NC West Virginia News

A ceremony at the Mountainlair on Friday marked the transition of the Mountaineer mascot role at West Virginia University (WVU) from Braden Adkins to Cade Kincaid. Kincaid, an Honors College junior majoring in accounting with minors in finance, business data analytics, and business ethics and prosperity, formally assumed the position through a symbolic rifle passing ceremony.

Kincaid, hailing from Fayetteville, was announced as the 2025-26 Mountaineer on March 8 during a men’s basketball game at the Coliseum. He is set to make his first public appearance in the new role at the Gold-Blue Spring Showcase on Saturday at Milan Puskar Stadium.

Reflecting on his new position, Kincaid shared, "It’s going to be a beginning of a new chapter for me. I want to use my time as the Mountaineer mascot to build the image of both our state and University. The selection process has shown me how many people love the Mountaineer both within and outside the University, and how hard a community will rally to support the gold and blue.”

Braden Adkins, a Richwood native and economics major, completed his term as the 70th Mountaineer mascot after attending over 400 events. "Serving as the 70th Mountaineer mascot here at WVU has been such an outstanding honor and I am so thankful for the opportunity to represent not only the University, but the state of West Virginia," Adkins said. "Donning the buckskins each and every day is such a unique experience, and I am excited to see what Cade will accomplish over this next year."

The ceremony also featured former mascots Brandon Flower (1998-99), Timmy Eads (2019-20), Michael Garcia (2014-15), and Mary Roush (2022-23) as speakers.