File photo Jaden Bray, right, is the only returning receiver with experience for the Mountaineers. Bray is coming off a season-ending injury

MORGANTOWN — West Virginia wide receiver Cam Vaughn on Instagram Live said he was a “Mountaineer for life.” That was in December, and now the transfer portal closes in a couple of days, and WVU’s leading receiver is set to play for the Miami Hurricanes in 2026.

Vaughn wasn’t the only receiver to go. On New Year’s Eve, long-time Mountaineer Rodney Gallagher announced he’d be transferring and has recently signed with Arizona. Two of WVU’s receivers for the future are gone.

A lot of the running backs have followed suit, who were the fifth and sixth for WVU in receiving yards in 2025. Justin Smith-Brown, who is seventh, is also portaling. The rest of the top seven leading receivers have all run out of eligibility.

WVU’s only returning production for the wide receiver room is Jaden Bray and slot receiver Jarod Bowie. WVU has started to put together the 2026 roster online, and Bowie isn’t listed, so who knows if he’ll be back. The other two listed, other than Bray, are Armoni Weaver and Cyrus Traugh.

With seven players gone, the Mountaineers’ wide receiver room will look completely different in 2026.

WVU hit the transfer portal hard, and the receiver was a priority. It makes sense since Bray, who is coming off a season-ending injury, is the only returner with experience. Rich Rodriguez has added four wide receivers in the portal, varying in experience.

The class is highlighted by highly recruited former 4-star LSU receiver TaRon Francis, who has multiple years of eligibility left. Francis didn’t see too much action in Year 1, but he was rated as the No. 21 recruit in his class. Francis is a speedy receiver who ran track in high school and can play on the inside if need be. Francis was a big addition because he’ll be a wide receiver for years to come for WVU, as long as he stays.

Francis is surrounded by three experienced wide receivers, which was needed. Southern California receiver Prince Strachan was a Power Four get who has played a lot of college football. Like Francis, Strachan didn’t play a lot last year, but had an impact in the years prior at Boise State. Strachan had 578 yards and three touchdowns with the Broncos, and had four catches for 40 yards against Penn State in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoffs. He’s a big 6-foot-5 receiver and will definitely be an outside threat, helping when WVU throws up a 50/50 ball.

Then, there’s Troy’s D.J. Epps and recently added UConn’s John Neider. Epps had 47 catches for 512 yards and five touchdowns. Neider had 27 catches for 422 yards and two touchdowns. The two have the most production out of the pass catchers, and both also had big roles on special teams in college, too. The two should have a role in 2026 in some aspect.

Then, there’s the large freshman class that has a lot of receivers, which is part of the reason Rodriguez cleaned house in the room.

WVU has two JUCO receivers that should be utilized in 2026. WVU added top JUCO receiver Keon Hutchins, who finished with 34 catches for 635 yards and six touchdowns. He’s a bit smaller at 6-foot, but he should have a role. Kedrick Triplett, who was a top-five JUCO WR product, is quick and will play in the slot.

WVU’s rest of the class is three 3-star WRs, Robert Oliver, Greg Wilfred, who will play slot, and West Virginia’s own Malachi Thompson, who is 6-foot-4. All three of them will help WVU down the road.

With the new transfers, players coming in from the 2026 class, and the players on the roster, the Mountaineers’ wide receiver room is taking shape. Aside from Bray, there will be a lot of new names to learn once again. There is still time to add one or two more players to the room, but space is limited, so this could be what Rodriguez rolls with in 2026.