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Cutting-Edge Technology Helps Fuel West Virginia’s Run To Omaha
June 11, 2026 04:42 PM | Baseball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – I view cutting-edge sports technology probably about the same way some doctors view taking vitamin supplements and fish oil – if you think it's helping you, then by all means, go for it!
This came to mind when I began reading this morning's transcription to West Virginia coach Steve Sabins' press conference in Omaha, Nebraska, on the eve of the Mountaineers' first-ever College World Series appearance.
Back when my generation got into college athletics, sports performance and sports psychology were viewed with a fair amount of skepticism. If you got the yips in golf, or all of a sudden couldn't make a throw across the diamond to first base, you either figured it out by yourself or you found something else to do.
When WVU became one of the first schools in the country to employ a sports psychologist, rifle coach Dr. Ed Etzel, back in 1989, I can recall one coach on the staff not wanting any part of it for his players.
There were probably others, too.
Well, college sports have obviously come a long way since those days to the point where Sabins was asked about the state-of-the-art, $4 million biomechanics laboratory his players are using on the eve of the biggest game in program history.
This facility was made possible through a generous donation by WVU alum and Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick.
"Yes, we have a cutting-edge technology lab that's equipped with motion-capture cameras and forced plates that are in-laid in the ground from the pitching mound and the batter's box, as well as with Trackman and a radar system in every cage," Sabins said.
"And, we have a company that's called BioPrecision, which has really helped us kind of take this thing to the next level," he continued. "Not only do they work with our players, but they work with players outside of West Virginia. So, everything that we offer in that lab is also accessible to professional and amateur players. That's been a real game changer."
Sabins admitted he became a believer when he began to realize how to make the technology actionable with his players.
"I'm a baseball coach, and we build rosters and we work to get players better, but I'm not a biomechanist, and I don't know how human movement actually works," he explained. "So, we were able to hire a Ph.D. in human movement, a full-time biomechanist, who now also teaches a class in the School of Sports Science."
The person Sabins is referring to is Courtney Semkewyc, a former Division III softball player who earned her bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering from Rochester and, eventually, her Ph.D. from Rutgers.
She was working at Tread Athletics when the opportunity to come to West Virginia presented itself. What was really appealing to Sabins was her desire to take an active role in the team's day-to-day activities.
"My sales pitch to her was, do you want to work with 35 athletes and teach a class and be a professor and be a part of a team that makes a run to Omaha, or would you just like to service 4,000 athletes and never see any of them and not really work with them face-to-face?" he said. "She's like, 'I want to be a part of a team, and I want to win, and I want to be in the dugout, and I want to make a difference.'"
That approach not only won over Sabins, who is comfortable incorporating analytics and advanced metrics into what he's doing, but it would have won over any coach, from any era.
Sabins admitted her enthusiasm and desire to take an active role in the success of the team is what sealed the deal for him.
"I don't mind sitting here and talking about it because it's one of those things, like, you can have a roadmap to being good, but actually implementing that process of what we've done is essentially impossible," he said, adding, "A Ph.D. and a biomechanist that's a baseball rat that wants to be in the dugout, and be at practice all day and grind … you can't just go create that person or that system.
"Not every school has a School of Sports Science that has 30 students working in the lab and want to create graduate assistantships for that. Not every administration wants to partner with an external academic unit, right?"
West Virginia did, because the people in decision-making roles understand that to be successful, sometimes you must be a little bit different. Now, the baseball program is reaping the rewards.
"All these things have to fall into place, and I feel like we've been able to just kind of bring all that stuff together and create something that is truly unique to West Virginia," Sabins admitted.
"And that's why some of the best pitchers in the nation are choosing to come here," he added.
West Virginia (45-15) will meet Troy (38-30) on Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET in the opening game of the Men's College World Series at Charles Schwab Field.
The Mountaineer Sports Network with Andrew Caridi and Jake Weghorst will have radio coverage on stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com, and on the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.
ESPN will televise the game nationally.
This came to mind when I began reading this morning's transcription to West Virginia coach Steve Sabins' press conference in Omaha, Nebraska, on the eve of the Mountaineers' first-ever College World Series appearance.
Back when my generation got into college athletics, sports performance and sports psychology were viewed with a fair amount of skepticism. If you got the yips in golf, or all of a sudden couldn't make a throw across the diamond to first base, you either figured it out by yourself or you found something else to do.
When WVU became one of the first schools in the country to employ a sports psychologist, rifle coach Dr. Ed Etzel, back in 1989, I can recall one coach on the staff not wanting any part of it for his players.
There were probably others, too.
Well, college sports have obviously come a long way since those days to the point where Sabins was asked about the state-of-the-art, $4 million biomechanics laboratory his players are using on the eve of the biggest game in program history.
This facility was made possible through a generous donation by WVU alum and Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick.
"Yes, we have a cutting-edge technology lab that's equipped with motion-capture cameras and forced plates that are in-laid in the ground from the pitching mound and the batter's box, as well as with Trackman and a radar system in every cage," Sabins said.
"And, we have a company that's called BioPrecision, which has really helped us kind of take this thing to the next level," he continued. "Not only do they work with our players, but they work with players outside of West Virginia. So, everything that we offer in that lab is also accessible to professional and amateur players. That's been a real game changer."
Sabins admitted he became a believer when he began to realize how to make the technology actionable with his players.
"I'm a baseball coach, and we build rosters and we work to get players better, but I'm not a biomechanist, and I don't know how human movement actually works," he explained. "So, we were able to hire a Ph.D. in human movement, a full-time biomechanist, who now also teaches a class in the School of Sports Science."
The person Sabins is referring to is Courtney Semkewyc, a former Division III softball player who earned her bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering from Rochester and, eventually, her Ph.D. from Rutgers. She was working at Tread Athletics when the opportunity to come to West Virginia presented itself. What was really appealing to Sabins was her desire to take an active role in the team's day-to-day activities.
"My sales pitch to her was, do you want to work with 35 athletes and teach a class and be a professor and be a part of a team that makes a run to Omaha, or would you just like to service 4,000 athletes and never see any of them and not really work with them face-to-face?" he said. "She's like, 'I want to be a part of a team, and I want to win, and I want to be in the dugout, and I want to make a difference.'"
That approach not only won over Sabins, who is comfortable incorporating analytics and advanced metrics into what he's doing, but it would have won over any coach, from any era.
Sabins admitted her enthusiasm and desire to take an active role in the success of the team is what sealed the deal for him.
"I don't mind sitting here and talking about it because it's one of those things, like, you can have a roadmap to being good, but actually implementing that process of what we've done is essentially impossible," he said, adding, "A Ph.D. and a biomechanist that's a baseball rat that wants to be in the dugout, and be at practice all day and grind … you can't just go create that person or that system.
"Not every school has a School of Sports Science that has 30 students working in the lab and want to create graduate assistantships for that. Not every administration wants to partner with an external academic unit, right?"
West Virginia did, because the people in decision-making roles understand that to be successful, sometimes you must be a little bit different. Now, the baseball program is reaping the rewards.
"All these things have to fall into place, and I feel like we've been able to just kind of bring all that stuff together and create something that is truly unique to West Virginia," Sabins admitted.
"And that's why some of the best pitchers in the nation are choosing to come here," he added.
West Virginia (45-15) will meet Troy (38-30) on Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET in the opening game of the Men's College World Series at Charles Schwab Field.
The Mountaineer Sports Network with Andrew Caridi and Jake Weghorst will have radio coverage on stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com, and on the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.
ESPN will televise the game nationally.
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