In two years under coach Dan Sullivan, Worcester Academy girls basketball has set the theme of overcoming early adversity to reach Super Sunday.
In 2024-25, it was growing pains in Sullivan's first year. The Hilltoppers were under .500 before the new year and wound up champions in a thrilling Class AA final. Last year, the injury bug bit them hard. They were down to six players at the Nickerson Showcase in December but gathered themselves and made another playoff run, losing to Darrow in the championship.
Everything's lining up for a fast start for the Hilltoppers. But Sullivan won't let it define the season.
"Frankly, I'm not as concerned with our record before Christmas. I think I've said this before, but I'd rather we know what we need to work on as a team in December rather than February, when it may be too late to fix some of those mistakes," Sullivan said. "It's going to be about who's playing the best late. I think that's where our experience comes into play with just, again, navigating the whole prep school scene and the winter to make sure that we're as ready as we can be, come late February and early March."
Here's how Worcester Academy plans to retake Class AA.
CLASS AA PREVIEW:Â Player of the Year watch list | Playoff projection
State of the program
Worcester Academy has been one of the entrenched NEPSAC strongholds of the 21st century. Under head coach Sherry Levin, whom we regard as one of NEPSAC's all-time greats, the Hilltoppers won Class A titles in 2004 and 2006, and then again in 2018 and 2019 — the latter run involving Aliyah Boston, perhaps NEPSAC's greatest player ever. Worcester Academy was also the final prep school stop for current Maryland star and 2023 graduate Oluchi Okananwa.
Levin retired in 2023 and Sullivan came aboard in 2025. The Hilltoppers found success right away, winning Class AA two years ago and then returning to the championship game last winter. Their most prominent alumni under Sullivan include our 2025 Class A Player of the Year, Elyse MacDonough (now at St. Bonaventure) and 2026 grad Ella Getz (now at UNH).
The coach
In just two years, Sullivan has become one of NEPSAC girls basketball's highly-regarded head coaches. He is a rare back-to-back Coach of the Year award winner for us in Class AA.
He previously was on the Hilltopper boys staff for 11 years under Jamie Sullivan, learning in one of the more prominent NEPSAC programs on the boys side.
Sullivan joined us this summer on the HoopWise Podcast to talk about the transition from boys to girls basketball, plus more.
The star player
We haven't seen much of Gracyn Barnes (Grafton, Mass.) since she fought through a leg injury during the Class AA championship game. Barnes missed her final AAU season and the NEPSAC Scholastic Showcase in June while healing up.
But we shouldn't forget what she's capable of. The 5-foot-7 playmaking point guard made our All-Class AA second team last year despite fending off injuries. She's No. 12 in our 2027 Best of New England prospect rankings and has committed to Stony Brook.
"Having been the starter on two teams to be in a championship game, I think that she has that experience," Sullivan said. "She knows what it takes, and she matured as a point guard a lot last year. Coming back last year, I think she was worried about needing to replace the production from Saige (Youngberg) and Elyse, two guards from the year before, and she got a lot better throughout the year last year with getting her teammates involved."
Barnes averaged nine points, 4.5 rebounds, four assists and 2.5 steals, a testament to that improvement as a facilitator and her natural ferocity on defense. She's super quick and able to get to her shots comfortably around the basket, but Sullivan says Barnes has worked on her 3-ball too.
"She is going to be a small point guard at the next level. Like, that is what it is," he said. "She's 5-7 and and she's going to be going up against girls a couple inches taller, so she has to learn how to operate with that. But I think she is a tenacious on-the-ball defender. I would put her up there as one of the better on-ball defenders in the NEPSAC, without fouling as well, which I think is the most impressive part. She can just continuously guard the ball for 94 feet, which is going to be really valuable for us this year as we have more depth. I also think her shot has really improved and with being injured a little bit over the summer, she was able to really hone in and work on her shot."
The under-the-radar players
It's the rest of Worcester Academy's returning senior class, which is deep and versatile. That includes Daemen commit Maddie Keough (Norfolk, Mass.), D'Youville commit Jazzy Mora (Methuen, Mass.) and Babson commit Addie O'Connor (Shrewsbury, Mass.), who all ascended to starting roles during last season. Add in Sadie Metzger (Lexington, Mass.), who missed extended time with injury but should be back early this season.
Each fills important roles. Keough and Metzger are valuable 3-and-D players. O'Connor can guard up and down the lineup and brings some size at her wing position. Mora is among the better pull-up scorers on the team. Most importantly, O'Connor played in last year's championship game and the others have two years of championship-contending experience.
"I think operating through a prep school season physically and mentally is really important," Sullivan said. "I do believe that there can be a wall that some girls hit once they get midway into the year. We play 30 games from early December until late February, and we know that's a lot. That's why we need to have depth on our team, but that's also something that I do think takes some adjustment, and it's easier for veterans of that to kind of manage their bodies (and) just manage everything that goes along with being a student-athlete in the winter."
Top newcomers
The Hilltoppers made their biggest splash additions in the frontcourt. Though they don't have a towering post player, they'll look to 2029 forward Lyla Diaz (Hartford, Conn.) and classmate Abbie Rabinovich (Hopkinton, Mass.) as paint enforcers.
Diaz stuck out right away at the Scholastic Showcase. At 6-foot-1, she's an active and impactful shot-blocker who's growing her offensive game quickly.
"She's gotten stronger. She's gotten quicker. She has worked on her shot. She gets her shot off quicker now. She processes the game really well. She has really good hands and is able to catch the ball off rolling to the basket. She's able to reverse the ball quickly on offense if if she pops and nothing's there, skipping the ball the other side of the court," Sullivan said.
Sullivan believes Rabinovich should fit in similarly as a strong, powerful forward and inside scorer.
"As those two get more comfortable and they get more aggressive, in terms of looking for driving lanes and being able to get to the basket and create opportunities for them and their teammates, I think they're just going to be even more dangerous, and it kind of unlocks something that I think is really going to benefit the team overall," he said.
Beyond those two, Worcester Academy adds to its guard depth with 2029 Tori White (Canton, Mass.), who could jump into the rotation right away. Avery Salmon (Millbury, Mass.) transfers from Bancroft as another experienced senior, joining her sister Aubrie, a sophomore. And the Hilltoppers have even more younger players joining the squad this year who could make an impact down the road.
Our expectations
I've picked Worcester Academy to win Class AA.
The aforementioned experience on this roster sets it apart from the rest of the top-tier challengers. Those opponents might have more Division 1 talent or highly-touted local prospects. But they haven't played in a Class AA championship game yet. Even beyond the senior class, the Hilltoppers are very deep with guard playmakers and should feel confident turning to several players down the roster if needed.
Stylistically, Worcester Academy should be able to play the way it always has: fast, transition-based and with a high-powered, perimeter-oriented offense. But Diaz and Rabinovich, though underclassmen, seem ready for rotation roles in the frontcourt. Health permitting, and with growth from the younger players on this squad, the Hilltoppers should feel confident with who they have.
