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The first opponent of Ryan Beard’s tenure at Coastal Carolina will be the West Virginia Mountaineers.
The 2026 season opener between the Chanticleers and Mountaineers will be played on Sept. 5 at Milan Puskar Stadium (noon/TNT).
Coastal Carolina (6-7, 5-3 SBC) hired Beard, one of the youngest head coaches in the sport, following three seasons at Missouri State, where he went 21-14 and oversaw the program’s transition from FCS to FBS. The Bears went 7-6 in their first season as an FBS program last year.
With a new-look coaching staff and roster, Bear and the Chanticleers will have to navigate a lot of moving parts to be successful in 2026.
The offense returns three key skill position players, running back Dominic Knicely, receiver Robby Washington and tight end Zach Courtney. Knicely carried the ball 68 times for 403 yards and three touchdowns last season, while catching 12 passes for 99 yards and another score.
Washington made 29 receptions for 278 yards and three touchdowns and Courtney put up 120 yards on nine catches.
Kennesaw State transfer receiver Clayton Coppock Jr. also figures into the mix after catching 28 balls for 311 yards and five scores during his Conference USA All-Freshman Team season last year.
The quarterback battle will be a four-way competition between transfers Deuce Bailey (Missouri State), Trever Jackson (Arkansas), Tre Guerra (JUCO) and freshman Osiris Lopez.
On defense, starting linebackers Tray Brown and Se’Von McDowell both return. Brown racked up 54 tackles with 11.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks last season, while McDowell had 48 tackles with 4.5 tackles for loss.
Defensive end Ibrahim Diawara also returns after logging six tackles for loss and a pair of sacks in 2025.
In the secondary, productive cornerback duo Myles Woods and Ja’marion Wayne are joined by South Dakota State transfer Jalen Lee. Woods posted 71 tackles with three interceptions and five pass breakups, while Wayne had 61 tackles with a pick and six pass breakups. Lee put up 63 tackles with three interceptions and seven deflections at the FCS level.
Stylistically, Beard’s Missouri State team put up nearly 400 yards of offense per game last season with an even split between the run and the pass. Defensively, the Bears fared much better against the run than the pass and allowed a 40.2% conversion rate on third down.
Both of Beard’s coordinators, Nick Petrino on offense and L.D. Scott on defense, came with him to Coastal Carolina.
The Chanticleers are looking to bounce back from a 2025 campaign that began and ended on low notes. Sitting at 2-3 after the first five weeks of the season, CCU rattled off four straight Sun Belt Conference victories, only to close the season with four consecutive losses, including a 23-14 defeat to Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl.
West Virginia won its only previous meeting with Coastal Carolina, 31-0 at home to start the 2010 season. The Chanticleers were still playing at the FCS level at that time.
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