In NEPSAC Class A, there are 25 programs chasing the sustained success that head coach Jay Tilton has built at Phillips Exeter.
Exeter won its fifth Class A championship since 2014 last winter, the most in the division in that span – and the Big Red have no plans to stop this season, with Notre Dame commit Ryder Frost leading their back-to-back pursuit.
But outside of Exeter, there’s a lot to cover. There are some new faces and several teams ready to take the next step and challenge for the championship.
Here are five storylines we’re watching in Class A this winter.
How will Exeter’s additions fit?
As Exeter coach Jay Tilton looked to build his roster around Ryder Frost, Tyler Bike and a few other returners, he made a point not to “rock the boat” – as in, finding players with the right personalities who would complement his core. He believes he succeeded with the additions of Cade Furse, Luke Soden and Rob Blandburg.
MORE: How Exeter's Ryder Frost blossomed into one of the country's top prospects
Furse, a four-year starter at Manchester-Essex, joins Exeter for a postgraduate year and Tilton thinks he’ll fit in well as a combo guard who can shoot and is accepting of a smaller role. Soden adds even more shooting, and Blandburg, a 6-foot-7 forward from Texas, will be a defensive pest. Tilton loves how the new pieces have looked together in open gyms.
“As a staff, we feel really good about where the culture is and the fall’s been good,” Tilton said. “There’s a lot of ownership and leadership in the group.”
How does Milton regroup?
No program in Class A lost more talent after last season than Milton Academy. Austin Hunt (Harvard), Nick Petronio (Boston College), CJ Happy (Princeton) and C.J. Cox (Purdue) – a group head coach Lamar Reddicks described as an “otherworldly class” – departed to play college basketball, leaving the Mustangs with enormous shoes to fill.
MORE: Our preseason boys All-NEPSAC Class A team
It will take some younger players growing up fast for Milton to be among the best in this class again. LJ Reddicks, a 2026 guard and the son of Lamar, is the only returning starter, while 2027 guard Reece Ayala, who has impressed this summer, will see a bigger role. Jack Watson, who’s a captain, will be the team’s most important piece, Reddicks said.
“We’re young and inexperienced, but we have talent,” Reddicks said. “It’s going to be up to me and the coaching staff to get the talent to be ready for what they’re going to face, which is going to be very difficult games every single game.”
First-year coaches breaking in
There are a couple of new names leading Class A programs this season: Matt Droney at Dexter Southfield, and Lambros Papalambros at Nobles.
Droney, who won a national championship as a player at Babson in 2017, was an associate head coach at his alma mater before taking the Dexter job in the spring. Papalambros is one of the fastest-rising coaches in the region after leading the Middlesex Magic to a Hoop Group title this summer and being named the league’s coach of the year.
MEET THE COACHES: Inside Papalambros' journey to Nobles | Droney's road to Dexter
Both have enjoyed smooth transitions to their new jobs and have high hopes in their rookie NEPSAC and ISL seasons. Droney is hoping to lead Dexter to its first Class A playoff appearance, while Papalambros is excited about his group, which is smart and versatile and could make some noise this winter.
Tabor will be a serious title challenger
Tabor took a big step forward last season, earning the No. 3 seed in a tough Class A before falling to eventual champion Exeter in the quarterfinals. This season, the Seawolves are well positioned to break through.
Led by senior guard and East Carolina commit Daithi Quinn (Quincy, Mass.), who’s one of the best scorers in the class, Tabor has a championship makeup of hard-working, gritty players who make winning plays and decisions. Quinn, one of the toughest players in the region, has set that standard and has even taken big steps as a more vocal leader going into this season. He’s surrounded by Braden Yeomans, Aidan Smith and Sage Baptise – returners who worked hard on their bodies and games in the offseason – and a group of newcomers who understand the game at a high level.
As head coach Coke Whitworth enters his fourth season, Tabor has developed an identity of that tough, hard-nosed team that makes winning plays. Expectations are high, but they understand they have to do the hard things that lead to winning if they want to have success.
“Everybody wants to win a championship,” Whitworth said. “But are you willing to do the little things day in and day out when the season is (feeling long), are you still willing to put in the work and concentrate on the details?”
Who else could contend for a title?
Last winter, Exeter was a No. 6 seed when it made its run to the Class A championship. It speaks to the depth of the class, which has several contenders to claim glory this season.
Loomis Chaffee was the No. 1 seed last season and was upset in the first round, but brings back a strong group that includes All-NEPSAC selection Charlie O’Sullivan, J’Lin Brown, Ben Price, Nick Sangermano and Greyson Pierce. Phillips Andover, which made the championship game as the No. 8 seed, returns an older group led by Northeastern commit Xavier Abreu. Belmont Hill, led by Brown commit Isaiah Langham, is certainly a team to watch.
Another sleeper? Taft. They were one of the most impressive teams at this summer’s NEPSAC showcase, an incredibly athletic, big and physical team led by All-NEPSAC selection point guard Ford Okehi along with Asher Cort and Jeremiah Ibeziako.
