Reese Bassinger, a 2021 graduate of Wylie High School, has helped lead the No. 16 West Virginia Mountaineers baseball team to an appearance in the NCAA World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. The Mountaineers will open play in the World Series at 2 p.m. Friday vs. unseeded Troy. The game will be televised on ESPN. Photo courtesy Adam Grossman / West Virginia University athletics communications
By David Wolman
Reese Bassinger’s baseball journey has been a winding one.
Bassinger, a 2021 graduate of Wylie High School, began his collegiate career with two seasons at Odessa Junior College before transferring to Tarleton State in 2024 and again transferring to West Virginia in 2025. This year, Bassinger has settled in nicely with the Mountaineers and is a key arm for the Mountaineers’ pitching staff. He has a 3.23 ERA and a 4-3 record. In 55 2/3 innings, Bassinger has 56 strikeouts to just 18 walks.
The former Wylie Pirate will look to continue to deliver on the mound for West Virginia at the NCAA Division I Series in Omaha, Nebraska. The Mountaineers, who are making their first-ever appearance in the World Series, open play against unseeded Troy at 2 p.m. Friday at Charles Schwab Field.
West Virginia secured its inaugural NCAA World Series appearance by defeating Cal Poly 17-1 at Wagener Field at Kendrick Family Ballpark in the Morgantown Super Regional on Saturday, June 6. Cal Poly took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, but West Virginia scored the game’s final 17 runs. The Mountaineers took control after erupting for seven runs in the top of the second.
Bassinger made a relief appearance in West Virginia’s 12-2 win over Cal Poly in Game 1 of the best-of-three series on Friday, June 5. He tossed a scoreless eighth, working around one hit and tossed 20 pitches.
It was the second appearance for Bassinger in the NCAA Tournament. In a 10-5 win for the Mountaineers over Wake Forest on May 31 in the NCAA Morgantown Regional, the former Wylie standout tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out two and working around one hit, helping West Virginia to survive an elimination game and keep its national title aspirations alive.
West Virginia persevered in one of the wildest regional tournaments.
After cruising to a 10-1 win over Binghamton, West Virginia was relegated to the elimination bracket after losing 11-9 to Kentucky on May 30. The Mountaineers then made it two straight wins, doubling up Wake Forest 10-5. That set up a rematch with Kentucky, with the victor advancing to the Super Regionals, although West Virginia needed to win both games because it already had one loss.
West Virginia was down to its final three outs in the first game, but the Mountaineers rallied with a five-run outburst in the top of the ninth and they held on to stun the Wildcats, 11-9.
One day later, in a winner-take-all game, West Virginia jumped out to a 5-1 lead, but Kentucky rallied with four in the top of the eighth to tie the score at 5-5.
However, Armani Guzman sent the Mountaineers’ fans in attendance into a wild frenzy after hitting a walk-off, RBI single in the bottom of the 10th to give West Virginia a 6-5 win.
The 45-15 Mountaineers carried that momentum over into their Super Regional, where they had little trouble with the Cal Poly Mustangs.
Now, West Virginia will look to win its first-ever national title in baseball.
For more stories about the Wylie community, see the next print or digital edition of The Wylie News. Subscribe today and support local journalism.
0 Comments