By Bill Nestor
One of the hardest things to do is to follow a legend.
The footsteps are large and often hard to fill. Randy Mazey rolled into Morgantown in 2013 and took over the West Virginia baseball program. In a dozen years of coaching the Mountaineers, he guided his teams to the regionals three times and the Super Regionals once on his way out the door in 2024.
WVU finished fourth or better in the Big 12 Conference six times, which is no easy feat, considering it is one of ther top conferences in the entire country.
Mazey was dubbed the East region Coach of the Year in 2017, 2019, and 2024. He was also the top coach in the Big 12 Conference in 2019 and 2023.
There is no question that Mazey had elevated the baseball program to uncharted heights. Prior to his final season, he announced his retirement, then proceeded to post a storybook season before riding off into the sunset.
The next man up needed to be someone special to handle the expectations set forth by Mazey. The search didn’t take long or go to o far as Steve Sabins was named the 20th head coach in school history to guide the program.
Sabins had spent nine years in Morgantown as an assistant to Mazey prior to earning the promotion. What an apprenticeship that had to be for Sabins, having the opportunity to learn from the man day in, day out, year after year. Sabins received a promotion from Mazey six years into his tenure with West Virginia, which had to play a major factor in his landing the job as the main man when Mazey departed.
In 2022, Sabins was moved up to the associate head coach, showing the confidence that he had earned through his job performance. If it was good enough for Mazey, then it was good enough for WVU Athletic Director Wren Baker.
To win at this level, a coach needs to be able to bring top notch talent into town. Sabins proved that he could get the job done as the recruiting coordinator for Mazey from 2028 to 2023. In his first year as the RC, Sabins hauled in a record catch with the 21st ranked class in the country. The next year his efforts netted the 23rd ranked class. It was the first time in program history that there were back to back top 25 classes and Sabins was proving his worth.
The last piece of the coaching puzzle to be a complete coach is in game decision maki9ng. It is the most difficult to master. The only way for an athletic director to know is a coach can get the job done is through trial and error. Well, Sabins is getting the job done in that department as well. He has the Mountaineers moving towards the 40 win mark in his first year on the job.
Oh, by the way, he currently has his squad sitting in first place in the Big 12 Conference standings. Only Kansas State and Kansas stand between Sabins and a title. This weekend, he celebrates his birthday in Manhattan, Kansas as his team battles the Wildcats.
The Mountaineers return home the following weekend to close out the regular season against the number two Jayhawks in a series that could determine the champion.
I’m not sure what size Sabins wears, but it appears as if he has a pair of sizeable feet to stand upon.
That will do it for now! Until next week . . . Take care and God Bless!!!
