MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (May 6, 2024) – Junior Grant Hussey of the West Virginia University baseball team has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.

Hussey made history for the Mountaineers as he hit two home runs against Pitt at PNC Park to become the new WVU home run king. He now has 36 in his career, one more than Jedd Gyorko and Tim McCabe.

Hussey and the rest of the Mountaineers will be back in action Wednesday, May 8, for a matchup with Penn State at Kendrick Family Ballpark. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. first pitch and will air on ESPN2.

This Week in Baseball: West Virginia returns home for four games this week, beginning with Penn State on Wednesday, May 8 … the game will air on ESPN2 with first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m. ET … the Mountaineers will then welcome Kansas State for three games this weekend … first pitch on Friday, May 10, is set for 6:30 p.m., Saturday for 4 p.m. and Sunday for 1 p.m. … Saturday’s game will serve as Senior Day while on Sunday, the team will celebrate the career of head coach Randy Mazey, who announced his retirement earlier this year.

Last Week in Baseball: The Mountaineers went 2-2 on the week … WVU opened the week with an 11-1 victory over Pitt at PNC Park … junior Grant Hussey hit two home runs while sophomore Ben Lumsden hit one as well … sophomore Gavin Van Kempen earned his seventh win of the season with three scoreless innings while striking out four … junior Tyler Switalski struck out five in two innings … on May 3, the Mountaineers defeated Cincinnati, 5-4, getting two home runs from sophomore Sam White and one each off the bats of junior Kyle West and sophomore Skylar King … on May 4, the Bearcats took the game by a score of 10-4 … senior Reed Chumley hit a pair of two-run home runs … the Mountaineers dropped the finale on May 5, 8-2.

Notes: The Mountaineers sit at 28-18 overall and in second place in the Big 12 at 15-9 alongside Texas and Oklahoma State, who are all three games back of Oklahoma … with his two home runs against Pitt, Hussey became the all-time WVU leader with 36 career dingers, surpassing Jedd Gyorko and Tim McCabe … three different players had multiple home run games this week, bringing the total to seven games where a Mountaineers has had at least two home runs this season.

This Week in Golf: The golf team will make its return to NCAA Regionals as the Mountaineers will head to The Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, California, from May 13-15 … it marks WVU’s second NCAA appearance for the program since it was reinstated in 2015-16 … WVU was a No. 8 seed in the Louisville Regional in 2019 … the Mountaineers are the No. 10 seed in the San Diego Regional … they will be joined by seeds No. 1 Arizona State, No. 2 Washington, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 California, No. 5 Oklahoma State, No. 6 North Florida, No. 7 Chattanooga, No. 8 USF, No. 9 San Diego, No. 11 Kansas, No. 12 Wright State, No. 13 Seton Hall and No. 14 Winthrop … six 54-hole NCAA Regional tournaments will be conducted from May 13-15 … thirteen teams and 10 individuals not on those teams will compete at each of the three regionals while the other three regionals will have 14 teams and five individuals not on those teams … the low five teams (30 teams total) and the low individuals (six individuals total) not on those teams from each regional will advance to the finals … the NCAA Golf Championship will take place from May 24-29, at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.

Last Week in Golf: West Virginia did not compete.

This Week in Tennis: West Virginia is competing in the 2024 UTR Sports NIT Championship at the IMG Academy Tennis Courts in Bradenton, Florida … the Mountaineers will face Pacific in the quarterfinal round on Monday, May 6, at 4:30 p.m. ET on Prime Video.

Notes: This is the first postseason tournament appearance for West Virginia in program history … West Virginia finished a successful regular season with its most wins in a season (14) and first winning season since 2010 … WVU also claimed its most Big 12 wins in a single season since joining the conference in 2013.

This Week in Outdoor Track & Field: The Mountaineers will travel to the 2024 Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championship on May 9-11 … this year’s championship will be hosted by Baylor and held at the Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium in Waco, Texas … the outdoor championship will be streamed live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ while live results can be found at WVUsports.com.

Last Week in Outdoor Track & Field: West Virginia concluded the regular outdoor season on May 4 as it served host to the WVU Last Chance Meet at the Track and Field Complex at Mylan Park in Morgantown … Saturday’s meet was highlighted by redshirt senior Mikenna Vanderheyden who finished first overall in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, becoming the third fastest Mountaineer in program history with a time of 10:02.80 … the Mountaineers collected four other first place finishes on Saturday across four events … in the women’s twilight 5,000 meters, redshirt sophomore Aubrie Custer ran for a personal best time of 18:33.27, finishing first overall … freshman Kishay Rowe added another gold medal in the women’s twilight 800 meters as she raced to a 2:07.91 finish … the third first place of the day came from freshman Lily Haught in the women’s 400-meter hurdles, with a time of 1:03.29 … the final top finish was recorded by redshirt sophomore Kase Torchia who boasted a season high time of 2:25.19 in the women’s 800 meters.

Notes: Vanderheyden ranks No. 4 in the Big 12 in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase after her performance on May 4, additionally she qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary Round where she ranks No. 10 in the region.

This Week in Rowing: West Virginia will not compete again until the Big 12 Championships on May 19, at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Florida.

Last Week in Rowing: West Virginia competed against Duquesne on May 4, in Pittsburgh.

Press Release Courtesy of WVU Athletics

Photo by Aaron Parker, Blue Gold Sports