19-02-2025
These are the 2025-26 WVU Mountaineer Mascot finalists
MORGANTOWN, (WBOY) — Four finalists will compete in a cheer-off this month to see who will become the 71st West Virginia University Mountaineer.
The following students have been chosen by a selection committee based on their applications. They will all don the buckskins and coonskin caps during the WVU men's basketball game against TCU on Feb. 25, and the winner will be announced during the on March 8.
Justin Waybright, from Parkersburg, is a senior majoring in mining engineering who serves as the 2024-25 alternate Mountaineer mascot. He is a three-year member of the Gold Cheer Team, a member of the Society of Mining Engineers and the president of the Mine Rescue Team in the WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources.
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Rachel Morgan, a senior marketing major with minors in professional sales and strategic social media from Bridgeport, serves as a student video intern for the WVU football team and as a member of the Project 168 Society and Delta Gamma, where she engages in various community service projects, and professional and leadership development. She is also the secretary of the Country Line Dancing Club and a former 4-H Extension camping instructor.
Cade Kincaid, a member of the Honors College from Fayetteville, is a junior accounting major minoring in finance, business data analytics, and business ethics and prosperity. He serves as a peer mentor and ambassador for the WVU John Chambers College of Business and Economics and as a member of Delta Sigma Pi, where he engages in various community service projects to benefit the Ronald McDonald House and Empty Bowls Monongalia.
Thaiddeus 'Ted' Dillie, from Weirton, is a third-year medical student at the WVU School of Medicine who served as the 2019-20 alternate Mountaineer mascot. A first-generation college student and recipient of the Order of Augusta, he earned his bachelor's degree in biochemistry in 2020 and a Master of Business Administration in 2021 from WVU. Dillie volunteers his time to the No One Dies Alone Program and Camp Kno-Koma, a summer camping experience for children with Type 1 diabetes in and around the state of West Virginia.
You can read quotes from each of the finalists here.
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