With great hopes, West Virginia will begin its baseball season on February 16 against Stetson. Randy Mazey, who is retiring at the end of the season, is in his last season as the team’s coach, and he has possibly the finest college baseball player in the nation leading the way. Over the course of the next three days, we’ll look at it all with reports on Mazey’s accomplishments, his retirement, his future plans, and his connection with shortstop JJ Wetherholt.

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Mazey’s Last Season

It was one of those springtime days when the temperature dropped in the morning and then rose up, giving the impression that baseball season, Randy Mazey’s last season as West Virginia’s coach, was almost upon him.

Over the course of his 11 years running the program, he wrote an engaging narrative, leading the team from nothing to last year’s Big 12 regular season title, two NCAA tournaments, and the run-down Hawley Field to the state-of-the-art Monongalia County Ballpark.

One week remained before Stetson’s opening day, and at his last preseason news conference, he was questioned about his feelings, his recollections, and all he was going through right then and there.

Mazey said that he anticipated being asked the question. Although he made an effort not to, his wife forced him to consider it that way. “Do you realize this is the last time you’re ever going to do that?” she asks him each time he returns after an outing.

That’s not how things are at the moment, he adds.

The man chose to retire early and hand his squad over to his assistant head coach, Steve Sabins, the following season. Sabins has spent nine years at WVU working with Mazey.

What made him decide to retire early?

He mentioned how the community had treated him and his family so well. They have become something of an integral part of this community. He said that what he did was best for the state, the institution, and the baseball program.

He went on to say that he felt good about it and that he did it for the right reasons.

Though you can’t be sure what was going through his mind when he said those words, you can be sure that the philosopher was waiting to emerge.

He continued by saying that although talking about retiring is simple, things differ somewhat when you really take the plunge. You understand that working in this field causes you to miss a great deal of life and your family. More time with them than he had ever been able to spend was what he desired.