MORGANTOWN, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Cade Kincaid, a junior at West Virginia University, has been named the 2025-26 Mountaineer mascot.
The announcement was made Saturday, March 8, during the men’s basketball game at the WVU Coliseum.
A native of Fayetteville, Kincaid is majoring in accounting with minors in finance, business data analytics, and business ethics and prosperity.
He will don the traditional buckskins and coonskin cap to represent the university and the Mountain State.
Carrying on a family tradition at WVU, Kincaid expressed pride in representing a land-grant, R1 institution and Power Four school competing in the Big 12 Conference.
One of his earliest Mountaineer memories is attending a WVU bowl game in Florida with his family, but his favorite moment came in 2023 when he attended the Backyard Brawl against Pitt at Milan Puskar Stadium as the “Student of the Game.”
“Being able to sit back in great seats and watch the Mountaineers beat Pitt that day with my dad — who is an alumnus — was an awesome experience,” Kincaid said.
His mother and sister are also WVU graduates.
“This role means so much to me,” Kincaid said.
“From age 4 to 20, I was a Mountaineer fan, but in the past two years, it really dawned on me that, if I were to pursue this role, I could really make a change and influence people and our state in a good way.”
Kincaid is a member of the Honors College and serves as a peer mentor and ambassador for the WVU John Chambers College of Business and Economics.
He is also a member of Delta Sigma Pi, where he participates in community service projects benefiting the Ronald McDonald House and Empty Bowls Monongalia.
He will officially take over as Mountaineer mascot from Braden Adkins, the 2024-25 mascot, during the “Passing of the Rifle” ceremony at 6 p.m. on April 4 in the Mountainlair’s Gluck Theatre.
A public reception will be held at 5 p.m. in the Vandalia Lounge.
The alternate mascot will be announced at a later date.
