From humble beginnings to performing on the biggest stages, West Virginia transfer Jace Rinehart has had nothing short of an incredible career in collegiate baseball.
Jace Rinehart grew up down the road in Mannington, West Virginia. His parents, Mary and Scott, are West Virginia University alumni. Rinehart’s mother was a cheerleader at the university while his dad was a wrestler for the school. When it was announced that Rinehart was transferring and returning to the mountain state, his family was ecstatic.
Coming out of high school, Rinehart was not a highly sought-after prospect. Rinehart competed at North Marion High School under head coach Vic Securro, where he helped lead the team to a runner-up finish in the 2021 AA State Championship
Earned First Team All-State honors.
Rinehart found himself accepting an offer to play for the Spartans at University of South Carolina Upstate, where he played for two years. In his freshman season with the Spartans, Rinehart made 25 appearances and earned himself 13 starts, showing promise early in his collegiate career. He batted .333 with 22 hits, including a double and two triples, driving in eight runs. Rinehart was named Big South Freshman of the Week. Rinehart proved that hitting was his greatest asset as he recorded four multi-hit games, went on a six-game hitting streak, and a nine-game on-base streak.
Rinehart’s consistency continued to shine in his sophomore season at USC Upstate. Rinehart earned Second Team All-Big South honors playing in 42 games. Rinehart boasted a .310 batting average and .535 slugging percentage, recording 40 total hits, including eight doubles and seven home runs.
Rinehart wanted to finish his career at South Carolina Upstate, however, his plans abruptly changed when Head Coach Mike McGuire left the program to coach at Winthrop. Rinehart decided to test his luck in the portal, and by doing so, he found himself with an all too familiar Power 5 offer from West Virginia. Rinehart had known Coach Sabins previously when he was coming out of high school, and would now be able to rekindle their former relationship. In late June, Rinehart announced that he would be transferring to West Virginia for his last season of collegiate eligibility, however, he would be making a quick stop before making his way to Morgantown.
Over the summer, Rinehart played in the Cape Cod League in Massachusetts. Rinehart played for the Wareham Gatemen, where he met his new teammate, Sam White. In just their first nine games, Rinehart posted a batting average of .300 with five runs scored.
Playing in the Cape Cod League not only allowed Rinehart to gain professional experience and practice, but it also gave him an opportunity to become closer to one of his West Virginia teammates before setting foot on campus. Now the Mountaineers are cruising through the 2025 season holding a 34-4 overall record with Rinehart putting up some of the best batting statistics on the team as he leads the Mountaineers in home runs on the season. From underrated prospect to dominant slugger, Rinehart has truly proved everyone wrong and continues his streak as one of the hottest bats in collegiate baseball.
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