2026 Fall Check-In: West Virginia Mountaineers

(Photo courtesy West Virginia Lacrosse)

For our next Fall Check-In we head down Country Roads to Morgantown to chat with West Virginia head coach Brian Houk about his Mountaineers. 

You can read our earlier installments of the series here:  Georgia, Tampa, Arizona State, Oregon, UNC Wilmington

MCLA: You all graduated two of your top three scorers, starting goalie, and your top two non-faceoff ground ball players.  How are you all filling those voids so far?

Brian Houk: We had an amazing senior class last year. Those guys you mentioned: Jackson Smith, Tyler Randles, Aidan Taffe, Sutton Taylor, and Justin Von Eck, as well as the rest of our 2026 class, are very difficult to replace. I'd go so far as to say Jackson Smith is the best player I've ever coached, and he was our programs first ever MCLA All American and 1st Team ALC selection. Although they won't be suiting up for us anymore, these guys left a lasting impact with the example they set in practice, in the weight room, and moving our team culture in the right direction. That precedent has set up our next group of guys to succeed this year. 

The two most prominent players we return on offense are senior attackman Kevin Mullaney and senior midfielder Dom Stingo. Kevin had the second most assists in the MCLA last season and is a true quarterback/point guard from his spot at X. Between his leadership at X and Dom's explosive dodging ability above cage, these two have been leading the way for our offense this fall. Several other returners who have played a big role on offense this fall include Logan Troppman, Alex Wells, Liam Rooney, Blake Miller, and Evan Grimm. 

On the defensive side, although we lost a few starters, we return all of our LSMs and D Mids from last year, and their experience has helped us tremendously this fall. Guys like Joe Doherty, Jacob Hime, Nate Lee, Tommy Wayne, Wyatt Langenburg, and Jonathan Debastiani have headlined that unit and there is great depth behind them too. Returning starter on close defense Kyle Ashman has looked great so far this fall and is a key presence down low. Sophomore Goalie Carson Lanfersiek has stood out the most in our goalie room, and he is doing a great job of developing chemistry with our revamped defense. 

Statistically speaking, faceoffs were not always our strong point last season, but I think our faceoff unit is way more talented than some of the numbers suggest. We return all of our FOGOs from a year ago and have a couple talented new guys added to the mix. They have been sharpening their technique and working hard this fall, and I expect faceoff play is an area that will significantly improve for us in Spring 2027. Aidan Caulk and Logan Camp look to lead that effort for us. 

We also have two key players who were unable to join us for fall ball, but I expect to be major contributors in the spring. Junior midfielder Kevin Roseland is spending the fall semester studying abroad in England, while senior LSM Sutton Taliaferro has spent the last several weeks fulfilling his national guard service obligations. The return of both of these guys will be huge for us in the spring. 

 MCLA: You have hovered around .500 the last few seasons, what are you all doing this year to break through?

BH: The past couple seasons we have seen some spurts of really good lacrosse mixed in with spurts of not so good lacrosse. We do not dwell on any past failures or successes, but reflecting on the past few years, we know that the way we get to the promised land is through more consistency in our execution on the field and attention to detail in our day to day. This year we have focused on simplifying things, but doing those simple things at a high level, all the time. Our team is also very committed to the weight room. We have mandatory full team lifting sessions before each fall practice, and the guys are competing hard in there. The strength coaching staff at Pro Performance, led by Ryan Leibreich, is doing a fantastic job of making us more athletic, fostering competition, and instilling resilience in our team. 

MCLA legend Jac Coyne said a few years ago that "One of these days, West Virginia is going to smash the door down and break into the top tier of the MCLA". Through more consistency in our play and the grit we are developing in the weight room, I am extremely confident we have what it takes to do that this year. 

MCLA: What are the schedule highlights?  Any big trips?

BH: We have 13 games this year, 7 home and 6 away, and I am thrilled with how our schedule came together. There is a great balance of high level competition, travel, and rest. Our schedule layout is one of many reasons I think we will have a great season. President Logan Troppman and VP Alex Wells did an excellent job collaborating with me to put it all together. 

Three Big Trips: 

• Tuscaloosa to play Alabama and Purdue
• Philadelphia to play Temple and Northeastern
• Virginia to play JMU and Virginia Tech 

Playing a challenging ALC schedule, any time we have a conference game it is a highlight for us. We have 3 home ALC matchups against Clemson, Tennessee, and Liberty this year. The one game we look forward to the most every year is the backyard brawl against Pitt. To put it politely, we don't like them, and they don't like us. Last year we lost that game 21-19, and it was the highest scoring lacrosse game I have ever been a part of. This year not only are we hosting it, but it is also our senior night, alumni hall of fame weekend, and the game that WVU's Sports and Adventure media students are going to produce and live stream, led by our Faculty Advisor Professor Chuck Scatterday. Get your popcorn ready, that game and home environment is going to be absolutely electric!

MCLA: You all gave up over 13 goals per game in your ALC games last season, how do you hope to bring that number down?

BH: First I have to give our fellow ALC teams and coaches a lot of credit. We are in the toughest conference in the MCLA in my opinion, and with that we are playing against high powered offenses any time we see a division opponent. In general, I believe that solid on ball defense solves 90% of any defensive problem we encounter. A lot of drill work in our fall ball has been spent sharpening those fundamentals. I also believe that one of the best defenses is one that does not have to play a lot of it. Improving our time of possession through more faceoff wins, a higher clearing percentage, aggressive riding, and cutting down on turnovers will be one of the best things we can do to reduce our goals allowed average. 

Lastly, any ALC opponent we face is going to be very well coached with smart players who can execute a variety of schemes. In ALC games we lost last year, opposing coaches were very good at making adjustments that we were unable to keep up with. As a coaching staff, it is on us to better anticipate those adjustments and respond to them accordingly so we can best put our defense in a position to succeed. 

MCLA: Who are the standouts so far this fall?  Any returners look primed to break out this season or newcomers hitting the ground running?

BH: I previously mentioned Kevin Mullaney and Dom Stingo, and it's no secret that those guys are absolute ballers on offense. Logan Troppman, Alex Wells, Blake Miller, and Liam Rooney are four other guys who have really stood out to me this fall. Those four played more of a supporting role a year ago, but are stepping into major roles on offense and have looked every bit the part so far. Senior SSDM Joe Doherty has provided steady leadership to a defensive unit with a lot of new faces playing big roles, and anchors our deep defensive midfield/LSM unit. 

We also have a trio of freshmen on offense that I am incredibly excited about: Zion Joseph, Tripp Stafford, and Lorenzo Lontok. These guys all made a fantastic first impression at tryouts and continue to make electric plays every night at practice and in our early scrimmages. I expect all three of them will be immediate contributors to our offense this spring. 

Lastly, we made an addition to our coaching staff, adding WVU lacrosse alumni John Welsh as our Goalie Coach/Defensive Assistant. Coach Welsh was teammates with me and our defensive coordinator Dale Marcot back in our playing days at WVU and he has made a big impact on our staff and team so far. We also return offensive coordinator Jeremy Bennett, faceoff coordinator Aaron Hood, and defensive coordinator Dale Marcot. Our entire coaching staff is WVU alumni, and I think our collective passion for both WVU and for lacrosse is a positive influence for our team culture. 

Thank you to Coach Houk for taking the time to answer some questions.  Coaches, if you’d like to be featured in our Fall Check-In series send an email to info@mcla.us.