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Dominion Post
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Dominion Post
COLUMN: Manipulating the RPI is the next step for WVU baseball coach Steve Sabins
MORGANTOWN — My first venture into studying the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) came in 2007, after a WVU men's basketball team that had gone 22-9 through the end of the Big East tournament with wins against UConn and UCLA had been left out of the NCAA tournament. And you thought the Mountaineers were snubbed last season. Anyway, in the years that have followed, two things truly stand out about the RPI: ** There really isn't a better tool to gauge a team's strength of schedule. ** It can also be manipulated like silly putty. WVU baseball coach Steve Sabins has got to find a way to become a master manipulator. It's not exactly an easy thing to do as a college baseball coach in the part of the country where the state of West Virginia resides. Still, if the WVU program is headed where it seems to be headed — a perennial Top 25 program and super-regional contender — Sabins' ability to schedule games is going to become just as critical as any recruit he signs out of high school or the transfer portal. Because talent wins games, true, but it's that strength of schedule that determines a team's ultimate fate between always being a regional host or always heading out on the road for the NCAA tournament. First, let's get into some basic numbers. WVU's nonconference RPI strength of schedule this season was 176th in the nation. That's out of 307 Division I teams, which doesn't exactly look great on the surface. OK, but here's where a little more research comes in. LSU, which just won the national title, had a nonconference strength of schedule of 124. Texas — the No. 2 overall seed heading into the NCAA tourney — was at 152. Tennessee, the 2024 national champ, was at 179. WVU took a beating from the so-called experts of college baseball, because the theme was the Mountaineers didn't play anybody in the nonconference. You didn't hear that about LSU, though. It wasn't a story told about Texas or Tennessee. Why? Because once SEC play began, the overall strength of schedules for those schools shot up like a rocket. All three schools finished with an overall strength of schedule no higher than 22nd in the nation. WVU finished with the 78th toughest overall schedule, which included the Clemson Regional games and the super regional against LSU. 'I think that's why I have a difficult time discussing the RPI and some of those factors,' Sabins said. 'There is really only so much you can do and it's an uneven system.' Meanwhile, the Big 12 season isn't exactly a stroll in the park, but WVU and Arizona were the only Big 12 schools to finish the season ranked in the Top 25. The SEC had seven of the top 15 and 11 of the top 30, so of course SEC coaches know they have the conference season to fall back on. They essentially don't have to schedule anyone other than cupcakes in the nonconference and then hope for the best once conference play begins. No one else — not even ACC coaches — have that luxury. So, is it an 'uneven' system, as Sabins suggested? You bet your baseballs it is. This is where Sabins' ability to manipulate the system is crucial. The problem: 'It comes down to you only having four weeks of nonconference games to start the season,' Sabins said. 'It's not like it's 10 weeks. And then, oh by the way, it's still snowing in West Virginia for three of those weeks, so you have to travel south. You can't play midweek games in West Virginia then, either, so you end up asking for a four-game series.' That is the unfortunate geography mismatch that exists in college baseball, where every school north of Nashville, Tenn. is at a disadvantage in an outdoor sport that begins play on Valentine's Day. 'You don't want to fill your schedule with cupcakes,' Sabins continued. 'But the truth of it is, everybody is playing then. It's not like there are a bunch of good teams searching for games. You kind of get stuck with playing who is willing to play.' Here is where the RPI can be easily manipulated, and we offer up Hawaii's nonconference schedule as the perfect example. Hawaii played the second-toughest nonconference schedule in the country this season, so you'd believe that schedule was filled with multiple Top 25 teams and maybe even a couple of series against teams from the American League East, right? Far from it. Hawaii played just one four-game series against a Top 25-ranked team (No. 4 Oregon State), while the rest of its nonconference schedule was Marshall, Wichita State, a mid-major darling in Northeastern and then one game against USC. Now, that doesn't exactly look like a gauntlet, but you don't need a gauntlet to manipulate the RPI. It's really not so much about which schools you can get to agree to play you more than understanding which schools to avoid playing. WVU played 13 nonconference games last season against schools ranked 201st or higher in the RPI. Hawaii played none, that's the difference. So, how can Sabins approach future scheduling? He believes playing true road games is a boost to an RPI rating, which is true to a point. To that end, WVU was a stellar 24-7 in true road games this season. But, if it becomes a question of playing a four-game road series against a team ranked 214th in the RPI or playing a neutral-site game against a team in the top 75, the neutral-site game is the way to go. This is where early-season college baseball tournaments come into play. To my surprise, there are literally two dozen of them to choose from. One of them is actually played in Surprise (Ariz.), the site of the 2026 Big 12 tournament. You don't hear much about them, because they are played at the height of the college basketball seasons and only a week, or so after the Super Bowl. But each one can offer three or four solid RPI matchups against other Power Conference schools who otherwise would never even consider playing the Mountaineers. WVU traditionally hasn't played in them and hasn't done so since J.J. Wetherholt was a freshman. 'Getting in some of those tournaments is something I think we have to look at for the future,' Sabins said. It would go a long way toward eliminating the theme of WVU not playing anyone. It could also be the next evolutionary step for Sabins' coaching career, because he's already proven to be ideal otherwise. Recruiting, developing players, winning — Sabins is right there. Learning to manipulate the RPI has got to be next on his list.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Everything Steve Sabins Had to Say After West Virginia's Loss to LSU
Everything Steve Sabins Had to Say After West Virginia's Loss to LSU originally appeared on Athlon Sports. A trip to the College Baseball World Series is on the line for LSU or West Virginia. The Tigers won the first game 16-9 and have a chance to punch their ticket to Omaha with a win later today. Advertisement The West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Steve Sabins was asked about his team's efforts after the game. 'Proud of the guys. Kept fighting throughout the entire game. Put up a two spot in the ninth when we were trailing by a significant margin. Had 11 hits, really competed well against a high-end pitcher in Kade Anderson, one of the best in the country. I think he's one of the top strikeout guys in the nation, and I thought our offense did a really nice job. Played competitive baseball. Game slipped away from us a little bit out of the bullpen. Asked a lot of guys to compete at a high level. Quite a few kids that hadn't been in a scenario like that before…And we had some great things happen. We had some struggles throughout the game. I certainly know that we kept fighting. So, proud of the guys,' said Sabins. Coach Sabins was also asked about the pitching performance of Griffin Kirn. He said,' I felt like Griffin was out of gas. His velocity was lower than it had been in weeks. His crispness was lower than it had been in weeks. His command was less than it had been in weeks. So we have a really good team. It takes our depth and it takes everybody, if we're going to win at the highest levels. So we didn't think that he was the best option there.' Finally Sabins talked about what his message to the team will be going into this next game. He said, 'Just this is what we've done all season. This is a series. I told them that if you lose Game 1 of a Regional, you've got to win four games and you're in a loser bracket. It's a very different scenario. This is more traditional baseball. This is what we've been doing all year. You've got to go win a series. If you can get to a Game 3, everything changes. It's all about winning [Sunday], playing for the season, playing for your teammates, and then you get to Game 3 and that's when things can get really fun.' Advertisement Watch the full press conference here: Related: Livvy Dunne Shares Revealing Swimsuit Photos Related: Livvy Dunne Wants to Make 'Hot Girl Fishing' a Thing Related: Livvy Dunne is Officially a Supermodel after Walking the Runway at Miami's Swim Week Related: Some Fans are Disgusted by Livvy Dunne's Latest Viral Video This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 8, 2025, where it first appeared.
USA Today
08-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Who is Steve Sabins? West Virginia coach has Mountaineers in NCAA super regionals
Who is Steve Sabins? West Virginia coach has Mountaineers in NCAA super regionals Show Caption Hide Caption 5 men's NCAA baseball tournament players to watch The Mongomery Advertiser's Adam Cole and The Tennesseean's Aria Gerson break down the top players to watch in the men's NCAA baseball tournament. The super regional round of the 2025 NCAA baseball tournament is filled with familiar faces in the dugout, stalwart coaches who have come to define the sport over the course of their respective careers. There's 64-year-old Dave Van Horn, who has been the coach at Arkansas for two decades and has the Razorbacks well-positioned for their 10th College World Series appearance under his watch. There's Tony Vitello, the unapologetically brash Tennessee coach who's a year removed from leading the Vols to their first-ever national title. There's Jay Johnson, the LSU coach who guided the Tigers to a CWS championship in 2023 and had Arizona within a game of doing the same in 2016. Among those still in the hunt to take their teams to Omaha, Nebraska for the 2025 CWS are greener, lesser-known figures. REQUIRED READING: NCAA baseball tournament bracket: Super regional matchups, schedule, pairings for CWS West Virginia is in the super regionals for just the second time in program history, with this run coming under the watch of coach Steve Sabins. The fresh-faced Sabins is in his first season as the Mountaineers' coach, but has quickly made his impact felt, leading them to a Big 12 regular-season championship and an NCAA tournament regional title. Though they dropped the first game of their Baton Rouge Super Regional series against No. 6 LSU on June 7, falling 16-9, they can make the CWS for the first time in program history with two wins against Johnson's squad. As West Virginia goes for that historical feat, here's a closer look at Sabins and his background: Steve Sabins West Virginia Sabins isn't just in his first season as West Virginia's head coach. He's in his first season as a college baseball head coach, period. He was hired into the role in June 2024, taking over for the retiring Randy Mazey. Mazey's career ended on a high note, with the Mountaineers advancing to the super regional round for the first time ever before being eliminated by No. 4 North Carolina. Sabins has successfully picked up where his former boss left off. Entering its June 8 game against LSU, West Virginia is 44-15 and won an outright conference regular-season championship for only the second time since 1997, making it through Big 12 play with a 19-9 record. Though Sabins is in his first season as head coach, he wasn't a stranger to the Mountaineers' program. He was an assistant at West Virginia for the previous nine seasons, from 2016-24, first as an assistant coach and later as the associate head coach. He was also recruiting coordinator from 2021-23. As an assistant, Sabins helped bring in some of the most prolific recruiting classes in program history. In 2018 and 2019, West Virginia signed back-to-back top-25 classes, the first time it had ever done so. Prior to West Virginia, Sabins spent four seasons in various roles at Oklahoma State, serving as a graduate assistant, volunteer assistant and player development coordinator. The Austin, Texas native graduated in 2011 from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida, where he played his final two college seasons after previous stops at Oklahoma State (2009), Daytona State College (2008) and Angelina College (2007). REQUIRED READING: LSU baseball vs West Virginia prediction for Game 2 of Baton Rouge Super Regional Steve Sabins coaching career Here's a look at Sabins' resume over his college baseball coaching career: 2025-present : West Virginia head coach : West Virginia head coach 2022-24: West Virginia associate head coach West Virginia associate head coach 2018-23 : West Virginia recruiting coordinator : West Virginia recruiting coordinator 2016-21 : West Virginia assistant coach : West Virginia assistant coach 2015 : Oklahoma State volunteer assistant : Oklahoma State volunteer assistant 2014 : Oklahoma State player development coordinator : Oklahoma State player development coordinator 2012-13: Oklahoma State graduate assistant Steve Sabins record In his first season as a head coach, Sabins has led West Virginia to a 44-15 record heading into its June 8 game against LSU in the Baton Rouge Super Regional. Steve Sabins age Born on May, 11, 1987, Sabins is 38 years old.
Dominion Post
08-06-2025
- Sport
- Dominion Post
COLUMN: Avoiding disaster in the national spotlight, unfortunately, hasn't worked out for WVU athletics
MORGANTOWN — What Steve Sabins and likely anyone associated or rooting for the WVU baseball program feared the most came to pass in the fifth inning Saturday, inside Alex Box Stadium. It was a complete disaster. It took four WVU pitchers to get through the inning. Only one of the four actually registered an out. A total of 14 pitches were needed for LSU to load the bases, 11 of them were called balls. Five pitches later, Steven Milam had himself a grand slam and the overall sixth-seeded Tigers had themselves a 7-1 lead in what finished as a 16-9 victory in the first game of the super regionals. By the time the inning came to a close, LSU (47-15) drew four walks, was hit by a pitch and added four hits in what must have felt like an hour spent on the diamond in nearly 100-degree heat for WVU players. If the Mountaineers (44-15) were to have any shot at making this best-of-three super regional interesting, they had to avoid disaster, just had to. They didn't, and it is here we must ask the gut-wrenching question: Is this the ultimate destiny for WVU athletics? Not just for the baseball program, which is to be commended for so much recognition and positivity it's brought to the school in recent years, but we're talking the athletic program as a whole. Now, we realize there is another game between these two same programs at 6 p.m. Sunday, and we're not exactly counting this resilient bunch out, but, man, how many times do WVU fans have to relive this same story? It's a story where every once in a while hope is not only created, but it festers itself into true belief. Belief that this time will be different. This time the underdog school representing an underdog state will leap over the hurdle, smash down the door and show the stuffy elitists of the college sports world that West Virginia University athletics deserves some respect. The school has been historically as close to that threshold as any university can possibly get without crossing over it. The legendary Jerry West had the ball in his hands as the final seconds ticked off in the 1959 men's hoops national championships. You know what happened next. Major Harris led an undefeated WVU football team to the 1989 national championship game against Notre Dame. Harris got hurt on the third play of the game and you know what happened next. Da'Sean Butler blew out his knee in the 2010 Final Four. Texas A&M hit a walk-off grand slam in 2019 to end the Mountaineers' feel-great story of hosting a baseball regional for the first time in most of our lifetimes. Just once, just going by simple mathematical odds alone, one of these damn moments in the national spotlight has to go WVU's way, right? WVU fans, a true tip of the cap is thrown your way today, because your passion for the Mountaineers is unwavering no matter how many times you've been dragged to the edge of the cliff only to be shoved right off it. We know you'll be right back in front of those TV sets at 6 p.m. Sunday with the hope this series somehow gets stretched to a Game 3. That isn't out of the realm of possibility, either, because once you peel back the layers that came with the Tigers' 16 runs, it was basically three swings, eight walks and five hit-by-pitches that did the Mountaineers in. If the 12,093 in attendance were being completely honest, LSU is not that much better of a baseball team than WVU. And we say that knowing LSU spent six weeks as either the No. 1- or No. 2-ranked team in the country this season. It's just a matter of whether or not the Mountaineers can avoid disaster and make it a straight-up you-against-us type of game. That would truly be a glorious notion, one that WVU fans have rarely experienced, because when the point comes for WVU teams needing to avoid disaster, unfortunately we also realize that's when it strikes.
Dominion Post
06-06-2025
- Sport
- Dominion Post
No. 24 WVU going into super regional with expectations of beating the odds
BATON ROUGE, La. — They call it 'The Intimidator' for fairly obvious reasons. LSU baseball's billboard-sized sign towering above the right field bleachers at Alex Box Stadium — and directly across from the visitor's dugout — shows all seven national title years for arguably college baseball's most storied program. Even more than the blistering heat, thick Cajun accents or anything else, it is the ultimate reminder of where you are. This is what stands in No. 24 West Virginia baseball's way as it tries to win the Baton Rouge Super Regional and clinch its first College World Series appearance in program history. That, all the rest of the mystique around the Tigers and, of course, a tremendously talented LSU (46-15) team it will have to beat twice in a three-game series. Almost nobody makes it out in June. The Tigers have won 23 of 27 home regionals in program history, and nine of 12 home Super Regionals. This year's Tigers are 33-6 at home. But West Virginia has prepared for this all season. 'This environment is incredible,' head coach Steve Sabins said. 'This will be something that is great for our kids. But going to Clemson before we came here certainly puts us in a better situation than going to a quiet, golf clap community.' West Virginia (44-14) swept through three games at a hostile Clemson Regional last weekend, bringing its season total for wins away from Morgantown to a nation-leading 27. The Mountaineers went 10-3 in road Big 12 games and like most cold-weather teams, spent the first two weeks of the season on the road. 'As a team we love being on the road,' senior pitcher Reese Bassinger said. 'On the road you're going to have a lot of fans that really want you to suck, really want you to lose. And that's where I think we come in together really well. Last week we played against probably 8,000 fans at Clemson, and there were 27 of us rooting for each other in the dugout.' Everything this weekend is an adjustment, from the quality of the opponent, the size of the stadium and even the weather. For as much as playing in different environments can prepare a team, the heat index for Saturday's 2 p.m. ET (ESPN) first pitch is expected to break triple-digits. 'The reality is this is different from what we play in,' Sabins said. 'It's extremely hot and it's extremely humid. We had to do things to mitigate those circumstances. I think our guys are in a good spot.' Where West Virginia may legitimately be able to carve out an advantage is in terms of experience and building off last year. Ironically, this was very nearly the super regional match-up 12 months ago. West Virginia won its regional, but traveled to North Carolina — not LSU — after the Tar Heels squeaked out a ninth-inning rally against the Tigers in the regional final. It was West Virginia's players who earned an opportunity on this stage, not LSU's. The Mountaineers were in both games, but dropped 8-6 and 2-1 decisions in the program's first-ever super regional. But this roster features 21 upperclassmen, 11 players who were on the field in Chapel Hill last June and almost astonishingly given the historical gulf, West Virginia actually has more players on its roster with super regional experience than LSU. 'People are ready to go,' Bassinger said. 'It's not like, 'Oh, we're in a super!' It's like, 'Yeah, we're in a super, let's win it.' ' Sabins announced staff ace Griffin Kirn will start game one, but did not confirm a pitcher for Sunday. Kirn allowed one earned run in 7 1/3 innings against Kentucky in the regional opener last Friday, then pitched an inning of relief in Sunday's clinching win. LSU head coach Jay Johnson did not announce his pitching plans, but it really is only a question of order. Starters Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson make up the best one-two punch in college baseball. Regardless of who goes in game one, at some point this weekend the Mountaineers will face two of the top three strikeout pitchers in the nation, a combined 291 whiffs in 189 2/3 innings. But no matter who is on the mound, where the match-up is or how much history the opponent has, this is the same situation for West Virginia. Back on the road, definitely as underdogs, just where it has thrived all year. 'That's the entire mentality of this state,' Sabins said. 'It's incredibly blue collar. People value hard work, they value grit, they value overcoming adversity. So, I know our team has embodied those characteristics.' Two more road wins, and his team will get to take the ultimate trip. — Story by Alan Cole
