WHEELING — Freshman orientation for the Wheeling University men’s basketball team should be pretty easy next fall, given that most of the players already know each other.

That was by design, as head coach Chris Richardson placed a focus on the team’s local recruiting effort for the class of 2022 and it paid off with five of the Ohio Valley’s most talented seniors all signing with the Cardinals.

“It’s been something we’ve wanted to do since we got here, which is keeping the best players at home,” Richardson said. “I think a lot of coaches throughout the country always talk about recruiting ‘inside-out’ but we wanted to put that into practice.”

Over the past few weeks, Richardson has secured the signings of Cameron big man Trevor Beresford, Wheeling Central standout Ryan Reasbeck, Shadyside dandy Korey Beckett and Linsly teammates Raef Wykes and Caleb Murray.

It’s not just the fact that all five are local players that attracted Richardson, all five can really play. The quintet was each named first team All-Valley and All-OVAC this season with Reasbeck and Beresford also garnering first team All-State honors.

“There’s good players around here, there’s good coaches and there’s good programs,” Richardson said. “We want good players, we’ve got to continue to get good players and I can’t think of a better place to do it than in your own backyard.”

Richardson said the history of Wheeling basketball is dotted with players from the valley and he wants the program to get back to that.

“Those guys all know each other, they’ve played against each other, they have a healthy respect for one another and they’ll push each other,” Richardson said. “It’s kind of cool to see and I’m excited to get them all here in August and start coaching them to see how it all comes together.”

As for the players themselves, Richardson is getting some serious talent.

Beckett was a force for the Tigers, averaging 17.9 points, three rebounds, 2.4 assists and two steals per night. He will be a legacy athlete as his father, John, racked up 1,043 career points playing for the Cardinals from 1990-93.

“I think he’ll probably be more of a point guard at the college level,” Richardson said. “He did a little bit of everything for Shadyside but I think he’ll be able to keep the other team’s primary ball-handler in front of him (on defense) and we know he’ll be able to make shots.”

“It’s exciting to have so many local guys going there,” Beckett said when he signed his letter of intent last month.

“I’ve known those guys for a long time and they’re all great guys and players. I can’t wait to get the chance to play with them.”

Reasbeck won’t have far to travel to get to his new home court. He will join the Cardinals following a stellar prep career with the Maroon Knights.

As a senior, he averaged 21.4 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game and was just one of three players from West Virginia to be invited to play in the McDonald’s All-American game.

“The thing I love about him that not as many people talked about was just how well he passes the ball,” Richardson said. “In our league, you’ve got to be able to make shots and you’ve got to be able to make plays.”

The 6’8″ Beresford should immediately inject some much-needed size into Wheeling’s lineup.

“His size and skill combination is difficult to find at our level,” Richardson said. “We were small all across the board so his size will really help us up front.

“He’s 6’8″, he’s left-handed, he’s got a nice shooting touch and he rebounds it really well, but I don’t think a lot of (college coaches) went down (to Cameron) to see him.”

Beresford posted 16.8 points and 9.4 rebounds per night while leading the Dragons to several program milestones.

Maybe the best shooter in the valley last season, Murray led a talented Linsly team in scoring at 16.4 points per game.

“The thing (Linsly) Coach (Dave) Wojick kept saying about him was ‘Caleb just makes shots, Caleb makes shots’,” Richardson said. “But he’s an underrated athlete too, he can get off the floor and I think he’s got the tools to be a really, really good defender.”

Finally, Wykes is one of the best all-around play-makers in the area, posting averages of 13.2 points, 5.4 assists and 4.8 rebounds.

“There were probably times when he could’ve looked to score more,” Richardson said. “He’s got a really good feel for the game, a really high IQ. He’s just a natural leader and when you watch them play you see that.”

With a large class of graduating seniors, Richardson thinks the entire group of incoming freshmen will have the chance to compete for playing time and the players are certainly eager to get started.

“I really liked Coach Richardson and what he’s building at Wheeling,” Wykes said on his signing day. “I am excited to be a part of it and want to contribute to winning.”

They will join a pair of valley boys already on Wheeling’s roster in Wheeling Central’s Brent Price and Wheeling Park’s D.J. Saunders.

Bolstering the Bison

The Cardinals are not the only local college program loading up on talent from the Ohio Valley in this recruiting class.

Coach Mike Worrell has added four OVAC players to his program at Bethany College in this class — Brooke standout Alex Isinghood, East Liverpool’s Cole Daley, Owen Ward from Bellaire and Marietta’s Tyler Kytta.

One of the best big men in the area last season, Isinghood collected multiple post-season honors, including first team All-Valley, first team All-OVAC and second team All-State.

“He had an outstanding career at Brooke,” Worrell said. “He has a knack for getting the ball in the basket and he has some perimeter skills as well.”

Isinghood averaged 20.4 points and eight rebounds per night for the Bruins and finished his high school career with over 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.