College baseball fans will have to keep their eyes on West Virginia’s Gavin Kelly during the 2027 college baseball season. 

Kelly was the star of a West Virginia team that made its first-ever College World Series appearance. The utility player had a sophomore breakout season in Morgantown. 

He is a great preseason pick to win the 2027 Golden Spikes Award as well. 

Kelly in 2026 with West Virginia

In 2026, Kelly had a .382 batting average with a .477 on-base percentage. He also had 21 doubles, 19 home runs, and 63 RBIs. Kelly tied the West Virginia program record for most home runs in a single season. 

Kelly is also a multi-faceted defender. In 2026, he split time playing catcher and second base for the Mountaineers. He had a solid .987 fielding percentage with West Virginia in 2026. 

Kelly was a D1 Baseball first-team All-American at second base. Baseball America and Perfect Game gave him second-team All-American honors. Baseball America named him a second-team All-American catcher, while Perfect Game had him nominated as a second baseman. 

Kelly was named first-team All-Big 12 as a catcher and was a two-time Big 12 Player of the Week during the 2026 season. 

Summer with Team USA, 2027 Draft Stock

After West Virginia’s deep College World Series run that included regional and super regional titles in Morgantown, Kelly spent his summer playing with the USA Collegiate National Team. 

Kelly started in all four games during the 2026 World Collegiate Baseball Championship in Taiwan. In those four games, he had nine hits and six RBIs. One of those nine hits was a home run. Kelly also stole a base and had a .500 on-base percentage during the event in Taichung City.

He tied the USA Collegiate Baseball program record for hits in a game during Team USA’s opening game against Chinese Taipei. He had five hits during a 10-6 win for the Americans. 

Kelly will be watched not only by college baseball fans during the 2027 season, but also by Major League Baseball scouts. According to Baseball America, the West Virginia junior is the number one 2027 MLB Draft prospect in the collegiate ranks. 

MLB Pipeline’s way-too-early 2027 mock draft has Kelly being selected sixth overall by the Baltimore Orioles.

For more NCAA news: https://worldbaseball.com/news/category/ncaa