Two weeks ago, after CATS Academy had returned from a road victory over St. Andrew’s, there was one noticeable absence from the team’s postgame dinner: Jaylin Williams-Crawford.
There was a good reason for it.
Though Williams-Crawford defended well – as he usually does – in the double-digit victory, head coach Cary Herer knew his wing hadn’t shot or scored the ball as well as he could that night. After dinner, at around 8:30 p.m., Herer was packing up and getting ready to leave when he spotted Williams-Crawford in the gym. He was on the shooting gun by himself, getting extra shots up.
“That shows commitment,” Herer said. “He wants it.”
Williams-Crawford has made a strong impression in his first season at CATS, where he’s started every game for the 17-3 Griffins who are among the best prep teams in New England. After spending three years at Charlestown High, capped with a Division 3 state championship last winter, the 6-foot-7 wing transferred to CATS and reclassified to the 2026 class to increase his exposure and development.
A member of Expressions Elite’s 17U squad on the Nike EYBL circuit last summer, Williams-Crawford found a natural fit at CATS, where several Expressions players like Jaylen Harrell, Jaxson Terry and Desmond Bellot Jr. were already playing.
“CATS really felt like home,” Williams-Crawford said. “The Expressions coaches and a lot of the guys I played with in EYBL through the summer were at CATS, so we already had the chemistry.”
That comfort level is showing. On a squad that’s deep with high-level talent, Williams-Crawford has carved out a role as the team’s best defender, taking on the assignment of guarding the opponent’s best offensive player with extreme success. An emerging shooter, he’s picked his spots offensively, but his impact goes beyond the box score with all the little things he does for CATS, from defense to rebounding to energy plays.
“He’s the best defender around,” Herer said. “Every guy he covers doesn’t score. It doesn’t matter the size. If it’s a point guard, if it’s a wing, he shuts the guy down.”
That has shown up in matchups against some of New England’s best offensive talents throughout this winter. In a victory over St. George’s earlier this month, he held star guard Dywane Chess to just nine points, causing Herer to describe him as one of the region’s best perimeter defenders. In this week’s victory over Brimmer & May, Williams-Crawford was a primary defender on Windston Legentus, whose scoring average is above 20 points per game. He scored just two points.
At a rangy 6-foot-7, Williams-Crawford possesses the lateral quickness to keep up with smaller guards, and his length is disruptive in both his individual defense and in passing lanes, where he gobbles up steals. Herer also said he has an advanced willingness to defend.
“He knows that’s his role, and he’s done it in EYBL and he’s doing it for us,” Herer said.
Williams-Crawford has embraced defense because he knows it will get him on the floor. He did so with Expressions this summer as he played up a year alongside some of the best talents in the area. It’s translated to CATS.
“I think playing both sides of the floor is very important,” Williams-Crawford said. “I feel like that’s something I’ve been doing since the summer at EYBL, so I really just brought that over to CATS and it gets me minutes on the floor.”
Williams-Crawford takes it to the next level by studying some of the best defenders in the NBA. Celtics guard Jrue Holiday and Hawks guard Dyson Daniels are among those he watches closely. He noted Holiday’s poise on defense, his footwork, and the ways he plays straight up and slides his feet, and has tried to bring those details to his own game.
Williams-Crawford’s season at CATS has certainly made him a better player as he consistently competes against the best in games and in practice. But his time at Charlestown shouldn’t be discounted in his growth, either. As a junior last season, he stepped into a bigger role alongside Jaylen Hunter-Coleman (who’s now at Northfield Mount Hermon) as a scorer, but it offered him a unique perspective and growth opportunity on defense. At 6-foot-7, he was the Townies’ 5-man as their tallest player, which meant he was often matched up with players just as big or even bigger than him. That experience was important in developing his defensive versatility.
“I’ve learned how to guard 1 through 5 and I’ve had to guard a lot of bigger people than me,” Williams-Crawford said. “I feel like that’s really helped me in where I am now and my defense, guarding 1 through 5.”
Williams-Crawford’s offensive impact has been more of a process, but a good learning experience. At Charlestown, he averaged 19.2 points per game in the state title run. But at CATS, he doesn’t need to be a go-to scorer alongside the likes of talents like Harrell and Terry. Instead, he’s trying to complement them.
“I think the challenge is finding myself to be more of a scorer around obviously better teammates and guys who can score just as well, or even better,” Williams-Crawford said. “That’s been a difficult part so far, but everything else has been going really smoothly. I feel like I fit in the system really well.”
Williams-Crawford’s athleticism should be noted, too. He displayed it during several highlight dunks recently at the Hoophall Prep Showcase, which included a ridiculous reverse alley-oop.
Williams-Crawford’s impact may not be totally obvious on a star-studded squad like CATS that’s so rich with talent. But with elite defensive play, a clear commitment to getting better and tools that make him irreplaceable on one of the best teams in the region, suitors are starting to line up and take notice. He currently holds offers from Rhode Island, George Mason and Chicago State, and there are certainly more coming in an exciting 2025 for one of the region’s budding stars.
“He adds an element that coaches should want to recruit. He’s like that corner in football. He locks everybody down. I don’t think there’s one game where someone got the best of him. …
“He does everything. You can’t take him off the court.”
