West Virginia has been involved with Atlanta (Ga.) Westlake 2026 wide receiver Deion Thomas since January and the program is on his list of places he wants to check out in the future.

Thomas, 6-foot-3, 195-pounds, received the scholarship offer when his coaches let him know that the Mountaineers were formally jumping into the mix.

“When I first heard the news I was excited,” he said.

The Rivals.com three-star prospect has been speaking with wide receivers coach Bilal Marshall and so far has been impressed with how he’s handled his recruitment.

“I think Coach Marshall is a cool guy,” he said.

Marshall has been attempting to get Thomas on campus for a visit but at this point he still doesn’t have a date yet for when that will occur. That will be the next step if the Mountaineers want to move up the ladder.

At this stage, the talented pass catcher plans to check out programs such as Georgia and North Carolina State while he has already visited Tennessee, Auburn, Georgia Tech and South Carolina among other stops.

Thomas is being targeted solely as a wide receiver and teams have been impressed with his combination of size and speed as well as how he has embraced being a leader on his team.

Thomas is taking his time with his recruitment for now but is looking for a school that is going to allow him to develop into a better prospect with the potential to move to the next level.

“And making me a better player and having a brotherhood on the team,” he said.

Kimberly Farry, MD, from St. Joseph’s Hospital Obstetrics and Gynecology, is the current Chair of the Board of Directors at the West Virginia Perinatal Partnership. She joined the organization in 2007, becoming active in the Central Advisory Committee (CAC) and the Access to Care Committee. Farry was chair of the CAC as the Perinatal Partnership became an independent organization and became Chairman of the Board of Directors in 2019.

The West Virginia Perinatal Partnership is a statewide collaboration of healthcare professionals, public and private organizations and individuals working together to improve perinatal health outcomes for women and infants in West Virginia.

The foundation of their work is to reduce infant and maternal mortality and morbidity. They address critical issues such as access to care, preterm birth, low birth weight, maternal mental health and substance use concerns with effective interventions and quality improvement. They also focus on educating health care providers statewide, offering training and educational resources as well as hosting the annual West Virginia Perinatal Summit.

West Virginia filled out the roster with a pair of bigs in AOSS Prep (Ca.) big Abraham Oyeadier and Canadian transfer forward Haris Elezovic prior to the enrollment deadline.

And the Mountaineers are eager to see how they fit into the picture.

Elezovic, 6-foot-8, 240-pounds, comes from Laval University in Quebec where he started 29 of 31 games. He averaged 12.2 points and 10.3 rebounds per game while shooting 44.9 percent from the field.

Prior to that, he was at McGill University in Montreal where he was again productive at 13.9 points and 9.9 rebounds per game while shooting 47.3 percent from the field. During that time, Elezovic also had three summer games against Oregon, Florida State, and Vermont where he averaged 14.6 points and 11.6 boards.

The transfer product has one year of eligibility remaining.

Oyeadier, comes from a strong prep program in California and has his full complement of eligibility available. While the 6-foot-10, 230-pounder missed some time due to injury last season he averaged 10.7 points, 11.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game during league play and made his presence felt.

A strong rebounder and defensive presence, Oyeadier has the ability not only to finish around the rim but stretched his game out to hit 15–19-foot jump shots. He clearly is more unproven at the college level at this stage but has the physical makeup to be effective as a big, strong body that can help on the glass and the defensive end of the floor. There also is the ability for him to continue to improve his game moving forward.

“Much needed and we’re hoping they can find a way to give us some minutes and even more importantly I think that’s really added to our depth in the front line,” head coach Darian DeVries said.

Adding two capable bodies to the post-rotation has allowed the Mountaineers to compete at a higher level in practice But the hope is that both are going to be able to carve out a role on the floor for West Virginia this coming season.

“I’m hoping. They’re playing catch up a little bit and can continue to grow and expand their roles and fight for some of that playing time,” DeVries said.