Wesley Christian had a fantastic 2023-24 season. The Circuit Riders took on all comers and captured an NACA Division II National Championship. With lots of talent running through the program, head coach and Gilbert native Shawn Ward is hoping to take the program to the next level.
“When I first came in, we had to build up from ground zero,” said Ward. “We had guys that wanted to come back for the second year. And I think just laying the building blocks from the first year to the second year we were able to get it figured out.”
The Circuit Riders play a tough schedule, and it’s only going to become more difficult after the school announced that they would participate in the difficult Grind Session series of games next year. In fact, area fans won’t be seeing Wesley Christian’s national team this season due to that team participating against top-notch competition, but they will get to see Wesley Christian’s JV squad.
“The national team is not going to be playing local events this year,” said Ward. “We’re going to be playing in The Grind Session events in places like Las Vegas, Puerto Rico and Daytona. But I’m still sending our JV guys out to play in local tournaments and events so that Wesley Christian is known locally.”
Wesley Christian will be loaded with talent next year. Their roster of International players will have college scouts pounding down the door. While other teams are seeing playing time this season, all of Wesley Christian’s players are in their home countries.
Victor Okojie is a 6’8″ senior from Ireland who has offers from Radford and Stetson on the table and is drawing some eyeballs from other schools. Sackey Sefa is a 6’8″ junior from Ghana who is getting a lot of attention from different colleges, including Missouri and Stetson. Kasper Wójciga is a 6’3″ sharpshooter from Poland who broke the school’s record for most 3-point field goals made in a season. The starting back court of Saba Tavkhelidze and Nikita Bolshov will return next season. Tavkhelidze is a 6’1″ guard from Georgia. Bolshov is a 6’2″ point guard from Portugal.
One new name coming in is John-Lucas Belekoken, a 6’8″ wing from France. Belekoken is already receiving a lot of Division I looks, and Ward feels like he’s going to get a ton of attention at Wesley Christian.
Ward feels like his program is poised to take that next step into national prominence.
“Wesley Christian used to be nationally ranked,” said Ward. “I felt like the only way to build the program back up was to face those big name teams. We didn’t steer away from anyone. I feel like it made my guys better and made me better. We know what to expect when the wins start to count.”
Ward also wanted to emphasize his commitment to building the program at Wesley Christian.
“A lot of people thought that I was leaving after we won the national championship,” he said. “I had job offers to go other places, but Wesley Christian just feels like home to me. I feel like I started with nothing, and all of these guys are loyal to me with wanting to come back. I can’t bail out on the kids when they believe in me. I think that we have a pretty good thing going here. Wesley Christian gave a 26-year-old kid the chance to take it to the next level. We’re not all the way back yet, but we’re getting there slowly.”
Wesley Christian is an easy program to root for. With Ward leading the way the Circuit Riders are working their way toward the top.
