MAILBAG: Why Neal Brown Didn't Work, Better Year 1 - Rich Rod or Hodge? Future CWS + More

Good Monday morning, Mountaineer fans! It's time to crack open this week's West Virginia On SI mailbag .

From @JohnBlackshaw : Q: CCU invested in baseball, and it took 20 years to get to the CWS.

WVU really started investing 12-15 years ago.

Do you think WVU baseball can go the same trajectory as CCU and get to a CWS in 5-8 years? A: I think it's absolutely possible.

And actually, it could happen before that projected timeline.

They've built a ton of momentum and have proven to be one of the Big 12's best teams year in and year out, and recruits are starting to take notice.

All that being said, they'll never have the resources LSU has access to and maybe even Coastal to some extent.

I'd have to imagine CCU won't spend a bunch of money on football or men's basketball, knowing that winning big is unlikely.

Their baseball facilities are second to none, and getting to play baseball in the south, on the beach, is an easy pitch for coaches.

From @wvufan2023 : Q: I know its been awfully quiet lately, but why is it taking so long to fill out the rest of the basketball roster? Also, Im surprised we got our conference matrix before the non-conference side of things lol A: Ross Hodge is being extremely careful with who he's bringing into the fold.

He doesn't want to fill the roster just to say it's filled.

They have 11 right now, but will probably end up at 13 with some JUCO additions.

When that will happen and who that will be remains to be seen.

From @TML25302 : Q: Who do you think does better year one at WVU Rich Rod vs.

Ross Hodge? A: I'm going to go with Hodge.

It's a lot easier, in my opinion, to turnover a roster in basketball than it is in football.

We saw it last season under Darian DeVries, and I think they'll have a similar year in 2025-26.

Football will benefit from a relatively easy start to the schedule, but once they get into the meat of Big 12 play, they'll hit a few bumps in the road.

The trenches worry me greatly, and if you can't win up front, it's hard to win games.

From @wveers4life : Q: Do we take any solace in the face that we lost to the eventual national champ in the MCWS? A: I don't think too much about stuff like that, but I can see why WVU fans can look at it that way.

I know there were some questionable decisions made by Steve Sabins in the postseason, most notably regarding Grant Hussey and young relievers, but the conversation around the baseball program should all be positive moving forward.

They did things that had never been accomplished here in the 100+ years of the program, which says a lot.

From @WVinSC487 : Q: What does next season really look like for RR and the boys? A: If you're talking about 2025, it's going to be a bit of a rollercoaster.

There will be moments when you can see a much better product on the field, and then there'll be times where it looks like there are 70 newcomers on the team with a whole new coaching staff.

If you're talking about 2026, I would expect them to turn the corner and be an above-average team that's in the neighborhood of 7-8 wins.

From @wi_thompson : Q: Now that it is about football preseason prediction talk on the upcoming season, looking back, do you think the reason NB wasnt successful here was the assistant staff he put together here? Or other factors? A: There were several reasons why it didn't work here for Neal.

Firstly, I think there was too much instability on the offensive side.

He called the shots, then gave it up to Graham Harrell, and then took it back.

Outside of just running the ball, they seemed to lack an identity offensively.

Quarterback play was pretty average outside of Garrett Greene's 2023 season.

But yes, the coaching staff needed to be tweaked, I believe, after the 2022 season, and not much changed.

To participate in next week's mailbag, send me a DM on X ( @Callihan_ ) reply to my tweet asking for submissions on Saturday, or place your question in the comments section under my post on Facebook .

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