ARTIE, W.Va. – Five former and current West Virginia State baseball players and coaches were enshrined in the Artie Museum in Raleigh County this past Saturday. Late longtime head coach Cal Bailey, current head coach Sean Loyd, current assistant coach Greg Keaton, and former players Rusty Clark and Jimmy Tribble were among the inductees at the ceremony.

Bailey recorded over 1,000 wins in 37 seasons as the head baseball coach at West Virginia State. He is ranked 14th in career wins among NCAA Division II coaches. He led his Yellow Jacket squads to 19 WVIAC and MEC conference titles along with two DII World Series appearances in 1995 and 2005.

Loyd is entering his 10th season as the head baseball coach at WVSU this spring. He has posted winning records in all but one of his seasons at the helm. He captured MEC conference titles in 2015 and 2021 and made appearances in the NCAA DII Atlantic Region Tournament both years. Loyd served as the assistant baseball coach under Bailey for 20 years and as the Athletic Director at West Virginia State for seven years.

Keaton is entering his eighth season as the assistant baseball coach at WVSU in 2024. He was an all-state baseball player at Logan High School and is an inductee of its Hall of Fame. He coached at both Logan and South Charleston High School and contributed to four state championships as a player and coach. Prior to joining the coaching staff at West Virginia State, he coached at the collegiate level at Lenoir-Rhyne, South Carolina-Sumter, Prince George's Community College, WVU Tech and Davis & Elkins.

Clark was an all-state baseball player at Herbert Hoover High School. He was a three-time All-WVIAC selection during his collegiate playing career at West Virginia State in the 80s and was named the conference's Hitter of the Year his senior year. He went on to play professional baseball in Italy and is an inductee of the West Virginia State Hall of Fame.

Tribble was an all-state baseball player at Winfield High School and a four-year starting catcher at West Virginia State. He earned all-conference honors twice and was an NAIA All-American as well as the conference's Hitter of the Year his senior season. He spent 13 seasons as a baseball coach at Winfield (Class AA title in 1985) before spending another 17 seasons coaching at Buffalo High School (Class A title in 2006). 

Other persons associated with West Virginia State that were enshrined in the Artie Museum this past weekend included Jimmy Tribble's brother Charlie and Allan McVey. Charlie Tribble played four years on the WVSU basketball team after graduating from Winfield in 1979 where he was a three-sport standout. McVey is the public address (PA) announcer for Yellow Jacket basketball games and also serves as the PA announcer for WVSSAC state basketball and baseball tournaments. He has served two stints as the West Virginia Insurance Commissioner.