West Virginia Fans Take Over Omaha in First MCWS Run
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- West Virginia fans have staged the biggest fan takeover of the 2026 Men's College World Series in Omaha, with Kevin Berry, CEO of the WVU alumni association, calling it 'the Midwest version of Morgantown' for a state of 1.78 million people with no professional sports teams
- Randy Mazey, the retired WVU coach who built the program after its 2012 Big 12 arrival, was hugged and reduced to tears by a 70-year-old stranger at a pregame bar who thanked him for giving fans a reason to follow the team to Omaha
- WVU fans led the Jell-O Shot Challenge at Rocco's with over 23,300 shots consumed by Monday night — more than twice as many as any other team in Omaha — with 2012 alum Josh Valentine, who drove 12 hours from Texas, personally downing 17 shots
- West Virginia's program turnaround traces from 2012 Big 12 'purgatory' to the 2015 opening of Kendrick Family Ballpark (built over old coal mines), a 2017 NCAA tournament berth — the first in over two decades — and a 2023 Big 12 regular-season title
- Mountaineers utility player Gavin Kelly said fans 'die for this sport,' noting the team's 3,500-seat ballpark saw attendance nearly double with fans spilling onto 'Randy's Ridge,' a hill named after Mazey once drove his truck up to watch the final innings after being ejected
- West Virginia faces Troy in an MCWS elimination game Tuesday at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN, hoping to extend its first-ever stay in the College World Series
Why it matters: For a state of 1.78 million with no pro franchises, this MCWS debut is the biggest collective sports moment in West Virginia in over a decade — utility player Gavin Kelly noted fans 'die for this sport' because they have nothing else. The program went from Big 12 'purgatory' in 2012 to a 2026 College World Series in just 14 years, validating a stadium built on old coal mines and a developmental coaching hire. With an elimination game Tuesday against Troy, the entire state is watching a run that has already redefined fan expectations.
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