The Weatherly boys basketball program took a major step forward in 2024-25. After going 2-21 in 2023-24, the Wreckers improved to 14-12 last season — and with a veteran senior backcourt returning, they’re aiming even higher.

Weatherly brings back a trio of senior guards in Ian McKeegan, Niko Saldukas and Corbin Wagner, all of whom have been key contributors since their freshman seasons. The three had impressive junior campaigns.

McKeegan led the team with 17.9 points, 5.2 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 3.3 steals per game, and enters the season fewer than 150 points shy of 1,000 for his career. Saldukas averaged 14.3 points and a team-best 5.5 rebounds per game. Wagner added 11.2 points and three steals per contest. Together they combined for 90 three-pointers (Wagner 34, Saldukas 32, McKeegan 24).

“We have our three veteran guards coming back, which have played a lot of basketball for us. We’re ready to go,” said Weatherly head coach Luke Medico. “We’re excited to see what those three can do in their senior seasons. The skill level for those guys has always been there, but now they have really matured in every phase, and we’re seeing a lot of growth from those guys.

“We also put a lot of time in over the offseason. We played in three different summer leagues, and we’ve had a ton of open gyms. The players have really stuck with it, and they took a big leap last year, and we’re hoping to do that once again this season.”

McKeegan, Saldukas and Wagner will rarely leave the floor, and behind them, Weatherly will lean on junior Dominic Kokinda, senior Brandon Davis, and junior Matt Adler. Most nights, the Wreckers expect to rely on a six-man rotation.

“I really look at us as having six starters,” Medico said. “Kokinda is around 6-1 or 6-2, and he has a good skill level and is a threat to score from anywhere. Davis is a worker who is willing do the dirty work, and he just wants to be out there on the floor competing, and Adler has played a lot of varsity minutes for us over the past few seasons. He is playing with confidence, and he has shown some flashes. He can do a little bit of everything for us.”

Offensively, Weatherly wants to use pressure defense to generate scoring opportunities. The Wreckers plan to play an up-tempo style and mix multiple defensive looks — full-court and half-court traps, as well as man and zone — depending on the opponent.

“We’re not a very big team, so we really focus on defense, specifically pressure defense,” Medico said. “We want to pressure the opposing team, create chaos and havoc, and we want to get out and run. We’re going to switch up our defenses a lot — from game to game and from opponent to opponent.”

Coming off a 14-12 season and returning three double-digit scorers, the Wreckers enter with heightened expectations.

“I talk with the guys all the time about how we’re on everybody’s radar now,” Medico said. “Teams are going to be coming for us, and they’re going to be ready. We have to be hungry, and we have to be humble. Last year is over and we know that. We have to be ready to go.

“Our goal is just to play as many games as possible, and to win as many games as possible. If we get to leagues, then that gives us more games and then districts and so on. We want to be playing games in March. But our guys know to take it day by day and game by game. Right now, all of our focus is on Panther Valley, which is who we open up with.”