Podcast: What we learned from the 2026 NEPSAC boys championships

Newman celebrates winning back to back Class AAA championships. (Anoke Deitg-Blanchard)

Across two locations at Western New England University and Worcester Academy, the 2026 NEPSAC boys champions were crowned on Sunday.

Newman and Cushing completed dominant NEPSAC campaigns with Class AAA and AA titles, while Hotchkiss (Class A), St. Mark’s (Class B Large) and Holderness (Class B Small) broke through to hoist the NEPSAC trophy.

So, what did we learn from this year’s Super Sunday?

Matt Doherty – who covered the Class A and B Large championship triumphs for Hotchkiss and St. Mark’s at Worcester Academy – joined Steve Hewitt and Ethan Fuller to help recap Sunday’s action. They discussed the top teams, players and storylines from the championship, in addition to Steve’s perfect championship predictions.

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Highlights

What were your impressions of St. Mark’s and how they pulled off the championship?

Matt: “St. Mark’s was definitely on the ropes (in the second half), Canterbury took the momentum and they called a timeout and just came out guns blazing and kind of flipped the seven-point deficit into an 11-point lead in about five minutes, which was a really impressive spurt for them. … Alex (Echevarria) really took over, he’s their senior leader going to Trinity, which is one of the best Division 3 programs in the country and controlled the game from the point guard position.”

What did you make of Cushing’s championship?

Steve: “Cushing goes 17-0 in Class AA this year, which I don’t know if that’s ever been done before. It’s hard to search the archives for specific records for teams. Like I know Tilton in the 2010s had that run of championships, I’m not sure if they ever went undefeated. … Cushing gets everyone’s best shot every game. I kind of made this point to James (Cormier), you have to have a certain mentality and consistency about your team and the program and culture to take that shot and win every game.”

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