From afar, Wilbraham & Monson's jump up from Class C to Class AA last season seemed largely successful.
The Titans went 21-10, earned a No. 3 playoff seed and reached the semifinals. But it capped off a year that featured several peaks and valleys as the program adapted to the physical and mental toll of a much tougher schedule. WMA had just one senior on the roster and a majority of underclassmen in the first year competing among NEPSAC's top programs.
"I think they came into last season with a lot of expectations, and they kind of were feeling that all fall before we even got to basketball, and having a whole new team," coach Durelle Brown said. "Whereas this year, we're all returning, and they're very, very secure in who they are and who we should be."
Aside from graduating starter Hannah Grudzien, the Titans run back nearly the exact same roster and believe they're now prepared to assert themselves in the championship hunt. Here's how things are shaping up for the season.
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A senior duo ready to dominate
On paper, star forward Caterina Ravosa made the AA leap look pretty easy. After struggling in the opening weeks, Ravosa (East Longmeadow, Mass.) hit her stride in December and wound up averaging 20.9 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. The Fairfield commit impressed Brown with how she asserted herself in the paint against some of the region's top post players, where a younger Ravosa would have settled for too many 3-pointers.
More recently, Ravosa has turned up her effort level to be more consistent defensively. That's the final stage Brown wants to see from the star he's developed a tight bond with since Ravosa joined WMA in middle school. She's already eclipsed 2,000 career points and has become the face of the program.
"What she's finally learned, which I've been telling her for 100 years: Defense gives you energy. And she's really, really seeing that," Brown said. "I think she's attacking being a leader. I think she's really embraced it. The girls look up to her, she loves this group, they love her, and she's comfortable in her shoes, which makes me feel really happy."
PROSPECT WATCH:Â Why Ravosa ranks among the best in New England's 2026 class
Ravosa's partner in crime is Selah Prignano, a combo guard who uses her explosive athleticism and scoring touch to separate herself. But through Prignano (Newington, Conn.) landed on our All-Class AA Second Team last season, her junior year was a challenge.
Brown takes some ownership. He believed pushing Prignano to develop into a point guard would give her another boost on the recruiting front, but making the positional change is more difficult than it seems.
"I think she was very hard on herself," Brown said. "I don't mind that part at all, and I think she has high standards for herself, and I think once she didn't really play to her standard, she started beating herself up a little bit. But I think a lot of it is: People underestimate how hard it is to play the point position. To me, it came so easy for her at the 2, but all that means is that she's just a great passing 2-guard, and that's what I learned."
This winter, Brown plans to let Prignano shine more naturally off the ball, with 5-foot-1 junior Iyanna Hodge (Springfield, Mass.) expected to solidify point guard. Prignano recently announced her commitment to Sacred Heart, which puts the big cloud of recruiting behind her. She's free to make plays more comfortably and remind everyone she's one of NEPSAC's top defensive guards.
"Selah takes on the best guard of every team we play," Brown said. "She'll be up for it again this year and she'll show improvement."
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A stellar sophomore class
The key reason to buy in on the Titans as a true Class AA title contender: their 2028 class is strong.
Avery Vanderburg (Easton, Conn.) became a pleasant surprise when she earned a starting spot as a freshman. The 5-foot-9 wing averaged 8.1 points and 6.0 rebounds, impressing with her physical strength for her age and polished playmaking. Brown thinks a year of experience will go a long way for Vanderburg's confidence, and he expects her to play a larger role this winter.
"We need Avery to be an aggressive scorer. We need her to be a slasher. We need her to shoot the basketball. We need her to take more responsibility scoring so it's not just Selah and Cat," Brown said. "And she has that ability. Defensively, she was lights-out."
Addison Brennan (Monroe, Conn.) is generating a ton of buzz after a stellar run on the AAU circuit with iBelieve Elite. She cracked our August 2028 watch list for her unique blend of perimeter shooting and passing as a 6-foot-3 center.
Though Brennan played a bit off the bench, Brown said they treated her freshman winter almost like a redshirt year, with development mostly coming away from the public eye. Brennan broke out briefly in the playoffs against Austin Prep before her monster AAU season. Brown is extremely high on her potential sophomore impact and believes she can complement Ravosa on the floor.
"All of her success was due to her and her work ethic. She trusted me," he said. "I torture her, and she puts up with it, and she comes back for more. In the few open gyms that we've had that colleges have come for, they are amazed."
And there's more. Brown believes Kinsleigh Vanderburg (Avery's twin sister) and Gabby Ravosa (Caterina's younger sister) have earned opportunities. Gabby Ravosa in particular shined at the June NEPSAC Scholastic Showcase and provides a much-needed defensive boost on the wing.
"Gabby is so freaking good. People are going to be surprised when they see her," Brown said.
Lessons Learned
Brown has spent the fall watching many of his Titan players, along with his daughter, compete on the volleyball team, which has soared to a 13-0 start. He's appreciating getting to see his players bond in their secondary sport where, for the basketball stars, the stakes are a bit lower.
"They're really tight, and so having eight of our 12 people in the volleyball program — they're always around each other. And my biggest hope is them hopefully winning the championship in volleyball, that will be infectious and roll right over into our season."
It's one example of Brown considering how he can ease pressure from the constant basketball calendar. Wilbraham & Monson only hosted five open gyms this fall, a conscious change Brown made to keep his players from hoop burnout before the season. He's also building his schedule more thoughtfully after going through the ringer last winter, largely against AA and AAA teams.
"We grow every year as coaches, but I feel like last year (and) this year, I grew a ton, just because joining AA was a huge jump," he said. "I kind of underestimated some of the things, because I knew we were talented, but learning a 30-game season versus 25 is a huge difference. ... All of it was a lot, and so the whole point of experiences is you learn from them. So trying to make our schedule better, as far as with breaks and things of that nature, and like I said, learning that I can't kill them in the fall because the season itself is so long and arduous."
