The news was buried.
Or, perhaps, its release was just mistimed.
The Mountaineers' baseball signing class, you see, was announced back on Nov. 16, 2015, pushed down the news pages at that time by the deluge of football and basketball stories.
Allow me, however, to reach back and retrieve one bit of baseball recruiting news to you today. After all, it seems like a good time after all of WVU's recent success.
You see, West Virginia coach Randy Mazey and staff signed one of the nation's best recruits back in November. (Missed it, didn't you?) The player has been rated No. 40 among all high school seniors by Baseball Factory. MaxPreps had him at No. 67.
His name is Alek Manoah of South Dade Senior High in Miami.
Manoah is a 6-foot-6, 247-pound pitcher and first baseman. Yes, 6-6. A righty, he throws a fastball in the low- to mid-90 miles per hour.
Last August, Manoah pitched at Wrigley Field in the Under Armour All-American Game. Yet (get this), he was also honored by the American Baseball Coaches Association and Rawlings as a second-team All-American - as a first baseman.
Remember that November release from WVU?
Here's a quote included within from Mazey:
"Alek is a two-way guy from Miami that has the chance to be one of the best players to ever play at West Virginia as both a pitcher and a hitter. He has tremendous arm strength and a great feel for pitching, but is also a tremendous hitter with tremendous power. We're looking forward to him getting here and having a great career for the Mountaineers."
Uh, I'd imagine. Check out the 2016 Miami Herald All-Dade baseball team, especially that of 9-A to 7-A, which is the largest high school classification. There's Manoah smiling back out you on the first team - again as a first baseman.
"He's a ferocious competitor," said Manoah's high school coach, John Burnside, this week. "He's intimidating in size. And he gets the ball up there. He throws in the low 90s. At the plate, he batted .538."
Manoah batted .538 with three homers and 23 runs batted in. And understand the competition. He played on a Buccaneer team that finished 22-4, won its district and was once ranked No. 4 nationally in the Collegiate Baseball high school poll. South Dade finished No. 29.
So how did Manoah, also sought by schools like Auburn and Mississippi State, land at WVU? Well, you might want to avert your eyes if you're sensitive to West Virginia jokes.
"He wants to go to school," Burnside said. "He had several opportunities, but chose there. I asked him if he'd seen the movie 'Deliverance.' He said he hasn't. I think that's why he's going."
OK, so Amy Schumer and Key & Peele can rest easy. The guy isn't clever or funny. His joke is as old as, well, the hills. Yet he knows Manoah.
So, pressing on, I asked if the standout might skip college if, as expected, he's selected in the upcoming Major League Baseball draft.
"I think he's pretty intent on going to college," Burnside said. "I think he needs college a little, the nurturing. I think that's what his family wants too - unless [an MLB team] comes up with big money. I think they have a good leader [Mazey] there."
The Manoahs apparently know the drill. Alek's older brother Erik (apparently the letter C isn't a Manoah household favorite) also played for South Dade.
Erik Manoah signed with Florida International, but eschewed that for a shot at the majors. He was taken in the 13th round of the 2014 draft as a pitcher by the New York Mets. Currently, he's playing for the Brooklyn Cyclones in the New York-Penn League.
Alek Manoah, meanwhile, will participate this weekend in the Florida Athletic Coaches Association All-Star Classic in Sebring, Florida, according to Burnside.
"He'll be in a couple all-star games," said the coach. "He's a power pitcher, one of the best in town here. You'll love him. He has a great personality, but is a great competitor."
Now that we know, we'll certainly be watching.