Jeff Goodman sees enough in West Virginia to put the Mountaineers in the mix in the Big 12 this season.
On a recent episode of the Field of 68 podcast, the national college basketball analyst laid out his preseason conference rankings for 2026 and slotted West Virginia at No. 6. Goodman placed the Mountaineers behind Houston, Arizona, Kansas, Iowa State and Texas Tech.
That group at the top comes with plenty of built-in credibility. Each of those programs has already established itself in the league and has put together NCAA Tournament runs in recent years. Still, Goodman’s ranking puts West Virginia in a spot where it can be part of the conversation if things come together.
A big reason for that optimism is the way Ross Hidge attacked the offseason in his second year in Morgantown. West Virginia went hard after the transfer portal and paired a top-15 portal class with a top-15 high school class.
The additions are eye-catching. The Mountaineers brought in St.
John’s guard Joson Sanon, Butler guard Finley Bizjack, Georgia Tech center Mohammed Sylla and Utah forward Seydou Traore. They also added one of the most anticipated and highly rated recruits in program history in guard Miles Sadler.
Last season under Hidge was uneven, with West Virginia finishing 18-14 in the regular season. But the way the year ended changed the feel around the program. After a rough finish to the season and the Big 12 Tournament, Hidge got his team back on track and guided it to three straight wins and a College Basketball Crown Championship, capped by an overtime win over Oklahoma.
That finish matters because this year’s roster looks different in all the right ways. The Mountaineers have lost a lot of last season’s key pieces, but they also appear deeper and better equipped with scoring options.
A lot of the buzz naturally centers on Sadler, who is expected to play a major role right away as a true freshman. But the momentum around West Virginia also comes from how Hidge coached the team down the stretch last season.
For a program trying to reach its first NCAA Tournament since 2023, the signs are pointing up as 2026 approaches.
In Other News...
Bob Huggins Documentary Premiere Will Stir Mixed Emotions For WVU Fans
A new documentary on Bob Huggins is set to bring Mountaineer fans back through one of the most complicated and memorable eras in program history. Beyond the Bench - The Bob Huggins Legacy will premiere Aug. 7 in Morgantown, with tickets already on sale for both general and VIP admission at the Hazel and J.W. Ruby Community Center. The film looks beyond the sideline, tracing Huggins coaching career and personal life while also revisiting his impact on basketball and his fundraising work for cancer research.
For West Virginia fans, the timing alone makes this one worth watching, but the emotional pull figures to come from the voices attached to it. The documentary features interviews with former Mountaineers Joe Mazzulla, DeSean Butler, Jevon Carter and Deuce McBride, along with former Cincinnati players, giving it a wide lens on Huggins reach. The question now is how the film will balance the celebration of his legacy with the more complicated feelings many in Morgantown still carry. [Read more 🡒]
Why WVU Fans Are Finally Being Asked To Believe Again
West Virginia football has spent the better part of seven years fighting through its roughest stretch since the 1970s, and the damage shows up in the record and in the mood around the program. But there is a different tone around the Mountaineers now, with University President Michael T. Benson and athletic director Wren Baker both pushing to give the program more support, more resources and a better chance to compete at a higher level.
The optimism is not built on wishful thinking alone. There are promising young players in the pipeline, returning starters who give the roster some stability and a sense that the foundation is finally getting sturdier. Even so, the real test for WVU is whether that progress starts to show in the standings soon enough to keep fans believing while the rest of the rebuild continues to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Four Under-The-Radar Mountaineers Are Pushing WVU's Two-Deep Hard
West Virginias depth chart still has some sorting to do, and a handful of lesser-known names are making that conversation more interesting than expected. The Mountaineers are getting real competition from players who arrived with different backgrounds and different paths to Morgantown, but each has shown enough to make the staff think twice about where the two-deep should settle before the season begins.
The most intriguing part is how varied the possibilities are. One newcomer on the defensive line has a chance to carve out a rotation spot quickly, while another could become a useful chess piece if the linebacker room gets thin. A safety is pushing for a role behind the starters, and a junior college slot receiver has put himself in the mix for snaps alongside the more established options. For a roster still taking shape, that kind of pressure from the bottom of the depth chart can change a lot in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]