Much like in college basketball, the legacies of high school programs are often defined by their head coaches.
The balance of power in the MIAA championship pursuit is constantly shifting as star players grow through high school and graduate. But there's always a cluster of schools that remain in contention year after year — and that's often a credit to the coaching staff.
It's a difficult time to be a head coach at the state association high school level. Not only are they trying to win games with their varsity team and steward the youth development pipeline in their towns — often while juggling full-time teaching jobs — but coaches are also feeling the pressure of competing with NEPSAC for talent. Retaining their best players, developing a system that can sustain roster turnover and mentoring young adults are all just parts of the job.
There are standout coaches all around Massachusetts. But who are the true best of the best? Steve Hewitt and Ethan Fuller built their Mount Rushmores of four boys and four girls coaches.
OPINION: How MIAA schools can better retain talent against prep schools
Ethan: This is a fun exercise — and also so much harder to complete compared to NEPSAC. That's partially because of the sheer number of high schools and also the number of proven, long-tenured head coaches. We're selecting four names; I think you could argue for 10-12 to be in the conversation on the girls side.
But before we pick names, the most important question to ask ourselves is: How do you weigh success at a public school versus a private school in the MIAA? Without getting into the whole "recruiting" conversation, it's still fair to acknowledge that private schools typically attract a much broader area of prospective players. Private schools don't dominate MIAA basketball like in some other sports, but Steve, how do you account for their advantages?
Steve: It can't be ignored. Just this year on the boys side, we saw a couple of privates match up in the Div. 1 championship with Bishop Feehan and Central Catholic, and another in St. Mary's capture the Div. 2 title. Those accomplishments are obviously still impressive, but we have to acknowledge those innate advantages. It's simply harder to win and sustain success at public schools because they're more limited in their player pools. Add in the annual purge of MIAA talent leaving for NEPSAC — as we discussed in great detail on our podcast in April — and the job becomes incredibly challenging for these coaches.
With such a large number of highly successful boys coaches, I leaned towards picking public coaches as I separated my final selections. But it wasn't everything. How did you look at it? And let's get the ball rolling with your girls choices. Who do you have?
Ethan: I don't know if there's a clear answer to the weighing of public vs. private school advantages, but I do think NEPSAC's shadow has actually leveled the MIAA playing field in some regard because NEPSAC is recruiting from MIAA private schools just as much as public schools. Very few programs feel immune.
One of those schools is Wachusett, where head coach Jim Oxford is a no-doubter for my girls Mount Rushmore. Oxford has built the most ironclad girls basketball program in the state, if not New England at large, with more than 300 wins across 20 seasons. Wachusett has won the last two Division 1 state championships and is the only Div. 1 program to make at least the semifinals in all five years of the statewide tournament. The craziest stat I've found: Wachusett has lost three regular-season games against MIAA opponents in the last nine years.
Oxford has sent a handful of stars to Division 1 (Belle Lanpher, Mary Gibbons and Jae Scott are recent examples) and plenty more to other college levels. And just as impressively, he's retained them through all of high school against NEPSAC's influence.
Only one other public school has been that consistently dominant: three-time Div. 2 defending champion Medfield. The Warriors have won four total MIAA championships (also in 2017) during coach Mark Nickerson's time at the helm of the program, and Medfield has ended atop our MIAA Girls Final Top 10 in each of the last two seasons. Nickerson has sent countless players off to college, highlighted by Harvard alum Maggie McCarthy and current Colby star Kate Olenik. He's developed recent leaders like Izzy Kittredge and Naya Annigeri, and even with those players transferring to prep school, Medfield has shown an impressive ability to adapt year-over-year.
I'm choosing two public school coaches and two Catholic school coaches — but there are a handful more public school coaches I'll acknowledge at the end. Who are your three public school picks?
Steve: I have to start with someone whose legacy is already stamped. There are, I believe, two coaches in state history who have amassed more than 700 career wins. One is Bob Foley, who retired in 2024 after winning 980 games, primarily at St. John's Shrewsbury. (Shameless plug: I spoke to Foley upon his retirement for a fun Q&A.) The other is Marshfield's Bob Fisher, who's still kicking after more than 700 wins and 45 seasons of coaching. The 82-year-old Fisher previously spent 23 seasons at Rockland, where he won two state championships. He's a member of the New England Hall of Fame.
Andover might be the most consistent program in the state over the last three-plus decades under Dave Fazio. The Golden Warriors have made the state tournament in all 37 seasons with Fazio, who won his 500th career game in 2022. Hard to beat that.
My third public school coach was a tough one with several strong candidates, but I'm going with Watertown's Steve Harrington. Since Harrington took over the program in 1994, the Raiders have won nearly 500 games and have won three Division 3 state championships — 2007, 2009 and 2018. Harrington was inducted into the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2025.
Who are your final picks, Ethan?
Ethan: Though their titles have been won in lower divisions, and though they coach at Catholic schools, Jeff Newhall and Clinton Lassiter both deserve spots.
Lassiter has the most state championships in MIAA basketball history, boys or girls, with seven (including a 2020 co-championship). His Cathedral squad is routinely among the best teams in the entire state regardless of division. I've always loved the way they play: fast, aggressive, and with some of the most balanced ball-sharing you'll see. Lassiter has coached up Division 1 players like Ariana Vanderhoop, but in recent years, Cathedral has taken down some of the state's elite programs without a superstar individual. And Lassiter does a great job understanding the different needs and situations of his players, with many raised in inner-city Boston.
Even if we separate Newhall's coaching career from his other responsibilities as both St. Mary's athletic director and MIAA basketball committee chair, he's still won more than 400 games since taking over the girls basketball program in 2005. That comes with six (including a 2020 co-championship) state titles. St. Mary's has made the semifinals or better in every statewide tournament to date, including three Div. 3 titles and a Div. 2 runner-up finish last season. Several of the top MIAA college prospects have come through St. Mary's in recent seasons, and Newhall has led some young rosters to great heights.
Now let's credit some of the toughest cuts. I'll stay true to a four-person Mount Rushmore, but Lisa Downs is the most painful omission here and a very worthy candidate. She's won four state championships at Foxboro and is, in my opinion, among the smartest tactical coaches in the state. I wouldn't fault anyone for putting Downs on their Mount Rushmore.
Behind her: Alan Hibino (Andover), James Gee (Springfield Central) and Steve Sullivan (Woburn) all do tremendous jobs at their respective public schools. Amy Dolores also has Bishop Feehan on a roll. Lastly, Kristen McDonnell, who captured four championships at Braintree, would have made the list had she not just stepped down at Norwood.
That's the highest tier of candidates for me. So who was your lone private school choice?
Steve: That's a wild omission list. I can't believe Lisa Downs doesn't make the cut. But it's hard to narrow it to four.
My lone “private school” choice is the legendary Bill Loughnane. I put private school in quotation marks because he has coached at Boston College High since 2004. But he got his start at South Boston High, where he coached for 19 seasons. In fact, Loughnane became the first coach in state history to win 200 games at two different schools when he hit the mark in 2017. That includes five state championships — three at South Boston and two at BC High. Both BC High titles (2007 and 2022) capped undefeated 25-0 seasons. The 2022 triumph came with his son, Mike Loughnane, leading the way. Those two teams could certainly be regarded as two of the best in MIAA boys basketball history.
Safe to say, Loughnane's place is safe on this Mount Rushmore. So, that's my four: Loughnane, Fisher, Fazio and Harrington.
Who else garnered consideration? Mansfield's Mike Vaughan, who has more than 400 career wins and a state championship to his name, was a difficult omission. Same goes for Catholic Memorial's Denis Tobin, with more than 400 wins and two state titles. Hugh Coleman deserves a shout. He won two state championships at Brighton before returning to his alma mater at Charlestown and winning the 2024 championship, and his teams are always tough outs. How about Rick Kilpatrick? Based on my research, he's closing in on 400 career wins between his time at Acton-Boxborough and Ayer-Shirley. It's early, but St. Mary's Lynn coach Josh Keilty is on the right track. He just won back-to-back state titles with two different schools, capturing the Div. 4 crown with Georgetown before taking the job at St. Mary's and winning the Div. 2 championship in March.
I think this is a good starting point. I'm excited to continue learning MIAA basketball history and watching more coaches shake up our Mount Rushmore.
