BUCKHANNON Coming off a disappointing season that left the West Virginia Wesleyan men’s basketball team out of the Mountain East Conference Tournament, big changes have been made as the coaching staff completely overhauled its roster. Twelve of the team’s losses last year were decided in the last five minutes of the game and the depth of the team was a problem.
“We brought in five transfers to help solidify the two starting returners from last year’s team,” assistant coach Jeff Hoffman said. “Alex Mirhosseini and Curtis Litton finished last season strong and are a good nucleus to build around.”
Mirhosseini had a 14 points-per-game average and 100 assists while Litton put up 11 points-per-game and had a seven rebounds-per-game average over last nine games.
Wesleyan forward John Ibukunoluwa at 6’8″ has returned from injury last year and coaches say he is a big surprise so far. The hope is for him to get better as the season progresses.
Among Wesleyan’s transfers are 6’2″ junior guard Michael Batchelor from Phoenix, Ariz.; Alex Gray, a 6’6″ junior guard from Lauderhill, Fla.; Lamont Jones, a 5’10” junior guard who played on the national tournament qualifying team at Allegany College in Maryland; Stephen Ovia, a 6’9″ junior forward from London; and A.J. Crosby, a 6’8″ senior forward from Woodbridge, Va.
“Fans will enjoy watching Batchelor play,” Hoffman said. “Gray is the kind of athlete we need to match up with the MEC competition. Jones will add depth at the guard spot. Ovia has been injured this fall but looks to make a huge impact as he gets back to action. And Crosby was recruited because he fits our system well. He will be tough to guard because of his skills on the perimeter and around the basket.”
Notable incoming freshmen include L.J. Foster, a 6’3″ guard from Columbus, Ohio who coaches say has shown that he will play a significant role this season. “The lanky and long guard will provide much needed depth at the guard positions,” Hoffman said.
Jaden Westfall, a 6’4″ freshman forward out of Buckhannon had a great off-season and, according to Hoffman, has come in ready to go. “He’s been one of our biggest surprises so far,” Hoffman said.
“A lot of the young guys are getting better quickly and adjusting to the speed of college basketball,” Hoffman said. “Hopefully they can get some playing time this season and develop as the season goes on.”
- Additionally,
- Jack Lewton, Tyler Slone and Brian Bernard are three returners that have been with the program for three years and look to battle for playing time and offer great leadership.
- Additional returners that are looking to add depth are sophomores Devin Pape, Kris Joyce, Jeremiah James and Caden Hawkins.
- Freshmen looking to get playing time are: Ege Akbay, Jeffrey Alvarado, Jerell Baptiste, Rayden Triplett, Ethan McGee, Tommie Walsh, and Cooper Chase.
- Early season schedule highlights include a mixer at Fairmont State against Edinboro and Bloomsburg on November 8-9. Sprinkled in the schedule is a home game against USC-Beaufort on November 17 and a contest inside the Cam Henderson Center against the Marshall Thundering Herd on Dec. 16. The Bobcats finish the fall semester portion of the schedule with a game at Walsh on Dec. 17.
Derek Sloan (Cleveland State, 2018) returns for his fourth season as the head coach at Wesleyan. Assistant coaches Jeff Hoffman (Fairmont State, 1980; WVU, 1988) and Darius Green (WVWC, 2024) return for their second seasons on the Bobcat bench.
