson says his team adjusted well after an overtime loss to Huntington St. Joseph’s on Wednesday.

“I don’t know about them but at practice yesterday, I had low energy. I was dead tired because we played Tuesday and Wednesday and they were very emotional games.”

Thompson praised the defensive effort of Elia. The senior guard suffered a significant injury late in football season, but he returned to the hardcourt in January.

“I thought he played very, very well. He might not have the quickness that he once had, but he is still a very smart basketball player. He has a very high IQ.”

Tug Valley has won four games in a row against Tucker County. The Panthers have defeated the Mountain Lions in each of the last two Class A state championship games. In the postgame handshake line, Thompson told many of the TCHS players, “See you in March”.

“We have seen them up there so many years in a row. I expect them to be there. Hopefully we’ll be there too. Hopefully we’ll see them too on semifinal Friday or championship Saturday.”

Cayden Arnold led Tucker County (12-9) with 16 points.

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Morgantown’s Kayli Kellogg nets first of its kind NIL opportunity for a WV high school athlete

Joe Brocato — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 19:28:01 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Six months ago, parameters were put in place for West Virginia high school and middle school athletes to enter into name, image and likeness agreements with businesses in exchange for compensation.

Morgantown High School junior guard Kayli Kellogg is one of the first athletes in West Virginia to enter into an NIL contract. Kellogg will be a community brand ambassador for Vision Homes, a residential new home building company based in North Central West Virginia. As part of the agreement, Kellogg’s collaboration will include social media promotions, community engagement events, and local outreach initiatives.

Excited to announce I have secured the first ever high school NIL deal in West Virginia!! Honored to partner with @VisionHomesWV a residential new-home building company serving North Central West Virginia!! Can’t wait!! @RockyT_2244 pic.twitter.com/R7VWB274Wz

— Kayli Kellogg (@kayli_kellogg) February 20, 2026

“I am very interested in real estate for when I grow up. I think Rocky [Simmons] had known that a little bit. We both have forward-thinking mindsets. So just talking about it, it made sense. That’s kind of how it started,” Kellogg said.

“I will be making posts on Instagram, social media and all of my platforms. I am sure we will see those a couple times a month. And I will do some community things for Vision Homes and promote them by being a guest at some of their events. Getting community involvement and also on social media is where we are at right now.”

Morgantown guard Kayli Kellogg. Photo by Teran Malone

In August, the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission became the 44th state to put a name, image and likeness policy in place, outlining what is permissible for athletes to maintain their eligibility. The policy was approved by the State Board of Education. Kellogg and her family checked with compliance officials at the WVSSAC during the process of creating the NIL deal.

“When [the rule] passed, I thought this was a huge opportunity for our state and our community if I could get a deal for younger athletes to look up to me and know that they could do it too,” Kellogg said.

“I hope people will see this and they will have their own opportunities themselves. There’s a lot of kids in the state that could have their own NIL deal, whether it is big or local. Showing kids that they can do it too is a lot of the goal here.”

“There were 43 other state high school associations that had it in place,” said WVSSAC Executive Director Wayne Ryan on Thursday’s edition of the Citynet Statewide Sportsline. “We felt it was important to put it in place because we didn’t want our players to do anything in today’s age of marketing and all the businesses that try to get involved, we didn’t want our high school athletes to put their eligibility in jeopardy or the school team’s eligibility in jeopardy. So we put the policy in place to be preventive and helpful in that situation.”

Ryan added that to his knowledge, Kellogg’s deal is the first of its kind in West Virginia.

The WVSSAC NIL policy states that athletes may not reference their school or use school logos as part of their agreements.

Kellogg is hopeful that more student-athletes will soon benefit from NIL deals similar to hers.

“It is pretty cool to say that I am the first girl in high school basketball in West Virginia to have the NIL deal. That’s pretty cool and I will carry that for a long time,” Kellogg said.

Kellogg has earned Class AAAA first team all-state status in each of her first two seasons at Morgantown High School and she led the Mohigans to back-to-back runner-up finishes at the state tournament. As a sophomore, Kellogg averaged 21 points, five rebounds and five assists per contest.

Kellogg has not played for MHS this season after undergoing knee surgery last July.

“Rehab has been going good and I am on track. I will hopefully be back in a few months, a couple months, I am not really sure when, but soon. Continuing to rehab and get my knee healthy is my focus right now,” Kellogg said.

“Just being the voice off the court on the bench and helping [teammates]. We have a lot of young players, so just being experienced and try to help them through it, calm them down and tell them what I see out there too. Being there, I have become a better leader. Being there for them is my goal.”

Kellogg’s father, Mark, is in his third season as the head coach of the WVU women’s basketball team.

Kellogg holds multiple Division I scholarship offers and she is hopeful that this experience of crafting an NIL deal while still in high school will be a benefit to her at the college level.

“It has given me an inside look at what is to come. It has helped me before I get to college and have to make adult decisions, I kind of got a little insight and a little head start on it. Being able to do that at a young age is really cool.”

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