Michael Shelton knew what he was getting himself into when he took the Northfield Mount Hermon head coaching job in 2022. He didn’t shy away from it.
Shelton was replacing a school legend in John Carroll, who had led his alma mater to national prominence in more than two decades coaching the program. Shelton embraced the expectations that came with taking it over, but knew that it would take time for him to build the program back up.
After spending his first season in NEPSAC Class AAA, Shelton brought NMH back down to Class AA in that pursuit, and made big strides. Despite a series of injuries, the Hoggers won 15 games and advanced to the Class AA semifinals.
Now, as he enters Year 3 on the job, Shelton feels like the program is trending in the right direction and towards his vision. With returning stars Greg Brooks and Vincent Chaudhri back in addition to a collection of young talent surrounding them, NMH not only has a team built to challenge for a Class AA championship this winter, but sustain success over time.
Shelton hopes to bring the program back to a point where Carroll had it, but understands it has to start somewhere.
“That’s what we’re trying to build towards, but it’s not going to be overnight,” Shelton said.
Here’s what to expect from Northfield Mount Hermon, No. 7 in our first NEPSAC power rankings, this winter.
The stars are back
Shelton is excited to have Brooks and Chaudhri back this season – and most importantly, healthy.
Brooks, the 5-foot-10 point guard from Buffalo, N.Y. who made our preseason All-NEPSAC Class AA team, missed a significant portion of last season due to injuries but is ready to go for a big senior season. One of the fastest guards in NEPSAC, he averaged 21.8 points per game in a shortened season, and he’s expected to be a leader of this squad alongside Chaudhri.
Chaudhri, who committed to George Washington, averaged 16 points per game last season as a junior, and he’s a 6-foot-8 forward with 3-and-D capabilities. He and Brooks form one of the best returning tandems in NEPSAC this winter, but with so much talent around them, NMH doesn’t exactly have to rely on them every night. That’s the exciting part for Shelton.
“I think when you bring back two kids, we don’t have to run every play through them,” Shelton said. “If teams take them away, we have three other options on the floor that are viable options to score at this level, I think that’s a good problem to have.”
Exciting additions provide depth
What makes NMH a legitimate title challenger this season is its newfound depth, and the quality of it.
Shelton’s additions include Jaylen Hunter-Coleman (Boston, Mass.), a 6-foot guard in the 2026 class who led Charlestown High School to a state title last season – and who we pegged as a breakout candidate this winter. He scored 22 points per game last season and is likely to start alongside Brooks to make one of the most exciting backcourts in NEPSAC.
NMH boasts several veteran transfers who are expected to make a big impact. Shelton considers Andrew Urosevic, a 6-foot-3 guard from Canada who recently committed to Lehigh, one of the best shooters in the country. Nasir Rodriguez, a 6-foot-5 guard who committed to Fairfield, is a powerful two-way threat.
Shelton loves the makeup of his frontcourt, which has incoming post-grad Chris Daniels (Lynnfield, Mass.) as well as some intriguing youth. Will Higgs and Nate Djanogly are both juniors with upside, and Shelton has been pleasantly surprised with freshman 6-foot-9 big Maxxwell Thorpe (North Andover, Mass.), who has developed faster than he expected as a strong and athletic rim protector.
“As a coach, it’s a great thing to have when you have that much depth,” Shelton said. “I think what’s unique about this roster is how flexible it is. I think we can play a multitude of ways.
“We have a lot of skill and guys who can do multiple things. This summer, when we played at the June showcase, we had just got together for two weeks, but you could just see we can score points in bunches, guys who are capable from three, guys who can really guard the ball 94 feet, we have some length so that disrupts people, we have shot blocking ability. I think the versatility of our roster is really awesome.”
High expectations
Shelton sets a high standard for himself, which seems to make him a perfect successor to Carroll at NMH.
“Someone who’s going to follow John Carroll probably isn’t going to run away from expectations, you know what I mean?” Shelton said. “For me, I set my own bar which is excellence in everything that I do. I know it’s super cliche and kind of corny to say that, but I really push myself to grow every year as a coach, and compete at the highest level.”
Shelton created a difficult schedule for his squad. On top of a very competitive Class AA slate, he scheduled games against tough nationally-recognized programs like Blair Academy and Putnam Science, in addition to Phillips Exeter and Rivers, the reigning Class A and B champions, respectively.
Shelton doesn’t hide from the smoke, and wants to compete against the best in an effort to be the best. As he continues his program’s upward trajectory, the goal this winter is to play in the final game of the season.
“If we do that, I think it’s a successful season,” Shelton said. “I think last year, which was a very competitive year also, we made it to the Final Four, we were able to beat Worcester twice. … I think we had a lot of positives last year. … It was just kind of a crazy year (due to injuries), but with all the adversity we had, we were able to stick together and put together a run.
“This year, hopefully we’re healthy and hopefully we can take one step forward from what we did last year. Any time you can make a championship game or series, it’s a successful season. Once you get to that point, it’s two really good teams. …I think we have the makings to be something special this year.”
