West Virginia gets a roster makeover under second-year coach Ross Hodge

The Mountaineers have missed the NCAA Tournament for three straight seasons, their longest drought in two decades. Coach Ross Hodge brought a defense-first mentality from North Texas a year ago and West Virginia allowed just 65.7 points per game in his first season, which ranked 14th nationally. Problem was, the Mountaineers were 290th in scoring at 70.6 points per game. West Virginia has nine underclassmen and returns just two players from the team that finished seventh in the Big 12 and went 2-4 against ranked opponents (wins over Kansas and BYU).

Five-star point guard Miles Sadler, who played at Bella Vista Prep in Scottsdale, Arizona, is one of West Virginia’s highest-ever rated recruits. The 6-foot Sadler was ranked 23rd nationally by Rivals.com. ... He will be joined in the backcourt by Finley Bizjack, who played three seasons at Butler and averaged 17.1 points a year ago. ... Forwards Brenen Lorient and Javan Buchanan won a preliminary injunction in September to play for a fifth college season. The NCAA is appealing. Lorient was second in scoring for the Mountaineers at 11.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game last season. Buchanan averaged 12.6 points and five rebounds at Boise State.

Center Mouhamed Sylla had five double-doubles at Georgia Tech before missing half of his freshman season with an ankle injury. ... West Virginia is the fourth school for Seydou Traore, who averaged nine points last season at Utah. ... Martin Somerville and Joson Sanon averaged eight points at Florida State and St. Johns, respectively. ... Jasper Floyd, who transferred to West Virginia a year ago with Hodge from North Texas, entered the transfer portal in April and played professionally in Mexico.

West Virginia opens the season Nov. 2 at home against Niagara. The Mountaineers play Auburn to start the Players Era tournament Nov. 17 in Las Vegas and will meet North Carolina on Nov. 27 in Charlotte. West Virginia opens Big 12 play Jan. 2 at Kansas. Other big tests in league play will come on the road at BYU and Texas Tech, at home against Arizona and Houston, and in a home-and-home series with Iowa State.

Honor Huff, the Mountaineers’ leading scorer a year ago, filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in early October seeking another year of eligibility. ... Among the incoming six freshmen include 7-foot-1 Amadou Seini, who had a pair of 24-rebound games for Cameroon at the Under-19 World Cup in 2025, and 6-10 Aliou Dioum, Sadler's teammate at Bella Vista Prep. ... Bizjack, Sanon and Somerville will be the primary outside threats for the Mountaineers after combining for 176 3-pointers at their respective schools last season.

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