The highest tier of NEPSAC Class A girls basketball was a cut above the rest.
It's reflected in the intense competitiveness of the postseason race, and the spread of these postseason awards. Five schools earn recognition in our individual honors or All-Class A teams, highlighting the collection of talent at the top.
Within those teams were some tough choices. We consulted coaches around NEPSAC to make our picks, considering statistical production this season, team success, and performance in big moments like the playoffs.
Here are our first Class A awards.
AWARD SEASON: Class AAA honors | Class AA honors | Class B honors
Player of the Year: Alicia Mitchell, Loomis Chaffee
Class of 2025, 6-3 center
Hometown: Springfield, Mass.
NCAA: Columbia
Mitchell's steady production at center is in many ways a microcosm of Loomis Chaffee's unrelenting dominance, specifically during the last two years. She averaged 11.0 points and 8.3 rebounds, shooting a pristine 60.1 percent on 2-pointers while serving as the primary rim-protector on an elite defense. Read our Player of the Year interview with Mitchell here.
Defensive Player of the Year: Eva Wilkerson, Sacred Heart
Class of 2026, 5-9 guard
Hometown: Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.
Wilkerson's long arms and high motor made her one of the most frustrating defenders across all of NEPSAC. She averaged 3.5 steals and impacted the boards at her size with 7.9 rebounds. Perhaps most impressively, Wilkerson only committed 34 fouls in 26 games, an average of 1.3 per contest.
Coach of the Year: Ayo Hart, Sacred Heart
Hart is widely respected by her coaching peers for being creative and consistently motivating her teams to play hard. That showed up with this year's balanced Sacred Heart lineup that went 22-5 and reached the Class A final as a No. 2 seed. Sacred Heart also captured the FAA regular season championship as Hart crossed 100 career wins.
All-Class A First Team
Abby Congdon, Loomis Chaffee
Class of 2025, 5-7 guard
Hometown: West Hartford, Conn.
NCAA: Tufts
Congdon has drawn praise from NEPSAC coaches as one of the best high-motor point guards in the region. The four-time Class A champ averaged 10.3 points as a senior along with 3.9 assists, 2.8 steals and 2.5 rebounds.
Kaila Richards, Hotchkiss
Class of 2025, 5-7 guard
Hometown: Far Rockaway, N.Y.
NCAA: Bucknell
Perhaps the top scoring guard in Class A, Richards averaged 15.4 points, 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals, surpassing 1,000 points. She exploded for 32 points in Hotchkiss' quarterfinal victory over Thayer.
Eva Wilkerson, Sacred Heart
Class of 2026, 5-9 guard
Hometown: Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.
Wilkerson's defense and rebounding primarily land her on this list, but she also averaged 10.7 points. Sacred Heart used her in a variety of creative ways both on and off the ball, allowing her to contribute to the balanced offense that reached the Class A championship game. She reclassified early in the season to 2026 and will be back to make an impact again.
Morgan Jenkins, Hotchkiss
Class of 2026, 6-2 post
Hometown: Higganum, Conn.
Jenkins was a monster on the interior, racking up 17 double-doubles in 20 games with 20.1-point and 13.7-rebound averages. Her length and mobility on defense led to 3.1 steals and 1.8 blocks per game, powering Hotchkiss to the semifinals.
Alicia Mitchell, Loomis Chaffee
Class of 2025, 6-3 center
Hometown: Springfield, Mass.
NCAA: Columbia
Mitchell is our Class A Player of the Year. Read our interview with her here.
All-Class A Second Team
Aisha “Oushy” Salem Hassan, Sacred Heart
Class of 2025, 5-7 guard
Hometown: Alexandria, Egypt
NCAA: Arkansas
Hassan made her mark in her lone NEPSAC season after coming over from Egypt, tallying 9.8 points, five rebounds, four assists and 2.9 steals per game. She stepped up to keep Sacred Heart fighting in the Class A final with a team-high 15 points.
Morgan Johnson, Kent
Class of 2025, 5-7 guard
Hometown: Carmel, N.Y.
NCAA: Assumption
One of the top perimeter defenders in Class A, Johnson helped spearhead a stingy Kent squad that made the semifinals. She led the team with 15.8 points per game and added 3.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.2 steals.
Lucianna Parrotta, Sacred Heart
Class of 2027, 6-0 guard/forward
Hometown: Armonk, N.Y.
Parrotta was a third impact starter and perhaps the top underclassman in Class A with her two-way contributions. She averaged 10.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.9 steals as a long wing who could guard up and down the lineup.
Anisa Akinola, Choate
Class of 2025, 5-10 guard/forward
Hometown: Livingston, N.J.
Akinola was a force in the frontcourt despite being somewhat undersized, putting up 14 points and 15 rebounds per game. She also contributed three steals, three assists and nearly two blocks, helping Choate earn a No. 6 seed in the Class A postseason.
Liv Westfort, Loomis Chaffee
Class of 2025, 6-2 forward
Hometown: Manchester, Conn.
NCAA: William & Mary (volleyball)
Westfort gave Loomis Chaffee the second interior presence it needed that ultimately proved unstoppable in Class A. Her length and natural athleticism as a two-sport star complemented Mitchell in the post and on the back line of the Pelicans defense. Westfort proved especially pivotal in the postseason, averaging 8.3 points and 6.7 rebounds while shooting 62.5 percent from the field.
Honorable mentions: Celeste Harper (Kent), Jasmine James (Thayer), Agar Malek (Kent), Aniyah Neal (Loomis Chaffee), Ella Trefethen (Milton Academy), Jules Stevenson (Phillips Andover)
