2026 commitment Joshua Viars has a different path to WVU coming from Texas
West Virginia baseball recently gained the commitment of 2026 catcher/infielder Joshua Viars.
Viars is not the typical recruit for WVU, as he's from Prosper, Texas, not the typical recruiting footprint for the Mountaineers.
"The first thing that stood out to me about WVU was the culture. Watching them in the Super Regional was incredible. I chose the Mountaineers because the coaching staff was awesome, it made me feel wanted and at home," Viars said.
That Super Regional appearance against North Carolina was the first time Viars really saw WVU as a program as that made them stand out.
"Not at all WVU felt like it came out of nowhere to me. The Supers for them definitely was the first thing to catch my eye and stand out," Viars said.
Viars is a right-handed bat, who stays compact in the lower half but still has a lot of power with his swing. He plays shortstop and also catches.
He would get on WVU's recruiting radar due to the coaching shuffle that took place on WVU's staff this offseason. Obviously head coach Randy Mazey left, moving many coaching roles around for the Mountaineers. This included bringing in Chris Reilly as a director of pitching and pitching personnel.
Previously, Reilly was an area scout for the Boston Red Sox, and Viars had a prior relationship with Reilly when he was in Texas.
"With WVU being so far from home you’d think them finding me and me finding them would be difficult, however I got lucky and had a connection with Coach Reilly previously when he was in Texas. I found my interest immediately after stepping on campus and talking to the staff," Viars said.
Viars got to campus on July 31 for a prospect camp, learning more about the facilities and getting familiar with WVU's coaching staff as well.
This summer, Viars played with UBC Gallegos 2026, hitting .326 with 31 total hits and 11 of them being extra-base hits. He also hit two home runs and had 20 RBIs.
"As a player, I just love the game and I love the fans around it. I’m pumped to be in a state with WVU being the only big sport around. As a person I’m a big family guy I love spending time with my family and my friends who feel like family," Viars said.
----------
• Talk about it with West Virginia fans on The Blue Lot.
• SUBSCRIBE today to stay up on the latest on Mountaineer sports and recruiting.
• Get all of our WVU videos on YouTube by subscribing to the WVSports.com Channel
• Follow us on Twitter: @WVSportsDotCom, @rivalskeenan, @wesleyshoe
