College Basketball Insider assesses if West Virginia could be dark horse in Big 12
Rothstein is unsure of where West Virginia will land in year one under Ross Hodge because of what the rest of the Big 12 projects as.
West Virginia will have their fourth head coach in as many seasons with them entering this next season under Ross Hodge. That leaves Jon Rothstein uncertain of where the Mountaineers will finish this year in the Big 12.
Rothstein was asked if West Virginia could be a possible dark horse team in the conference next year on the latest episode of his show for CBS Sports. He pushed off his answer until next month until he can better assess his projected standings for the Big 12.
“Check back in July when we do the Big 12 preview,” Rothstein said.
That’s less to do with how good or bad that the Mountaineers could be. It’s just, among the sixteen-team conference, Rothstein already has the top half, with eight or nine programs, already projected well in ’25-’26.
“I look at it like this. If you are going to be an NCAA Tournament team in the Big 12, you’ve got to be in that top seven or eight,” said Rothstein. “I’ve given you my top-five today – Houston, BYU, Texas Tech, Iowa State, Arizona. Cincinnati, Kansas, Baylor all in there as well. That is my top eight. And Kansas State, also with PJ Haggerty, will have a First Team All-American in tow.”
Hodge will be the third-straight new head coach in Morgantown after the resignation of Bob Huggins, the firing of their interim in Josh Eilert, and Darian DeVries leaving this offseason for Indiana. The Mountaineers have gone 47-51 (.480) in those three years leading into Hodge’s hiring towards the end of March. He brings with him a two-year resumé as a head coach from North Texas where the Mean Green went 46-24 (.657), finishing second this past season in the American, with two of the best defenses in that time in all of the NCAA.
With that latest coaching change, though, comes the roster turnover with it. West Virginia had 14 transactions in the NCAA Transfer Portal with eight additions, led by Treysen Eaglestaff (North Dakota), and six departures, namely Tucker DeVries (Indiana) and Amani Hansberry (Virginia Tech). They also lost Javon Small, an All Big-12 First Team selection for them last season who was out of eligibility and is in projections to be a second-round pick this week in the 2025 NBA Draft.
The Big 12 will again be competitive with several programs looking like contenders, in the conference and nationally, for next season. It remains to be seen, though, if West Virginia can be among those when they take the court for the first time, in what’ll hopefully be a longer tenure, under Hodge.
