Alexa Muller

That dude that just stole home! Armani Guzman... That's the same kid who hit .053 his freshman year and was a role player. A Swiss Army knife for his club. He always had the speed tool. Freshman year they used him mainly as a pinch runner. 1 for 19 at the dish. Most guys would have transferred or quit. He went to a summer league, made adjustments, only hit .248, but came back more prepared. 2025, back on the bench again. Hadn't started in 30 days. Coach noticed two pinch-hit singles in a blowout loss and put him back in the lineup. He didn't try to do too much, he just contributed. Trust was being built. About a year ago in the regionals, he hit a walk-off sacrifice fly. Then 4-for-5 with the go-ahead RBI in the 8th. The 2025 Regional MVP batted 9th. His coach said it best. "His mentality has been so spot on. You want to talk about a confident guy that's not arrogant. He is in such a strong place competing right now that he knows he'll have success." Coach Sabins, 2025 He wasn't confident because things were going well. Things were going well because he stayed confident! By 2026 he's breaking the all-time stolen base record at WVU, delivering walk-off hits, and helping send West Virginia to Omaha for the first time in program history. As a former D1 coach and 7th rounder, I love this story because it's real. The work wins. The best players fail the most, they just refuse to let it stop them. In a world that wants everything now, let's play the long game. Belief comes before ability. Always has. Let's let the next wave of athletes embrace this mentality, stay consistent, and stay persistent. I went down a rabbit hole on Guzman because I saw it wasn't always easy and smooth sailing for him, as that's how most athletes on TV appear. Adversity will always show up. It's how we keep that belief and keep improving. Kudos to Guzman and WVU, fun to follow as a baseball fan. I pulled much of this information from WVU sports, domainpost and 247sports. @WVUBaseball @mani_ftn