What changes for a NEPSAC Class C program that's jumping all the way up to Class AA?
To Wilbraham and Monson coach Durelle Brown: Nothing.
"We've always tried to perform at an optimal level," he said. "We were Class C by our enrollment. It was never just because of our team, right? So I think the grind of knowing that every game is going to be a dogfight (matters), but I mean, that's where we already were. So I'm really excited about the challenge for our program, and I'm excited about what it does for us, and I think the big part even is how I think it helps people view us."
Wilbraham and Monson captured its first NEPSAC title in program history last season, finishing 2023-24 on a 15-game win streak by downing Brewster, 55-39, in the Class C championship.
This season, the Titans will face daunting competition. They're among the youngest top teams, but many of those rising stars already have significant experience in big games. Here's what to expect in 2024-25.
A pair of star juniors are ready to dominate
Two Titans appeared on our 2026 watch list: Caterina Ravosa (Longmeadow, Mass.) and Selah Prignano (Newington, Conn.). They helped lead WMA's title run and will be among the best players in NEPSAC regardless of class. Brown wants them to have the confidence and sense of urgency to dominate.
"I was always a scorer, so I'm not teaching anyone to be a gunner, but, yeah take over games," he said. "I think the first thing people think is that means scoring. No, that means, Caterina, that means you being a defensive presence inside. That means rebounding, that means getting to the basket, getting to the foul line. For Selah, that means being the defensive wizard she is, and making people's lives difficult, and she's a very effortless scorer."
Ravosa, a 6-foot-2 forward, has been in the program since seventh grade. Brown, who was also a power forward during his playing career at Manhattan College, described Ravosa as "obsessive about being good," and compares their player-coach dynamic to Spurs greats Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan.
Ravosa has an array of post moves she uses to score and has emerged as a dangerous perimeter shooter. She averaged 19 points and 9 rebounds per game last season and holds close to 20 Division 1 offers. This season, Brown wants to see her leverage her natural strength to win more inside, and lean more on her passing.
"She's just kind of always had a role of being a go-to scorer — and I went through it when I was coming up, when I was her age — so now all of a sudden, you get these really fantastic teammates around you," Brown said. "You now have to learn to trust them, and you have to also now learn, like, you're really good, you're getting double-teamed. Where's the open person?"
Prignano made her NEPSAC transition look easy, winning Class C Defensive Player of the Year honors in her first season at WMA while averaging 15 points, 6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3 steals. The 5-foot-9 guard was among the most impressive players on the summer AAU circuit with iBelieve Elite, showing off her innate speed and athleticism in addition to a developing handle and offensive game.
"What I love to tell people is July of 2023, she was a 4/5 at her high school," Brown said. "And now you fast forward 16 months, almost a year and a half, and she is our wing/2-guard/backup point guard, and that's just because of her work. She just has an immense work ethic, and she has a high IQ."
Young talent on the way
Hannah Grudzien (Brooklyn, Conn.) is the lone senior on the squad, a starting forward who Brown praised for her work doing the little things like rebounding and defending multiple positions. Junior Kendall Washington (North Haven, Conn.) returns after missing last season with injuries. The rest of the squad is young and loaded with upside.
Iyanna Hodge (Springfield, Mass.) is listed at just 5-foot-1, but the 2027 point guard started down the stretch of last season and earned the nickname "Miss Fourth Quarter." That label proved true when she came up with multiple clutch plays during WMA's Class C championship victory, including an and-1 bucket that Brown remembers as one of the game's signature moments.
"She's this little diminutive point guard who has this huge chip on her shoulder, right?" he said. "She's just always trying to prove people wrong. She's a nightmare on-ball defender, and she just runs our team."
The Titans have four freshmen: Addison Brennan (Monroe, Conn.), twins Avery and Kinsleigh Vanderburg (Easton, Conn.), and Gabby Ravosa (Caterina's sister), plus eighth-grader Olivia Macklin. Brown expects every player to have some level of involvement in the rotation, but Brennan and Avery Vanderburg seem best poised for immediate impact.
Brennan, already 6-foot-3, brings an instant interior presence. Brown believes she'll be next in the line of great post players to come out of the program.
"She's a girl who can rebound the ball (and) protect the rim, she finishes great around the basket, and she has this silky touch out to the 3-point line," Brown said. "And she's this amazing passer, almost to the point where it's a problem. She's too unselfish right now, but I think it fits with being a freshman."
Vanderburg, a 5-foot-9 guard, might be the most ready contributor after being one of her team's leading scorer's at Joel Barlow High last season.
"She's going to be ready right now," Brown. "I thought it was going to take a little bit. She's just this bulldozer. She's super tough; she's rugged. Her and her twin sister are amazing defensively on the ball — they just play hard."
Honing an athletic team
Beyond WMA's youth, natural athleticism is a key theme throughout the roster, led by players like Prignano. Sophomore Jala Witherspoon (Springfield, Mass.), an elite track athlete who also excels on the court, is another example.
Brown's task is to channel that into productive team success against some of the best opponents in New England. He's prepared to make tweaks, but he wants his team to play fast and aggressive — the way they've won in the past.
"Our full court pressure may change, right? We may not do it the whole game. It may be picking spots and situational; I think that's the thing that might change," he said. "But no, we recruited the way we recruited this roster for a reason. That's for us to be us, and that is to be a fast-paced, in-your-face basketball program."
