Jacob Garcia enters his seventh season with the Mountaineer coaching staff in 2026, beginning as the team’s volunteer assistant in the summer of 2019. He was promoted to assistant coach and took over as the recruiting coordinator before the 2024 season.
Garcia assists the team with daily activities, including the implementation of technology and data, camp functions and the recruitment of student-athletes, while working with hitters, catchers, and base running. Additionally, Garcia helps in the transition of including student-athletes coming to WVU.
In 2025, Garcia helped WVU to a Big 12 regular season title and its second consecutive NCAA Super Regional appearance as the Mountaineers set a new program record with 44 wins.
In 2024, Garcia and the Mountaineers earned a second consecutive NCAA Regional berth where they went 3-0 in Tucson to advance to an NCAA Super Regional for the first time in program history.
After the season, Wet Virginia saw five of its players selected in the 2024 MLB Draft, led by JJ Wetherholt, who was taken 7th overall by the St. Louis Cardinals, the highest draft pick in program history.
Garcia helped lead the Mountaineers to new heights in 2023 as WVU took home a share of the Big 12 regular-season title for the first time in program history, the first conference championship for the Mountaineers since winning the Big East in 1996.
WVU put together a 40-20 overall record and 15-9 conference record after being picked sixth in the preseason poll. The Mountaineers went to their third NCAA Regional appearance in the last six completed seasons as WVU was the No. 2 seed in Lexington.
JJ Wetherholt led a group of 13 Mountaineers to be named All-Big 12 as the sophomore was named Big 12 Player of the Year. Pitchers Ben Hampton and Carlson Reed joined Wetherholt on the first team while pitcher Blaine Traxel and outfielders Landon Wallace and Braden Barry were named to the second team. In addition, seven other players earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention.
Wetherholt also became the first unanimous First-Team All-American in program history as he was honored by seven publications. He led the nation with a .449 batting average while slugging 16 home runs and 24 doubles while also stealing a Big 12-most 36 bases.
After the season, West Virginia saw five of its players sign pro contracts. Reed was drafted in the fourth round by the Pittsburgh Pirates while Barry was taken in the eighth round by the Toronto Blue Jays. Wallace (Angels), Tevin Tucker (Rockies), and Kevin Dowdell (Angels) all signed undrafted free-agent deals.
.
The Mountaineers finished 33-22 in 2022, highlighted by a 14-10 mark in Big 12 play, the most league wins since joining the conference in 2013. WVU was an impressive 15-6 in games following a loss and were one of just five Power 5 programs to avoid a three-game losing streak.
Right-handed pitcher Trey Braithwaite earned All-America accolades by the NCBWA after his successful season out of the bullpen, and he was one of two WVU players named to the All-Big 12 First Team, joining outfielder Austin Davis. In all, a total of eight players were included on all-conference teams.
West Virginia also saw three players be selected in the MLB Draft, as right-handed pitcher Jacob Watters was a fourth-round pick by the Oakland Athletics, while outfielder Victor Scott II went in the fifth round to the St. Louis Cardinals. Braithwaite also heard his name called by the Cincinnati Reds in the 16th round.
In 2021, Garcia was part of a Mountaineer staff that helped left-handed pitcher Ben Hampton earn Freshman All-America honors by Perfect Game. A total of four players were recognized on All-Big 12 teams, as left-handed pitcher Jackson Wolf was named an All-Big 12 Second Team selection, while catcher Paul McIntosh and Davis earned honorable mention status. Additionally, Hampton and infielder Mikey Kluska were selected to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team.
WVU won multiple games at the Big 12 Championship for the sixth time in the last eight tournaments in 2021. The club also finished the year with five wins over ranked opponents.
Following the campaign, four West Virginia pitchers were taken in the 2021 MLB Draft. Wolf was a fourth-round pick to the San Diego Padres, while right-hander Ryan Bergert followed as a sixth-round selection by San Diego. Meanwhile, right-hander Madison Jeffrey (15th round) and left-hander Adam Tulloch (17th round) were taken by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In his first season with the squad in 2020, the Mountaineers finished 11-5 in a COVID-19-shortened campaign, good for the program’s best 16-game start since 2009. A pair of newcomers – left-handed pitcher Jake Carr and infielder/catcher Matt McCormick – were named Freshman All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
Garcia arrived in Morgantown following a one-year stint as the graduate assistant at Washington. With the Huskies, he compiled and created scouting reports, was active in on-campus recruiting, charted in-game statistics and served as the bullpen coach.
A native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Garcia was a standout catcher at Northern Colorado, where he was a four-year letterman and three-time member of the Academic All-WAC team. He was named a team captain four times during his collegiate career, and he helped the Bears to their first-ever WAC Tournament appearance.
While at UNC, Garcia also interned for the strength and conditioning department and was active with baseball camps sponsored by the university.
Garcia earned his bachelor’s degree in sports and exercise science and a master’s in sport administration from Northern Colorado.
