Morgantown, West Virginia — Below are the top sports stories from 2023 in WVU, Marshall, Division II and high school sports. This is the first article in his two-part series. Part 2 will be published on Monday.
#20 – Charleston Catholic wins Class AA/A Girls Soccer State Championship for 5th straight year
The state’s longest-running high school sports dynasty continued for another year on Nov. 4. The Charleston Catholic girls soccer team defeated Philip Barber 1-0 in the Class AA/A state championship game, giving the Irish their fifth straight title. Mia Ruff scored the only goal of the game in the 58th minute.
#19 – Fourth class added for soccer and other WVSSAC sports
The five WVSSAC sports will expand from three to four classes starting in the 2024-2025 school year.
On Dec. 20, the WVSSAC Board of Directors gave final approval to add soccer, cheer, volleyball, baseball and softball classes.
Basketball will become a four-class sport starting in the 2020-2021 school year and will remain so.
Specifically in football, Bridgeport, Princeton, Greenbrier East, Brooke, Ripley, Lincoln County and Hampshire will no longer be included in the largest classification. These seven schools will participate in Class AAA.
#18 – Larry Harrison fires WVU men’s basketball coaching staff
Something somewhat forgotten about the events of the summer months regarding Bob Huggins was that Huggins’ longest-tenured assistant coach was fired midseason. Larry Harrison, who served as an assistant coach for 16 years, was fired on January 12th. Harrison also coached Huggins in Cincinnati for eight seasons.
“I would like to thank Larry for his many years of service to Mountaineer basketball and wish him the best in his future endeavors,” Huggins said in a university release.
Dermar Johnson replaced Harrison on Huggins’ staff, and Johnson was retained by Josh Eilert, who was named interim head coach.
#17 – Randy Mazey’s “Last Dance” Steve Sabins takes over WVU baseball program
Coaching transitions are rarely this smooth. On July 17, Randy Mazey announced that the 2024 season will be his final tenure as head coach of the WVU baseball team. His longtime top assistant, Steve Sabins, is slated to take over as program leader in 2025.
Maisie will transition into a senior advisor role for the 2025 and 2026 seasons. The Sabins agreed to a five-year contract through the 2029 season.
Maisie, 57, helped the Mountaineers reach new heights during his 11 seasons in Morgantown. During that time, WVU went 336-250 and made NCAA regional appearances in 2017, 2019 and 2023. The 2017 appearance marked the program’s first regional appearance in his 21 years. Two years later, WVU reached that stage again, with the Mountaineers hosting a regional championship for the first time since 1955.
In 2023, Maisie led the Mountaineers to a 40-20 record and a share of the Big 12 Championship. The 40 wins tied the 1994 team’s single-season school record.
#16 – Wahama achieves rare 3rd straight state softball title
This is only the third time in the history of the WVSSAC Class A State Softball Tournament that a school has won three straight championships. Wahama’s White Falcons defeated St. Mary’s 3-1 in the championship round, capping off their undefeated postseason run with their third straight state title.
The only other schools to earn at least three consecutive Class A honors are Wheeling Central Catholic (’95-’01) and Buffalo (’11-’15).
#15 – Kim Caldwell leads Glenville State University to the Final Four and is named head coach at Marshall University.
Kim (Stevens) Caldwell, who raised the Division II National Championship banner at Glenville State’s Waco Center and returned to the Final Four a year later, was named head coach at Marshall University on March 27.
Caldwell builds GSU into a national power. The Parkersburg South High School graduate had an overall record of 191-24 at Glenville. After winning the national championship in 2022, Grenville went 33-3 last season and made it to the national semifinals, but lost to No. 1 Ashland. The Pioneers have won 68 of 72 games over the past two seasons.
#14 – Williamstown completes first-ever state title defense
Williamstown head coach Chris Beck called his 2023 senior class the best class in program history. The group concluded its high school baseball career with 19 straight wins and back-to-back Class A state titles. WHS defeated Greenbrier West 42-12 in the WVSSAC state championship game.
The Yellow Jackets won back-to-back state titles for the first time in program history.
#13 – West Liberty advances to the national championship game.
Playing against former Clarksburg head coach Jim Crutchfield, West Liberty fell one win short of winning the Division II national championship. The Hilltoppers lost to Nova Southeastern, 111-101. West Liberty finished the season with a record of 33 wins and 4 losses.
“I want to congratulate Coach Crutchfield and Nova Southeastern,” said WLU Head Coach Ben Howlett. “I’m happy for him. I played and worked for him. He deserves this national title. I’m so disappointed to lose the game. These guys are good guys. The important thing for them is that they are good people. These are the total package.
“I’m proud of our team. They have nothing to be ashamed of.”
#12 – Cabell Midland and Wahama battle through several elimination games to win state baseball title
For Wahama and Cabell Midland, the road to the state baseball championship was never a straight line. The White Falcons won five consecutive elimination games (three in sectionals and two in regionals) en route to the state tournament. Wahama then defeated Tyler Consolidated 10-0 to win the Class A state title.
Cabell Midland, playing in a highly competitive section, lost to Huntington in the postseason opener, 6-4 in 10 innings. The Knights won four straight elimination games to advance. Midland defeated Hedgesville 11-8 in the Class AAA championship, ending the season on an eight-game winning streak.
#11 – Herd advances to TBT semi-finals
Four wins in Wheeling advanced Marshall’s alumni basketball team, Hard That, to the semifinal round of the basketball tournament. Hard That advanced to the semifinals in Philadelphia with a 73-64 victory over Sideline Cancer in the West Virginia regionals and national quarterfinals.
Hard That lost to Team Heartfire 73-68 in the semifinals. The last top finish was in 2020 when Hard That reached the quarterfinals of the 32-team tournament.