Dawson Montesa Sends Message to Future WVU Baseball Players in Heartfelt Goodbye

In a farewell message to the WVU baseball program, Dawson Montesa expressed a heartfelt goodbye to West Virginia.

“Thank you to West Virginia Baseball. Thank you to the fans that showed their everlasting support. Thank you to the coaches and staff who helped guide me to where I am today. Wouldn’t have wanted to do it with any other school. Forever gonna miss this place. Do it for the state, not yourself. #Godisgreat,” he posted on Instagram.

Montesa signed with the St. Louis Cardinals soon after the MLB Draft on July 16th.

Forever remembered as WVU’s workhorse who helped get the Mountaineers advance out of NCAA Regional play and eventually all the way to the College World Series, Montesa endured an up and down 2026 season overall. He finished with 5-5 record, a 5.38 ERA and 92 strikeouts across 19 starts and 15 appearances.

But Montesa saved his best performance of the season for the brightest stage, however, covering 7.1 innings for the Mountaineers’ depleted pitching staff in a do-or-die win over Wake Forest. While Montesa allowed five runs (four earned), his ability to eat innings and keep West Virginia ahead of the curve proved critical. After the 10-5 win, Montesa described how two weeks in the bullpen helped him get back to the basics.

Dawson Montesa “Didn’t Have the Best Season” But Saves Best for Last

“Obviously I didn’t have the best season or up to my standards, but I like to flush it,” Montesa said. “Sometimes the ‘pen gives me a little reset, I know I can go out there and pound the zone.”

WVU baseball head coach Steve Sabins described Montesa’s 122-pitch outing a “huge performance, as big as I’ve been a part of.”

“The dude to the left of me just put the team on his back. Absolutely,” Sabins said. “Carried this thing, had his best outing of the season in the biggest moment… That’s what postseason baseball’s all about. Getting opportunities and seizing them.”

He wrapped up his college baseball career with 16 wins, a 4.56 ERA and 247 strikeouts.

Montesa will now try to eventually join fellow Mountaineers JJ Wetherholt and Victor Scott in the Big Leagues with the Cardinals.