OAKDALE, Conn. — For most of his legendary 48-year career, Jere Quinn has assembled rosters at St. Thomas More consisting mostly of postgraduates. He’s typically found that they are more motivated and operate with more urgency, knowing they have a year to attain a college scholarship.
But times are changing. Half of Quinn’s roster this season includes recruits in the 2027 class, a stark contrast from his previous teams. Postgraduates certainly still have a place in his program, but he’s evolving. Amidst a changing recruiting environment, colleges are looking for older kids with multiple years of strong development and discipline. And Quinn has an advantage in associate head coach in Milo Luciano, one of his former players, who has a proven track record of skill development. St. Thomas More has always developed their players well, but Luciano has taken it to the next level.
“He sees the success we’ve had kids who have been here two years and how much better they’ve gotten,” Quinn said. “Our two-year kids really expand more.”
The Chancellors have a strong mix of 2027 talents and postgraduate players who seem to genuinely enjoy each other, too – and in Quinn’s experience, that’s not something he sees in every team.
“The personality I’ve seen is these guys all want to be better and all like to hang out with each other,” Quinn said. “Now we want to find out how they want to be a team.”
Here’s what to expect from St. Thomas More, ranked No. 3 in our NEPSAC preseason power rankings, as an exciting 2025-26 season begins.
A deeper look at the 2027 class
Quinn probably has the best collection of 2027 talent on any roster in New England this season. The headliner is 6-foot-5 guard Patrick Otey (Westwood, Mass.), who’s back in the region after spending last season with Overtime Elite and now fully healthy after suffering an MCL injury. Ranked No. 55 in the country by ESPN, Otey is a naturally gifted offensive talent who can score in every way and make plays for others.
Quinn and his staff are hoping to unlock his defensive potential. Quinn said he’s a very good off-ball defender because of his court awareness and vision, and he possesses a competitive fire. They want to see him realize he can lock opponents up defensively and bring effort consistently on that end of the floor.
“He plays like an old soul,” Quinn said. “You don’t speed him up, he can score around the basket, he’s got excellent footwork. He has the capabilities of becoming a wonderful defensive player.”
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DJ Hawkins (Farmington, Conn.) is one of two returners in the Chancellors’ 2027 class alongside Bentley Shelton. The 6-foot-8 Hawkins was a main contributor on last season’s team that made a run to the national prep championship game; a member of our 2027 watch list, he’s only getting better. His development areas include becoming a more reliable 3-point shooter and using his elite athleticism more often to attack the rim and impact the game.
“DJ is an anomaly because he doesn’t even know how good he’s going to be,” Quinn said. “He doesn’t know if he’s a 2 man or 3 man or 4 man, but the way the game has transitioned, he’s one of each. He can be a stretch 4, a slashing 2 or play the wing. He’s starting to get a grit to play defense. His body, he looks so young, his plates haven’t stopped, there’s still room for him to grow a couple more inches.
“If suddenly that kid becomes 6-10, 6-11, the world could be a nice place for him to exist.”
Loomis Chaffee transfer Greyson Pierce (West Hartford, Conn.) is another intriguing addition. An elite shooter, Pierce has led by example with his work ethic. Quinn is excited to see how he can space the floor for his other pieces.
“Greyson is the glue of this team, and I think everyone quietly looks up to him and how he works,” Quinn said. “When you’re putting pieces together, he certainly is the compliment to all those other guys because you have to guard him. When you really have to guard Greyson, that means you’re leaving lanes for DJ and Patrick. It could be a team that’s really fun to watch and put a lot of points on the board.”
Dillon Callahan, a 6-foot-4 guard who actually played with Pierce at the Rectory School, a middle school in Connecticut, also joins the fold, and the Chancellors believe he has high-major potential. Josh Okoduwa, a 6-foot-9 forward from England, rounds out the 2027 class. With a 7-foot-1 wing span, Quinn said he’s still figuring out the game here, and believes he can be a high-major player if he puts it all together.
“With that group, it’s a nice beginning of a really nice team for two years down the road,” Quinn said.
‘College-ready’ team
Quinn loves the depth of his team when you factor in the exciting 2026 postgraduates to that talented 2027 class. Johnny Keenan, an all-state guard from Iona Prep in New York, and Aima Sekyia, a guard from Tokyo, Japan, will be leaders of his backcourt; Quinn said they rarely make mistakes, knock down shots and are quietly tough, and he’s hoping they become more vocal. David Smith (Glastonbury, Conn.), an all-state guard/forward from Connecticut, is a sleeper. He has high-level athleticism and can create as a scorer in a variety of ways; he earned the nickname “Downhill Dave.”
“All these kids are talented,” Quinn said. “We’re going to have some all-state kids and nationally-ranked kids coming off the bench. It’s a college-ready team, so it could be fun.”
There’s so much offensive firepower on this squad that the biggest challenge might be getting them to all commit to the defensive end. Earlier this fall, Quinn challenged his team to come up with three non-negotiables on the defensive end, and he was impressed with their answers: that they all need to see the ball throughout the possession, that they need to communicate, and that they need to box out.
“They came up with three pretty good ones,” Quinn said, noting the Chancellors have the size and length to be a great defensive team.
Quinn enters Year 48
Earlier this fall, at the start of the school year, Quinn was talking to somebody and he had to say something about himself. The longtime coach had a good line about his longevity.
“I said, ‘Well, I started this job when I was in my 20s and it was the 70s, now it’s the 20s and I’m in my 70s,’” Quinn quipped.
Quinn’s resume as one of the founding fathers of New England prep school basketball has long been established as one of the best ever at this level. Since he was hired at St. Thomas More in 1978, Quinn has compiled a winning record in each of his 47 seasons. Season 48 should be no different.
What keeps him going? Quinn recognized that he lives in a comfortable environment at St. Thomas More, where his son Matthew is now the head of school. His undying love for helping kids hasn’t come close to fading, either.
“I like the kids. I like basketball,” Quinn said. “Just working with kids keeps you going. I still enjoy the competition. But I think the biggest thing is I like the work we do to get kids to places that maybe they didn’t think they could. I like maximizing a kid’s potential and drawing potential. We see more in kids than they may see in themselves and we’ve been pretty effective with getting that out of them.”
