JAMES Hurst enjoyed loan spells at Blackpool, Shrewsbury and Chesterfield last season.
The full-back also helped the Spireites win the Johnstone's Paint Trophy at Wembley in March.
Hurst joined Championship outfit Blackpool on a youth loan on transfer deadline day in August 2011 after representing England at the Under-20s World Cup that summer.
He penned a new-and-improved Albion contract - just reward for his progress into the first-team set-up this term - on January 22, 2011.
The full-back signed a two-and-a-half year deal, plus a further year's option in the club's favour.
Having initially joined the Baggies as a nine-year-old before progressing through the club's Academy system, Hurst quit The Hawthorns at 16 to join Portsmouth in the summer of 2008.
But the England youth international returned to the Baggies on a free transfer on deadline day August 2010.
He signed a pro contract and was reunited with the Academy players he grew up with - Romaine Sawyers, Sam Mantom and Kayleden Brown.
The Birmingham-born defender caught the eye as he made first-team debuts in the Carling Cup, Barclays Premier League and FA Cup, during the 2010/11 campaign.
(LAST UPDATED AUGUST 14, 2012)