The milestone 10th season of Black Bears baseball in West Virginia will begin on Tuesday, June 4, as the team today announced their 2025 playing schedule. A slate of 40 home games, including seven weekend dates, begins on Tuesday, June 10, as West Virginia hosts this year’s MLB Draft League champions, the Williamsport Crosscutters.
Game times will be announced as the promotional schedule is finalized. Black Bears season tickets will go on sale Monday, October 28. View more information on season tickets here.
The Black Bears, who moved from Jamestown, New York, in 2015, will celebrate their 10th anniversary season at Kendrick Family Ballpark. The Bears begin their 2025 campaign on June 4 at Nymeo Field versus the Frederick Keys, but they return to defend The Ken against the Crosscutters for the Home Opener on Tuesday, June 10.
“We’re thrilled to start planning for our tenth year. It’s hard to believe it’s been a decade of Black Bears’ baseball, but we’re looking forward to celebrating with our fans,” said General Manager Leighann Sainato.
The 2025 home schedule features seven weekend series with six Friday dates and games on Father’s Day (June 15), West Virginia Day (June 20) and Labor Day (September 1). For the fourth consecutive year, the Black Bears will host the Mahoning Valley Scrappers on July 3 for their Independence Day Eve celebration. The first half of the season, which showcases amateur, draft-eligible players, ends at home on Saturday, July 12. The second half of the season begins on the road against the State College Spikes on July 16.
The Black Bears finish the season with a three-game set at home versus the Scrappers, September 1-3. The 2025 season concludes with the MLB Draft League Championship game on Thursday, September 4.
In their fourth season in the MLB Draft League, the Bears ended the year with a 35-39 record, narrowly missing their third straight championship game appearance after going 23-18 in the second half. The team, led by second-year manager David Carpenter saw five Black Bears players selected in the 2024 MLB Draft, with Ryan Lambert, a right-handed pitcher from the University of Oklahoma, taken as the highest draft pick from the 2024 team (8th round, 233rd overall by the New York Mets).
