Chartiers Valley boys buy in, evolve into dominant force in Class 5A

By: Ted Sarneso
Sunday, February 22, 2026 | 11:01 AM

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When Corey Dotchin took over as head coach of the Chartiers Valley boys basketball team ahead of the 2024 season, his major goal for the program was to “put a competitive team on the floor that’s a WPIAL title and section title contender year in and year out.”

In the second year under Dotchin, it appears as though the Colts are well on their way to becoming a perennial playoff contender.

A year after claiming the WPIAL Class 5A title, Chartiers Valley (19-2, 11-1) claimed the top seed in the playoffs this year with the expectation of defending their crown.

“I think we did a good job of taking it day by day, game by game, and that was something I expected with an experienced, veteran group,” said Dotchin.

Before the season, Dotchin reiterated to his players that the season was a marathon, not a sprint, and that they wouldn’t come out of the gate firing on all cylinders.

Jayden Davis, who was a huge part of the team and the offense last year, graduated. Players were in new roles with higher expectations, and it was likely the Colts would go through a feeling-out process to begin the season.

But the team won two of its first three games, beating Laurel Highlands, 74-36, and Plum, 78-33, before losing 47-41 to Fox Chapel.

After the loss to the Foxes, Chartiers Valley sat through an intense film session where plenty of miscues were highlighted.

“The guys, after that game, didn’t like that feeling of losing,” said Dotchin. “It was a bit eye-opening. We knew we had our work cut out for us during the season. We learned from it, and guys bought in a little more.”

The Colts righted themselves and went on a 13-game winning streak where they had multiple games with three or four players scoring in double digits. Around Christmas, the Colts played back-to-back games where five players totaled double figures.

Throughout the streak, Dotchin noticed his team developing good habits, another talking point before the season started. His players were taking the constructive coaching and focusing on parts of their game that were lacking.

Said Dotchin: “I told them that I’m not a coach that’s ever going to be satisfied and that might not be fair to them. My staff and I are always talking to keep these guys humble, hungry and find ways that they can get better at, even if it’s little things.”

The Colts finished the season with only one blemish on their section record, a 52-49 loss to Moon on Jan. 23, which ended the winning streak.

Dotchin wasn’t sure what the outcome would have been against Lincoln Park in the next game had his team beaten Moon.

“I knew that when we came into practice on Monday that our group was laser focused on what we needed to do in that Lincoln Park game,” Dotchin said.

The Colts play in arguably the toughest section in Class 5A with Lincoln Park as the No. 2 seed and Moon grabbing the No. 4 seed in the playoffs.

All year, the Colts proved they could beat an opponent in multiple ways. If teams wanted to run up and down the court in a race to 80 points, Chartiers Valley was more than glad to run them out of the gym.

The Colts were second in Class 5A in points scored this season (1,443) ranking just behind Thomas Jefferson (1,487).

Teams were aware that the Colts liked to run and wanted to score a lot of points, so they started slowing down the pace of the game and making the Colts work.

But a game in Ohio proved that, if teams wanted to run set after set in the half-court, Chartiers Valley would still find a way to come out victorious. That adaptability made it hard for opposing teams to game plan for the Colts.

In a game against Lutheran West out of Cleveland on Feb. 2, Chartiers Valley ground out a 60-53 win and Dotchin loved what he saw from his group when facing a team that held the ball and killed clock.

“We got back on the bus and I told our coaches it was awesome for us to be forced to learn to win that way because that’s what playoff basketball is going to be,” said Dotchin.

The Colts were top five in Class 5A on the defensive side of the ball, giving up just 47 points a game in the regular season, which placed them fourth in the class.

Leading the way for the Colts on offense was sophomore forward Luca Federico, who led the team with 16 points per game.

Senior guard Julian Semplice averaged 15.5 points per game. He transitioned into the Colts’ dominant ball handler and became a playmaker while orchestrating the offense. Fellow senior guard Danny Slizik averaged eight points per game.

Seniors Logan Helfrick and Jake Lewis averaged about six points a game. Helfrick was one of the Colts’ smartest players and was the ultimate team guy. Lewis stands only 6-foot-2, but battled down low against opponents 6-8 or taller.

Said Dotchin: “I don’t think we would be 19-2 if those guys didn’t step up and do the things we required of them for us to be successful. They exceeded expectations and then some.”

One major reason for the Colts’ success has been the production they’ve been getting from their bench players.

Senior Julius Best has come off the bench and contributed in big games, even being the team’s leading scorer on some nights. He averaged 12 points per game this year.

Sophomore Silas Verzich averaged about five to six points per game and came into his own, figuring things out on the varsity level and becoming the team’s best shooter, statistically.

“I can’t say enough about our bench. A lot of teams don’t have the pleasure of providing a spark off their bench like we do,” said Dotchin. “Some games, we’ve gotten 30 points from our bench. It’s a blessing that we have a group that has accepted their roles and speaks volumes to the character of the kids and why we’ve been as successful as we have.”

As the Colts begin their journey to repeat, Dotchin knows grabbing the No. 1 seed was a great accomplishment, but it won’t change the way his team approaches the playoffs.

“Last year, we were the hunter and were able to sneak up on some people, catch them off guard. After the success we had last year and the number of guys we brought back, we knew we were going to have a bull’s-eye on our back all season,” said Dotchin. “We need to be the best version of ourselves regardless of the seed we have and be ready to play no matter the competition.”

Tags: Chartiers Valley