The tone around Tabor girls basketball feels a lot different from last season, even though its program makeup didn't change much on paper.
Only three players graduated from last year's NEPSAC AAA semifinalists — but they were three stars in Kaelyn Carroll, Ava Black and Olivia Rodrigues. There's also a new head coach in Lydia Caputi, who simply switched roles with longtime leader and current assistant Will Becker. Otherwise, the rest of the roster is back with no significant transfer additions.
The difference is how Caputi has approached the season. Players say they've spent more time in the gym and outside the gym together than ever before. They say Caputi has placed heavy emphasis on respect and culture-building, and Caputi says she's focused on open communication and honesty. That includes players knowing their limits in preseason training sessions.
"These girls, because they're high-level players, they feel this obligation to train all the time. And I've tried to reframe that this is a 'get-to,' not a 'have-to,'" she said. "Any opportunity that you have to get into the gym this fall and be with each other on the court is a great one, but it is not an obligation. You are helping your team by not showing up to a training session if you know that you are tired and a little bit burnt out and would benefit from rest. That is just as powerful as going to that training session. (We're) reframing that — your wellbeing as a person is so much more important than your performance on-court, so that we are all seeing each other as people before basketball players."
Here's how Tabor is approaching this winter under Caputi's watch.
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Molly Corcoran leads a guard group built to attack
Corcoran (Medford, Mass.) was by far the loudest and most energetic during the Seawolves' scrimmages at last Thursday's open gym. She roared after catching fire behind the arc during one stretch and consistently talked over details with teammates either on the court or between games.
The Colgate commit says she's always been naturally fiery, but she's put in more work than ever on her game, physical and mental health to reach new confidence levels. Corcoran wants that to translate through positive leadership.
"I think they look for me for my positivity and my energy," she said. "I think, ever since I was young, I just radiate a lot of energy. I like to joke around a lot, so I kind of turn you know feedback into jokes and make them laugh. But then also, they can learn something from it while they laugh."
Though Corcoran started at point guard last season, she'll have more opportunities to fire away and be the leading scorer she can be after Tabor's Big Three graduated. Caputi wants to see her competitive fire blossom on the court in Corcoran's larger role.
"When you are a super talented young woman, I think pretty naturally, you're told to make yourself smaller or be subtle about it," Caputi said. "And I think on our team, it's like, no, be proud of all the hard work that you put in and the ability to express yourself on the court and bring emotion — but don't let the emotion control you. That's the messaging, and I think Molly's done a nice job throughout the preseason doing that and hopefully letting other players feel like they can take the space to do that themselves."
Corcoran leads a Tabor backcourt that's essentially unchanged from last season. Seniors Callie Cosgrove (a St. Anselm commit from West Hartford, Conn.) and Tess Adams (Bentley/Mattapoisett, Mass.) bring stout point-of-attack defense and a penchant for stepping up and hitting clutch shots. Sophomore Lily Davis (Waterford, Conn.) is an "automatic paint touch," Caputi described, who can open up the floor with her drives, and Sophia Florio (Union/West Bridgewater, Mass.) can also rain 3-pointers.
With their complementary skills and returning chemistry, the Seawolves believe their backcourt depth can be a major advantage.
"I think we all have little things that kind of all add up to make this us really good," Corcoran said.
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Corinne Lomax and Lauren Fitzgerald are wings to watch
Lomax (Watertown, Conn.) and Fitzgerald (North Attleboro, Mass.) rank as two of the most obvious breakout candidates in NEPSAC this winter. Both are high-level 2027 prospects who came off the bench last season and will replace the wing minutes from Tabor's graduated stars.
Watch Lomax effortlessly touch rim between scrimmages, or watch her breeze through driving lanes for layups, and it's easy to see the 6-footer's athletic prowess. She's proven herself as a stellar defender and imposing straight-liner attacker on her way to 12 Division 1 offers so far. Lomax continues to improve at extending her range out behind the arc.
"I'll be most excited to show people I can shoot the ball — you're gonna have to step up this year," she said. "That's what I've been working on, and just coming off of ball screens a lot more."
The running bit at Tabor is that Lomax, who is naturally quiet, would come off as nonchalant. But the Seawolves are seeing a "chalant" Lomax this fall who's not afraid to express herself on the court and around the team.
"I've definitely grown. I talk a lot more," she said. "These girls have really helped me come out of my shell."
Fitzgerald, though a very different player, exhibits a similar evolution. She's also quieter and showed flashes of her potential in limited minutes last season, but an AAU breakout led to her first offers from Iona, Colgate, Manhattan and Cornell. That's led to a noticeable confidence jump from the 6-foot-1 wing.
Fitzgerald is a strong shooter off the catch, and Corcoran claims she has the best first step off the dribble in NEPSAC. The challenge with both her and Lomax, Caputi explains, is scaling their skills up and down to different game situations.
"There are some games where you guys maybe take in 15 to 20 shots, or you're putting up 20-plus points," she said. "Then there are going to be other games where what this team needs in order to get the win, is, you're going to score eight points and you're going to get 12 rebounds, and those are going to be the most important eight points and 12 rebounds for our team's success. Great basketball is not always statistical basketball; there is a way to play that shows all that you can do without necessarily showing up on stat line."
Under Caputi, the Seawolves want to run
Since Caputi took her position as head coach, she's emphasized pace and ball movement. Tabor has the depth of playmaking talent and speed to make such an offense sustainable, and it'll also help them overcome a clear lack of size in the paint.
"It's the fastest Tabor team I've ever been a part of," Corcoran said. "One of the smallest, but, heart over high, you know what I mean? So it doesn't matter. People are gonna come in and be like, 'Oh, you're small, oh you're this, you're that' — does not matter."
NEPSAC boasts a ton of post player talent particularly in this 2026 class. That's also going to challenge Tabor defensively when their forwards may be at a 3-to-5-inch height disadvantage at times. Caputi expects her team to experiment with all sorts of tactics involving double-teams in the post, extra defensive rotations and more, and she says it presents a fun challenge for player development.
"We just have to put our best foot forward in terms of defensive scheme and defensive planning, over-communicating defensively, getting to our rotations loud and early and then just wreaking a little bit of havoc," she said.
