NEPSAC basketball programs are often defined by the head coaches who roam the sidelines. As we've highlighted, the New England prep scene has some elite basketball minds who have been at the forefront of the region for decades.
This year, some of the most prominent programs have new names leading the bench.
As the winter season draws closer, we're compiling some of the most notable coaching changes around NEPSAC. They range from Class AAA contenders to smaller programs making waves.
If a coaching change is not listed below, email us (ethan.fuller@basketballjournal.com) with the details and we will add them to this list.
Class AAA
Kianna Ray, Dexter Southfield
Ray is the third head coach in the last three years for Dexter Southfield after longtime coach Kristen Campopiano and one-year coach Tammy Millsaps did not work out. We spoke with her after her hiring in April about coming to the East Coast and trying to build a positive culture in a program that has lacked consistency on the sidelines in recent seasons.
Originally from Austin, Tx., Ray has a strong reputation as a young coach on the rise with experience on TCU and Baylor staffs, as well as with the Southwest Select grassroots programs. She takes over arguably the deepest roster on paper in New England and will face championship contender expectations right away.
Jelani Williams, Darrow
The Ducks won the Class AA championship last year under Abby Streeter, but the two sides parted ways early in the spring. Streeter is now an assistant coach at Manhattan and Williams comes in to steward the program's AAA jump.
Williams was previously a boys assistant at Northfield Mount Hermon and told us he leaned on girls coach Grace Rehnquist's example to help him feel confident in taking the new job. He has already leveraged his New York connections to land some prominent in-state recruits.
Class AA
Dan Nagle, Marianapolis
Nagle steps up to replace Wes Howard, who stepped away from coaching after leading Marianapolis for the previous four seasons. He was previously the Nichols head coach from 2021-2025, and before that, Nagle also coached at Fitchburg State from 2016-2019. His previous high school head coaching experience includes stints at Worcester Academy (2014-2016) and King Philip (2019-2021). Marianapolis should be in the Class AA playoff mix with a stockpile of guard and wing talent.
Class A
Ceci Reyes, Phillips Andover
Our Class A Coach of the Year, Jen Weissbach, is now Brooks' field hockey coach. But Reyes enters a great situation with Phillips Andover returning most of the roster that nearly reached the Class A final last winter. A former college basketball player, Reyes has previous NEPSAC coaching experience at Governor's. She also is the general manager of Hardwood Hustle, a basketball skills academy based in Middleton, Mass.
Tylon Smith, Choate
Choate is a consistent playoff threat in Class A but parted ways with Donta Johnson. Smith joins following his time as an assistant at Kingswood-Oxford, where he helped the team reach the Class B Small semifinals last winter. He is also a coach with the iBelieve Elite grassroots program.
Class B Large
Oryx Cohen, Groton
We don't see many MIAA-to-NEPSAC transitions, but Cohen is a prominent one after he led the revitalization of Natick girls basketball during the last three seasons. The Redhawks became one of the top MIAA Division 1 programs under Cohen, who also has coached with the Bay State Jaguars grassroots organization. He'll have a big rebuild effort in store; Groton went 1-20 last season, per their site.
Klay Johnson, St. Luke's
Johnson took over the Storm on an interim basis mid-winter following the departure of Kwame Burwell. Now the interim tag is removed and he'll have a clean runway into the scholastic season. With star guard Kendra Foy leading the way, St. Luke's should be a title contender. His previous NEPSAC coaching experience includes time on staffs at Rivers and Berkshire.
Matt Ward, Greenwich Country Day
The Tigers did not make the Class B Large playoffs last season, but they're a consistent competitor and bring aboard a coach with plenty of winning prep experience. Ward spent seven seasons at St. Luke's, capturing a NEPSAC Class B title and posting a cumulative 151-18 record.
Mike Welsh, Suffield
Longtime Tigers head coach Wayne Patterson retired last season after 19 years leading the team. Welsh, who was already on staff as an assistant, now ascends to the head coaching job. Suffield is among the frontrunners in B Large this winter, led by the senior duo of Alannah Baehr and Charlotte Theriault.
Class B Small
Henry Coleman, Mount St. Charles
Before Mount St. Charles joined NEPSAC in 2024, Coleman had coached the boys side for 10 years while in the RIIL. He then moved over to associate athletic director for the past two years. But with neither of the Mounties' first two NEPSAC head coaches working out, Coleman has now taken the reins of the girls program. He'll have significant work to do after the team made the Class B Small playoffs last season. Per the Valley Breeze, 10 players left the program this offseason and center Dariia Serednystka tore her ACL for a second time.
Jay Osbey, Pomfret
Osbey comes to NEPSAC from Tennessee, where he previously served as an assistant at UT Southern. He has also coached at SouthLake Christian in Huntersville, N.C., and he played in college at Nichols. Pomfret did not make the B Small playoffs last season but has added Alexis Gasparini, a 6-foot-4 center who transferred from St. Andrew's.
Class C
Isiah Anderson, CATS
CATS appears to be investing heavily into its girls basketball program. That includes hiring Anderson as both head coach and senior director of athletics. Anderson runs REPS Basketball, a grassroots club based in Epsom, N.H. He was most recently the head coach at Prospect Mountain and has previously served as the athletic director and head coach at Busche Academy. With the talent Anderson has already recruited, CATS should quickly rise to the front of Class C.
