Despite zero incoming freshmen, Northfield Mount Hermon will have plenty of new faces this winter.
Eight transfers arrive at NMH for the 2024-25 season, including three postgrads and some from outside New England. They're reinforcements for a squad that posted an 11-9 record in NEPSAC play but missed out on the Class AA playoffs.
Northfield Mount Hermon remains in AA this season, though that takes on new meaning with NEPSAC girls basketball's impending class realignments, including the addition of a small Class AAA. Making the playoffs in either class is a tall task, but coach Grace Rehnquist has liked how her team has competed against other top-tier squads during the offseason.
"We just want to make sure that we are playing NMH basketball every day and playing to our level," she said. "I really think with this team and who we are in our style of play, if we play NMH-style basketball, we'll also compete with some AAA teams."
Who steps up to replace Dani Ceseretti?
NMH graduated four players, but Ceseretti, now a Villanova freshman, leaves a major void. Ceseretti led the team in points (18.7), assists (2.3) and steals (2.7) per game last season and was the team's lone All-NEPSAC member.
"Obviously Dani, she'll be a generational prep school player," Rehnquist said. "I think it'll be a long time before someone dethrones her as potentially the best player who has played at NMH. She's just that kind of gifted athlete."
Ceseretti's individual talent will be tough to replace, but Rehnquist believes her departure naturally leads to a more balanced roster. Olivia Fleming (Windham, N.H.), a junior point guard who picked up several mid-major Division 1 offers this summer, is the leader to replace Ceseretti's scoring and playmaking. Fleming's burst off the dribble, her touch on floaters and perimeter shots and her fearlessness as a passer helped her reach All-NEPSAC honorable mention status in 2023-24.
Rehnquist first started recruiting Fleming in seventh grade, and she was voted a team captain as a sophomore.
"She is a kid who is eager for more," Rehnquist said. "She wants to be a leader. She wants to be dialed in with the coaching staff. She's a really great basketball mind. She actually thinks more like a coach than she thinks like a player."
NMH also has 6-foot-4 senior center Ava Hoy (Canton, N.Y.) — she just committed to La Salle this week — and junior Breena Hannon (Providence, R.I.) as projected starters who played for the program last season.
Grace Minihane leads the impact newcomers
However, Rehnquist expects at least two starting spots to be filled by transfers. One is likely to be Grace Minihane, one of the summer's breakout names after her stellar performance at the NEPSAC Scholastic Showcase in June.
"We're really excited about her upside and the impact she could have," Rehnquist said.
Minihane is a postgrad student from Colorado Springs who absolutely dominated her competition at Colorado Springs Christian. Her senior averages — 25.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 5.3 steals, per MaxPreps – are ludicrous. Minihane showed she can beat teams with her combination of power drives and crafty scoring moves. She has offers from schools including St. Bonaventure's, Le Moyne, and UNH.
"She is a gem of a player and a gem of a kid, and that's what got me most excited about her," Rehnquist said.
Linzy Roberson (Toluca, Mexico) played at Brewster Academy for three years and joins Minihane and Morgan Jones (Boston, Mass.) as postgrad transfers on the team. Jones, who played at Boston Trinity Academy before moving to South Carolina, returns to New England as an impact transfer to watch.
"She's going to be a big help to us as well in kind of that 2-3 shooter, playmaker spot," Rehnquist said.
Keep an eye on the sophomores
Rehnquist wants at least two capable ball-handlers on the floor at all times. That means 2027 transfer Zariah Ottley, who holds an offer from Stonehill, could be the starter next to Fleming.
Ottley (Rockland, Mass.) has a unique style as a super strong guard who can bully players around the basket, and who also possesses underrated court vision. She played her freshman year at Rockland High, then transferred to South Shore Christian before transferring again and reclassifying this year.
"What's awesome about Z is that she really can play 1-through-4 with not only her skill set, but the way she uses her body," Rehnquist said. "I think Z is going to really explode this year, being able to play against the level of competition, because she just rises to the challenge."
Ottley joins Meg Allbee (Westminster, Vt.) and Kailyn Plage (Manchester, N.H.) in the sophomore class. Rehnquist touted Allbee, a 5-foot-9 guard, as a breakout player to watch. Allbee posted 11 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists per game as a Class D All-NEPSAC honoree at Vermont Academy last season.
"She's from a really small town in Vermont (and) hasn't had the same access to trainers, resources, exposure, as some of the other kids," Rehnquist said. "So I think her development is really going to blossom this fall being around more like-minded student-athletes. She can really shoot the ball. She has a great eye for passing, can kind of play inside-out, will mostly be on the perimeter for us, but she has a tremendous upside."
