West Virginia Black Bears

Last updated

West Virginia Black Bears
WV Bears.png Black Bears cap.png
Team logoCap insignia
Minor league affiliations
Class Collegiate summer (2021–present)
Previous classes Class A Short Season (2015–2020)
League MLB Draft League (2021–present)
Previous leagues
 New York–Penn League (2015–2020)
Major league affiliations
TeamUnaffiliated (2021–present)
Previous teams Pittsburgh Pirates (2015–2020)
Minor league titles
League titles (3)
  • 2015
  • 2022
  • 2023
First-half titles (1)
  • 2022
Second-half titles (1)
  • 2023
Team data
ColorsBlack, blue, gold, white
    
Ballpark Kendrick Family Ballpark (2015–present)
Owner(s)/
Operator(s)
 Bob Rich, Jr. (Rich Baseball Operations)
General manager Leighann Sainato
Manager Jon Nunnally
Website mlbdraftleague.com/west-virginia

The West Virginia Black Bears are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Granville, West Virginia, and play their home games at Kendrick Family Ballpark, which is across the Monongahela River from Morgantown and West Virginia University. From 2015 to 2020, they were a Minor League Baseball team of the New York–Penn League. They were the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates from their inception until MLB's reorganization of the minors after the 2020 season. [1]

Contents

In August 2014, it was announced that the Jamestown Jammers would cease operations and move to Morgantown. [2] On October 22, the team announced that they would be named the "Black Bears" following a fan vote, as the American black bear is the state animal of West Virginia. [3] Other finalists included Black Diamonds, Canaries, Coal Kings, Coal Sox, Energy, Moonshiners, Muskets, Wild Ones, and Wonder. [4]

In January 2015, Wyatt Toregas was named as their inaugural manager. [5] The Black Bears won the New York–Penn League wild card in their inaugural season. [6] The team then defeated the Williamsport Crosscutters and the Staten Island Yankees to win the 2015 New York–Penn League Championship. [7] On February 24, 2022, Leighann Sainato was named general manager. [8]

Roster

West Virginia Black Bears roster
PlayersCoaches/Other

Pitchers

  • 36 Sam Cozart
  • 30 Jorge DeCardenas
  •  3 Rob Evans
  • 61 Miguel Galvez
  • 37 Evan Hamberger
  • 29 Ricky Harrison
  • 19 David Leslie
  • 44 Trystan Levesque
  • 32 Aiden Moffett
  • 99 Tanner Perry
  • 15 Cannon Pickell
  • 34 Owen Puk
  •  8 Scott Rienguette
  • 23 Will Rogers
  • 50 Joe Ruzicka
  • 46 Zach Todd
  • 22 Sam Tookoian
  • 41 Elijah Underhill

Catchers

  •  5 Bryan Arendt
  • 18 Connor Hicks
  • 10 Beau Sylvester

Infielders

  • 12 Spencer Barnett
  •  2 Tyler Cerny
  •  9 Roman Jackson
  • 57 Sam Miller
  • 28 Judah Morris
  • 56 Nico Newhan
  • 27 Tyler Pettorini
  • 13 Ben Zeigler-Namoa

Outfielders

  •  4 Kam Edwards
  • 63 Ethan Hott
  • 16 Ben Lumsden
  • 31 Jonny McGill


Manager

Coaches

  • 24 Antonio Caballero (hitting)
  • 45 Jay Jackson (pitching)


Injury icon 2.svg 7-day injured list

~ Development list
# Rehab assignment
∞ Reserve list
‡ Restricted list
§ Suspended list
† Temporarily inactive list
Roster updated June 24, 2025
 Transactions
→ More rosters: MiLB  •  MLB Draft League

Season-by-season record

West Virginia Black Bears (New York–Penn League)
YearRegular seasonPost-season
RecordWin %FinishRecordWin %ResultMLB
2015 42–34.5532nd Pinckney Division4-1.800Won Semifinals vs. Williamsport Crosscutters, 2–1
Won Championship vs. Staten Island Yankees, 2-0		Pirates
2016 38–38.5003rd Pinckney Division——Did not qualify for playoffsPirates
2017 40–35.5333rd Pinckney Division——Did not qualify for playoffsPirates
2018 32–44.4215th Pinckney Division——Did not qualify for playoffsPirates
2019 40–36.5262nd Pinckney Division——Did not qualify for playoffsPirates
2020 ––None——Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemicPirates
Totals192–182.513—4–1.800
West Virginia Black Bears (MLB Draft League)
2021 30–19.6122nd——–N/A
2022 48–30.6151st1–01.000Won Championship vs. Williamsport Crosscutters, 1–0N/A
2023 46–27.6301st1–01.000Won Championship vs. Trenton Thunder, 1–0N/A
2024 35–39.4736th———N/A
Totals159–115.580—2–01.000

References

  1. ↑ "Black Bears retain affiliation with MLB, are founding member of Major League Baseball Draft League". West Virginia Black Bears. Minor League Baseball. November 20, 2020. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  2. ↑ Vingle, Mitch. Morgantown lands NY-Penn League baseball team. Charleston Gazette. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  3. ↑ "New NYPL club to be called the Black Bears: Team also decides to identify primarily with state of West Virginia". MiLB.com (Press release). Rich Baseball Operations. October 22, 2014. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
  4. ↑ Vote to name new Morgantown team MiLB.com
  5. ↑ Biertempfel, Rob (January 15, 2015). "Pirates Notebook: Assignments Finalized". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review .
  6. ↑ Heneghan, Kelsie (September 7, 2015). "Bears seal NYPL Wild Card in first season". Minor League Baseball . Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  7. ↑ Zimm, Tyler (September 15, 2015). "Black Bears Claim NYPL Championship". West Virginia Black Bears. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Leighann Sainato named General Manager of the West Virginia Black Bears". Minor League Baseball. February 24, 2022.
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