Wheeling, W. Va. - the 2026-2027 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Basketball season officially began on Tuesday. For the third year in a row, the MEC held their annual Basketball Media Day at WesBanco Arena, bringing together the 12 head men's and women's basketball coaches of the conference to preview the 2026-2027 season. Wheeling University Basketball was represented by Head Women's Basketball Coach Ella Skeens, and Head Men's Basketball Coach Chris Richardson as they gave their season opening addresses to local media.
The event would start with an introduction of the MEC by emcee Travis Jones, highlighting the many accomplishments of the MEC and its member institutions both this season and in year's past. Among the highlighted attributes were the student's success in the classroom, with 2,933 earning academic recognition in 2025-2026, and the team success, with six teams having won NCAA National Championships, played in 14 National Championship games, and have won 59 regional championships. He then introduced MEC Commissioner Reid Amos to the podium for the introduction to the 2026-2027 MEC Basketball season. Wheeling was one of the first institutions mentioned, with the rise of former Cardinal Haywood Highsmith from the Alma Grace McDonough Center to the NBA, along with the other accomplishments of several coaches from around the MEC basketball landscape.
Despite the challenges facing higher education and college athletics in general, Amos highlighted that the MEC has done what it has always done, creating opportunities for its student-athletes on and off the field. He highlighted how MEC student-athletes have a higher graduation rate and become highly productive members of society following their time with the 12 member institutions. He also offered a welcome to Point Park to full-time NCAA DII status, as well as a welcome to the conference for the newest member Shawnee State. He is excited about the future of the conference and the opportunities it gives to its student-athletes.
"I am proud that the MEC is one of the most respected conferences in Division II," said Amos. "Our future remains bright despite current challenges to build on our successes the uncertainties facing higher education and college athletics must be resolved in a way that allows institutions like ours to thrive. We appreciate all the fans of the Mountain East Conference. The state of the MEC remains strong, and we look forward to our future successes."
Up first were the MEC Women's Basketball Coaches with Ella Skeens representing the Wheeling Women's Basketball program. After leading her team to a 17-12 record and the #6 seed in the MEC Women's Basketball Tournament a season ago, Skeens noted she was excited about what the team did a season ago, and look to build on that foundation in 2026-2027. With a team consisting of nine freshman, three transfers, and 11 returners, with none of those returners being seniors, Skeens will be relying on those veterans to take a leadership role on the court. In the early going, she highlighted how those leaders have been stepping up and how the new faces provide a new opportunity to continue building the program.
"One thing we are really excited about so far is the leadership of our returning players," said Skeens. "We have had several players really step up and take ownership of this team. They have been great examples for our newcomers in terms of setting expectations, holding each other accountable, and understanding what it takes to compete at this level. We have also added some new faces that bring different strengths and a new energy to our program. I think that combination of returning experience and new talent will benefit us as we continue to grow."
That leadership group will be led by junior Emilia Sierra Lacosta, who was the team's second-leading scorer a season ago, averaging 12.7 Points Per Game and shooting just over 31% from the floor. She will be surrounded by fellow returning starters Layla Merriweather and Emma Reynolds, who each had breakout seasons of their own and look to build on that success. With a big group of newcomers, Skeens knows there will be a learning curve with this year's team, and she wants her players to embrace that change. Her goals remain the same as year's past, staying consistent and being ready to compete every night in the competitive MEC.
"As far as our identity, we want to play fast, be aggressive defensively, rebound the basketball and compete for 40 minutes," said Skeens. "We want to be a team that competes for 40 minutes and plays together, but more importantly, we want to be consistent in those areas every single night. We know how competitive the MEC is, there are a lot of talented teams and great coaches in this league and we understand the level of preparation and effort it takes to be successful."
After the women's coaches took the podium, it was the men's coach's turn to take the podium as Chris Richardson previewed the Men's Basketball Coaches. After acknowledging both the conference and the local Wheeling community, Richardson highlighted the continued growth of his program. With a large group of veterans returning in 2026-2027, Richardson and his staff have been excited to watch their development on the court and looks to see that growth displayed on the floor. Leading that charge of veteran presence is graduate student Alex Smith, who enters his fifth year with the Wheeling Men's Basketball program. Smith led the team in steals a year ago, finishing with 52, while sitting second in both assists and rebounds. Ayden Goll also returns after winning MEC Freshman of the Year, and being the fourth highest scorer in the conference. He is looking for those two to lead the way as the Cardinals continue to grow.
"The first thing you'll notice when you walk into the gym is our size, and we are working on making sure we look better in the game than we do in warm-ups," said Richardson. "We have a lot of work to do on the defensive end, and a lot of work to do on the offensive end and we don't have a whole lot of time to do it, but we are really pleased with our progress so far. Our number one priority as always is to get good people and then get the most out of them that we can as basketball players."
As they get ready to face the rigors of the MEC, Richardson has set up his schedule as a way to prepare the Cardinals for the level of talent they will face in the conference. They open the year against two NCAA Division II Tournament qualifying teams in Ashland and CAL-U before taking on teams like Pitt-Johnstown, Findlay, and Winston-Salem State down the stretch. It will give the Cardinals a chance to measure themselves against the top talent in the region, while preparing them for the daunting conference schedule. In the annual MEC Men's Basketball preseason poll, the Cardinals were voted #5 by the MEC head coaches, after finishing as the #3 seed a season ago. In order to get back to the upper echelon of the conference, the Cardinals will look to compete every night on the road back to the MEC Tournament.
"A challenging schedule gets us ready for Mountain East play because once you get into those 22 games there are no nights off," said Richardson. "We are going to play West Virginia next week, so we will see how we match-up there, but we are thankful to coach Hodges and their staff. We have Ashland, we have CAL-PA, we have Pitt-Johnstown and then we will have Findlay before traveling to Winston-Salem State. Every night is going to be a battle and I know our team will be ready for the journey."
The Wheeling University Men's and Women's Basketball teams tip-off the 2026-2027 season on Monday, November 9, when the Women host Walsh at 5:30 PM followed by the Men taking on Ashland at 7:30 PM.
