WVU's TBT squad Best Virginia announces roster and dates for first game
West Virginia's alumni basketball squad, 'Best Virginia' is competing in The Basketball Tournament (TBT) once again this summer.
Best Virginia will head to the Pittsburgh Regional, where they are going to be slotted as the No. 3 seed.
Their roster features 10 players, nine of whom are former Mountaineers, with one being from Indiana State.
The head coach of Best Virginia is Chase Harler, who has recently played on Best Virginia, but is taking over coaching duties from James Long. Kevin Jones, another former Best Virginia player, will be an assistant coach this summer.
The roster features a pair of players, Sean McNeil and Taz Sherman, who played in Morgantown as recently as 2022. Sherman played in 90 games in Morgantown, averaging 17.7 points per game in his final season. McNeil was right by Sherman's side that season, scoring 12.2 points per game, before he transferred to Ohio State.
Harler would be the most recent name after those two, as he played in 116 games across four seasons with WVU.
After Harler, there is a flurry of players from the Press Virginia era that are making now taking their talent to the WVU alumni squad.
Esa Ahmad, Wesley Harris, Jonathan Holton, Sagaba Konate, Teyvon Myers, and Tarik Phillip, are all names who played at WVU sometime between 2014-2019.
Ahmad was a forward who flashed many times for WVU across his four seasons in Morgantown. He scored 9.3 points per game, while he grabbed 4.3 rebounds per game, playing in 112 total contests.
Holton was at the front of the WVU press when it first got going and he spent two seasons at WVU, playing in 66 games and starting 55 of them. As a Mountaineer, he averaged 8.2 points per game, 6.7 rebounds per game, and 1.1 steals per game.
Harris was at WVU from 2017-2019, as he started in 54 of 59 games played at WVU. He averaged 6.3 points per game and 3.9 rebounds per game at WVU, scoring 10 or more points 13 times as a Mountaineer.
Konate was a showman of types, known for his violent two-handed blocks. After starting only two games in his first season, Konate burst onto the scene. In total, he compiled 191 blocks, which is most in program history. He averaged 8.0 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game, and 2.4 blocks per game in his career.
Myers is turning into a staple on these Best Virginia teams, as he's returning yet again this summer. Myers played in Morgantown for two seasons, averaging 4.3 points per game in 66 career games played.
Phillip played at WVU three seasons, starting a total of 15 games in his career. Despite that, he scored 9.3 points per game as a junior and 9.5 points per game as a senior. He was named the Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year as a senior as well.
John Flowers is the last remaining former Mountaineer, playing at WVU from 2007-2011. He is no stranger to TBT, and was part of WVU's Final Four run in 2010. Flowers played in 142 games at West Virginia, with his most productive season coming in 2010-2011, averaging 9.2 points per game and 6.2 rebounds per game.
The final member of the roster Xavier Bledson. Bledson played at Indiana State from 2022-2024 and is a guard who averaged 7.3 points per game in his 96-game career.
WVU will face No. 6 seed Brotherly Love in the first round of the Pittsburgh Regional. Pitt's alumni squad Zoo Crew is the No. 2 seed in the region, making it that if both them and Best Virginia win, they will face in a reiteration of the Backyard Brawl in the second round.
The No. 1 seed is Stars of Stoors (UConn), No. 4 seed is DuBois Dream, No. 5 seed is Happy Valley Hoopers (Penn State), No. 7 seed is Million $ Worth of Game, and the No. 8 seed is Herkimer Originals.
WVU's first game is set for July 20, at the Petersen Events Center. The Pittsburgh Regional will take place from July 20-24.
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