Photo by: WVU Athletic Communications
Viral Moment Continues to Pay Dividends to West Virginia University
June 30, 2026 12:28 PM | Baseball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – By now, just about everyone has seen the video of the West Virginia University baseball team singing "Take Me Home, Country Roads" after the Mountaineers rallied to defeat Kentucky and advance in the NCAA baseball tournament.
It was one of those seemingly unplanned viral moments.
Or was it?
Sports marketing is one of the many skills West Virginia University vice president and director of athletics Wren Baker has acquired during his years working in collegiate athletics, particularly during his time spent as deputy director of athletics at Missouri overseeing its sports marketing department.
It was there where he developed a relationship with ESPN college baseball play-by-play man Tom Hart, who called the West Virginia-Kentucky game for the SEC Network.
Like any good marketer, Wren understands that sometimes a little priming is in order. He explains.
"(Hart is a) Mizzou alum, and I worked at Missouri and coming in, I had passed along some thoughts on places for him to eat and gave him a little background on our history and traditions," Baker said recently.
"I also got to know Jensen (Lewis), the color guy, so the first night they were here, and we sang '(Take Me Home) Country Roads,' they did an interview over it, and I think some people on social media went at them a little bit," he continued. "But the reality is, without the right licensing, you are not allowed to just air the song, but you can air an interview over it."
The following day, Baker encouraged Hart and the ESPN production crew to further explore airing the singing of "Take Me Home, Country Roads" should West Virginia defeat Kentucky and advance to the Super Regionals.
He knew that it would be gold dust for his athletic department, the University and the state.
"At the end of a game, (television is) always on to the next thing, or it's streamed and most of the people are watching it, and I think a lot of people saw that and saw that it was so cool," he explained.
"Tom really went to work with his producer, who I think is based out of Florida, trying to get the rights for the next night, and I'm not sure if they ever got it completely cleared, but they just decided to do it. I give a lot of credit to Tom and Jensen. When you are a broadcast team, sometimes you think it's your job to describe the moment for your audience and in that moment, they realized the best description here was to let the moment play out without (speaking)."
According to Baker, when Hart and Jensen were doing their postgame interview with star player Armani Guzman, whose 10th-inning single delivered a dramatic come-from-behind victory for the Mountaineers, the producer in his ear encouraged Guzman to sing along with his teammates while the interview was happening.
That just added an extra special flavor to a moment that will permanently reside in the hearts and minds of West Virginians everywhere.
"It was the most beautiful moment, and there were just so many things that happened to make that come together," Baker explained. "I was telling our team, 'You make these plans for these special moments to do special things and some of it just happens.' Those are the best moments that you can ever have. So, for the world to be able to see the atmosphere at those regional games was incredible."
Baker says those two Kentucky games will rank among the biggest sports thrills of his life.
"I have been between the hedges at Georgia. I sat on the court when I was at Oklahoma State for a Final Four game; Super Bowls; I have been to College Football Playoff games and to NBA playoff games and many of the great sports moments that you can imagine, and there is not a better atmosphere than those regional games against Kentucky," he admitted. "That was the most incredible, bonkers, wild, atmosphere. On my deathbed, recalling some of the great sports moments that I've had a chance to part of, there is no way those won't be in the top 10."
It was a moment that has transcended West Virginia and even the United States. According to a recent posting made by ESPN's social media team, there have been more than 155 million views worldwide of the baseball team singing "Take Me Home, Country Roads" across the network's television and social media platforms.
That number has probably swelled to more than 200 million today.
Using advertising industry benchmarks for reach and impression campaigns, the estimated monetary value to West Virginia University could be as much as $2.3 million. That figure will only grow as the video gets watched and rewatched on YouTube and other platforms.
"To see that happen and then to see it play out and a national audience get a chance to see it, is incredible," Baker opined. "Then, amplify that with what's going on with the World Cup and more people are getting introduced to (West Virginia University). There was a deal on Fox News the other night about it in addition to NBC Nightly News. It has gone far beyond just a college sports audience. It's a worldwide phenomenon, and it's bringing attention to our athletic program, to our University and to our state."
In a time when people are growing increasingly fatigued with the things happening off the field in college sports, the image of college baseball players singing and swaying along with their adoring fans couldn't have come at a better moment.
That might be even more important than the positive publicity it has shined on West Virginia University and the Mountain State.
"There is so much negativity in sports right now and the fact that it was clean airspace and summertime, people are generally happier, so just to see like, 'Hey, there are a whole lot of people here coming together to do something they love in a place they love for a University they love' … it's a great reminder of what sports can do.
"I get chills every time I see it," Baker concluded.
Apparently, so do others.
It was one of those seemingly unplanned viral moments.
Or was it?
Sports marketing is one of the many skills West Virginia University vice president and director of athletics Wren Baker has acquired during his years working in collegiate athletics, particularly during his time spent as deputy director of athletics at Missouri overseeing its sports marketing department.
It was there where he developed a relationship with ESPN college baseball play-by-play man Tom Hart, who called the West Virginia-Kentucky game for the SEC Network.
Like any good marketer, Wren understands that sometimes a little priming is in order. He explains.
"(Hart is a) Mizzou alum, and I worked at Missouri and coming in, I had passed along some thoughts on places for him to eat and gave him a little background on our history and traditions," Baker said recently.
"I also got to know Jensen (Lewis), the color guy, so the first night they were here, and we sang '(Take Me Home) Country Roads,' they did an interview over it, and I think some people on social media went at them a little bit," he continued. "But the reality is, without the right licensing, you are not allowed to just air the song, but you can air an interview over it."
The following day, Baker encouraged Hart and the ESPN production crew to further explore airing the singing of "Take Me Home, Country Roads" should West Virginia defeat Kentucky and advance to the Super Regionals.
He knew that it would be gold dust for his athletic department, the University and the state.
"At the end of a game, (television is) always on to the next thing, or it's streamed and most of the people are watching it, and I think a lot of people saw that and saw that it was so cool," he explained.
"Tom really went to work with his producer, who I think is based out of Florida, trying to get the rights for the next night, and I'm not sure if they ever got it completely cleared, but they just decided to do it. I give a lot of credit to Tom and Jensen. When you are a broadcast team, sometimes you think it's your job to describe the moment for your audience and in that moment, they realized the best description here was to let the moment play out without (speaking)."
According to Baker, when Hart and Jensen were doing their postgame interview with star player Armani Guzman, whose 10th-inning single delivered a dramatic come-from-behind victory for the Mountaineers, the producer in his ear encouraged Guzman to sing along with his teammates while the interview was happening. That just added an extra special flavor to a moment that will permanently reside in the hearts and minds of West Virginians everywhere.
"It was the most beautiful moment, and there were just so many things that happened to make that come together," Baker explained. "I was telling our team, 'You make these plans for these special moments to do special things and some of it just happens.' Those are the best moments that you can ever have. So, for the world to be able to see the atmosphere at those regional games was incredible."
Baker says those two Kentucky games will rank among the biggest sports thrills of his life.
"I have been between the hedges at Georgia. I sat on the court when I was at Oklahoma State for a Final Four game; Super Bowls; I have been to College Football Playoff games and to NBA playoff games and many of the great sports moments that you can imagine, and there is not a better atmosphere than those regional games against Kentucky," he admitted. "That was the most incredible, bonkers, wild, atmosphere. On my deathbed, recalling some of the great sports moments that I've had a chance to part of, there is no way those won't be in the top 10."
It was a moment that has transcended West Virginia and even the United States. According to a recent posting made by ESPN's social media team, there have been more than 155 million views worldwide of the baseball team singing "Take Me Home, Country Roads" across the network's television and social media platforms.
That number has probably swelled to more than 200 million today.
Using advertising industry benchmarks for reach and impression campaigns, the estimated monetary value to West Virginia University could be as much as $2.3 million. That figure will only grow as the video gets watched and rewatched on YouTube and other platforms.
"To see that happen and then to see it play out and a national audience get a chance to see it, is incredible," Baker opined. "Then, amplify that with what's going on with the World Cup and more people are getting introduced to (West Virginia University). There was a deal on Fox News the other night about it in addition to NBC Nightly News. It has gone far beyond just a college sports audience. It's a worldwide phenomenon, and it's bringing attention to our athletic program, to our University and to our state."
In a time when people are growing increasingly fatigued with the things happening off the field in college sports, the image of college baseball players singing and swaying along with their adoring fans couldn't have come at a better moment.
That might be even more important than the positive publicity it has shined on West Virginia University and the Mountain State.
"There is so much negativity in sports right now and the fact that it was clean airspace and summertime, people are generally happier, so just to see like, 'Hey, there are a whole lot of people here coming together to do something they love in a place they love for a University they love' … it's a great reminder of what sports can do.
"I get chills every time I see it," Baker concluded.
Apparently, so do others.
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