Just weeks after welcoming a new head coach and seemingly having to reconstruct its roster from scratch, it looks as though West Virginia may have its go-to scorer.
With last year’s leading scorer Javon Small in the rear view mirror and Darian and Tucker DeVries family long gone to Indiana, new head coach Ross Hodge has hit the ground running in Morgantown, West Virginia. For Mountaineers fans, it’s the second straight season that their program has welcomed in a new head coach, and the second straight season a full-scale roster reload has taken place.
With big shoes to fill, Hodge and his staff appear to have found their guy to run the offense next year.
Brad Smith, a writer for The Voice of Morgantown covering West Virginia sports, reported that North Dakota transfer Treysen Eaglestaff would be on campus for a visit Saturday.
“To be honest, this makes the likelihood of him [committing] increase greatly,” Smith said. “As we know, if West Virginia coaches can get recruits on campus in Morgantown, it almost always inevitably ends up in the player committing to play for the Mountaineers.”
The 6-foot-6 guard originally committed to play at South Carolina for his final year of eligibility, but de-committed from the Gamecocks a few days ago.
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Eaglestaff, a Bismarck, North Dakota native, made a name for himself early on in the season when he took on SEC giants Alabama. The Crimson Tide played an unusual away game at North Dakota’s 3,300 seat Betty Engelstad Sioux Center, slipping away with a 97-90 victory. The Fighting Hawks were led by Eaglestaff, who scored an eye-popping 40 points in the effort.
Eaglestaff averaged 18.9 points per game this season, and as a high-volume shooter for North Dakota, was liable on multiple occasions to go off for big scores. In the quarterfinals of the Summit League Tournament, he scored 51 over nearby rivals South Dakota State.
Smith says that pursuing Eaglestaff is also a sign of the program opening up its checkbook.
“In addition, it’s rumored that West Virginia has really opened up its pocketbook and backed up the Brinks truck for Eaglestaff. It is rumored that WVU is willing to pay him anywhere between $1.5 and $2.0 million next season,” Smith said. “With approximately $5-7 million in NIL money available, the additions of Chattanooga guard Honor Huff, who is expected to be paid approximately $1 million next season, and the potential addition of Eaglestaff, who could be paid upwards of $2 million, a great deal of the funds could be taken up with these two players.”
Additionally, Hodge has brought in a few of his former North Texas players on what he’s called discounts, which could fast track the Mountaineers’ rebuild.
Smith ended his story off suggesting some good news for Mountaineers, saying: “Don’t be surprised to see a quick commitment by Trey Eaglestaff this weekend.”
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