Mountaineers in town: WVU Coaches Caravan hits Parkersburg

VIENNA -- The 2024 West Virginia University Coaches Caravan made its annual pitstop in the MOV Thursday at the Grand Pointe Conference and Reception Center in Vienna.

The event was the fourth out of the six that are scheduled around the state, with each providing an opportunity for Mountaineer faithful to interact with the coaches that lead the programs they follow.

The event was emceed by Tony Caridi, the voice of the Mountaineers. After mingling with attendees, the coaches sat down for a speaker panel led by Caridi.

First up was athletic director Wren Baker, who discussed the state of the athletics program at WVU, changes regarding NIL and the transfer portal, as well as his own two-year contract extension to stay with the Mountaineers until 2030.

"I think for us, we have to really find a way to chart a path together, and it can be done. It's gonna require us to think differently, it's gonna require us to provide even more for student athletes, particularly in those sports that are generating all that revenue. But that's not the major shift in college sports. Title IX was a major shift in college sports. It will survive, we will find a way to get through it, and I'm confident that WVU will be positioned well as we continue to move forward," said Baker, putting into perspective the current changes in terms of the overall history of collegiate athletics.

He discussed how his arrival lined up with some rough times for West Virginia University, and how he and the community have responded, "Last year wasn't just turbulent for Wren Baker, we all rode the wave of emotions, and I get that. But people continued to come, and continued to come and continued to come."

Baker pointed out a particular moment where he appreciated the dedication of the fans, "Go to the Baylor game late in the year on a Saturday at the Coliseum. We weren't doing very good, we didn't win the game, but it was sold out. It was snowing out, the roads weren't great, it was cold, and you packed it out. We had almost no no-shows, it was a great crowd. And I remember looking up at the crowd late in that game when we were down and I remember thinking, 'the people here deserve a program that's performing, and I wanna make sure I do everything I can to help deliver that.'

"I was told in the interview process what it (WVU Athletics) means to people, but you really can't understand it until you get here."

Five West Virginia head coaches spoke at the conclusion of Baker's talk: football coach Neal Brown, new men's basketball coach Darian DeVries, new volleyball coach Jen Greeny, women's basketball coach Mark Kellogg and women's soccer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown.

Brown started things off by introducing Parkersburg's own Casey Stanley to those in attendance, who has committed to continue his kicking career for the Mountaineers.

He discussed what he is telling the team in the offseason, "The message this offseason for our guys is, 'we were so close last year to being able to go to Dallas (for the Big-12 championship game).' And we haven't done that as a program, we joined in 2012. We've had some success, but we've never been to that championship game. The way college football is set up now, we're going to get two bids (to the playoff) in the Big-12, and if you can get to the Big-12 championship game in Dallas, you're going to get into the playoff... That's our goal, and we're really close."

DeVries, the new WVU men's basketball head coach, comes to the Mountaineers by way of Drake University. In his new position, he is now faced with the task of rebuilding a roster that retains only one athlete from last season.

"It's been an incredible 40 days, and it's been a very busy 40 days, but it's been exciting as well. I've absolutely loved my first 40 days here. My wife, daughter and son have spent just a couple weekends here, and they've really enjoyed it as well," said DeVries.

DeVries' son, Tucker DeVries, is following his father to WVU for his last year of eligibility. He said of the 6-7 guard, "He's overcome some genetics, that's number one. He can't wait to get here. He's finishing up school here in these next couple weeks and then gets here in June. He's beyond excited to get this last part of his journey started, maybe because he knows this is the last year he has to play for me, I don't know. We've had a blast together."

Kellogg, with one season in the books, discussed how the year went, "When we got here a year ago, I thought we had an opportunity to be pretty good. I didn't know that we would go on the run we ended up going on, but really, credit to our players, our staff and the community. This was my fifth time taking over a program, and this was by far the smoothest and easiest that I've had."

He continued, "I thought as the season went on, the community rallied around our group. We could feel it, we could sense it."

Contact Aaron Lee at alee@newsandsentinel.com