New weekend rotation, Korn takes Friday
An injury forces No. 12 West Virginia to change its weekend starting pitchers for the first time this season. While two familiar arms stay in their roles, right-hander Ian Korn will toe the rubber on Friday night, making his first start of the season against Cincinnati.
Manager Steve Sabins discussed the change in the rotation and why he feels comfortable giving Korn the ball in a press conference on April 21.
Cause Of The Switch
On April 18 against Houston, left-hander Maxx Yehl didn’t look like himself in his short two-inning start, being removed from the game after a walk in the third inning. The trainer came out before Yehl left, indicating an arm injury. Sabins later explained the injury is not as severe as it looks, missing the target area for pitcher injuries. But he still wants to be cautious.
Yehl will not see game action this upcoming weekend, which could benefit the Big 12’s ERA leader, as he missed all of last season, undergoing Tommy John surgery. With 51 innings, Yehl has nearly doubled his career high of 29.1 innings, looking like he needs rest before a postseason push.
With Yehl out, Korn will handle Friday night, right-hander Dawson Montesa takes Saturday and right-hander Chansen Cole stays in his Sunday role.
“Yehl is not going to start this weekend. He needs to have a week off from throwing, and so we’re going to start Korn on Friday night,” Sabins said. “We’re going to move Montessa to Saturday, and we’re going to leave Cole on Sunday.”
Trust In Korn
Yet to start a game this season, Korn has a lot of experience in that role. With four seasons at Seton Hill, a Division II school in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Korn started 18 games out of his 40 appearances. He ended his career with a 2.84 ERA and 145 strikeouts in 133.1 innings for the Griffins.
But last season is where Korn broke out as a full-time starter. In 84.1 innings, he struck out 83 with a 1.81 ERA, holding an 11-2 record. His performance earned the 2025 NCBWA Division II Pitcher of the Year nod. This performance instilled confidence in Sabins, allowing him to take on a familiar role at a higher level.
“[Korn’s] in such a great spot, he’s just pitched so much in his career and has hundreds of innings under his career,” he said. “He’s been a starter. He’s gone long in the games. And I think he’s healthy, motivated, good attitude, and then he’s like, that perfect definition of the guy that showed up here and got better.”
Losing Top Relief Pitcher
This season, Korn had appeared in 13 games, all out of the bullpen. It was interesting to see that, out of Cole and Montesa, both Division II pitchers from last season, the pitcher of the year was held out of the starting rotation.
But Korn has exceeded in his relief role with a 3.22 ERA with 34 strikeouts, holding opponents to a .239 batting average through 36.1 innings. This makes him the obvious answer to fill Yehl’s role, but also means Sabins is losing one of his top bullpen arms.
“Losing a starter for a week is one thing, but there are other ramifications. So you’re one of our best relievers is now in that starting role. So you’re losing a reliever, and you need to find ways to clip off innings over the course of a weekend,” Sabins said.
Why So Good?
Korn’s growth at the next level has come from better velocity and sharpening secondary pitches. That mixed with many collegiate innings has allowed Korn to be a key contributor for the 27-10 Mountaineers.
“He developed some pitches like he got a better slider, and his velocity has increased. So you pair that with a guy that’s been starting his whole college career and can command the ball, and that’s kind of where we’re at right now,” he said.
Even though the weekend arms have stayed the same through the first 10 series of the 2026, Sabins feels confident in giving Korn the ball to lead off the set.
“We’re definitely riding high with Korn, and he’s been great. It’s about guys getting better, and he’s one of those guys who’s made a jump,” Sabins said.
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