Massachusetts
Seven high school sports takeaways, including a national hoop title, Gatorade award, and coaching moves – The Boston Globe
Newman defeated Blair Academy (N.J.), 92-72, to finish the season with a 19-game win streak and 38-3 record.
Costello, a Michigan-committed 6-foot-10-inch forward from Medford who played his freshman season at BC High, led all scorers in the title game with 24 points, thanks to six first-half 3-pointers, adding eight rebounds and four assists.
Senior Chase Geremia, committed to Penn, scored 21 points on seven 3-pointers and was named tournament MVP. Illinois-bound senior Lucas Morillo added 17 points, 14 rebounds, and 8 assists in the final, giving him tournament averages of 21.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 6.5 assists.
Newman also captured the NEPSAC Class AAA and NEBL championships this season.
Congratulations to the Newman School on their victory tonight in the 2026 National Prep Championship Game.
After winning the NEPSAC AAA title on Sunday, the Cardinals won 4 games in 3 days, bringing home their first National Prep Championship in school history. pic.twitter.com/W36gVXNtsG
— National Prep Championship Series (@PrepNational) March 13, 2026
Austin Prep senior Fope Ayo has been selected as the Gatorade Massachusetts Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year.
The 6-foot-5-inch Reading resident, who is committed to Michigan, averaged 22.3 points, 17.3 rebounds, and 4.1 blocks per game for the Cougars, who went 8-14.
Ayo became the first player in Austin Prep history to eclipse both 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds and was named a McDonald’s All-American Game nominee. She is ranked as the No. 45 recruit in the Class of 2026 by ESPN.
“Fope is certainly an impact player,” said Proctor Academy coach Gregor Mackechnie. “She’s an intimidating defensive presence on the second line of Austin Prep’s zone defense, and has learned to use her body and length effectively to convert scoring opportunities on the blocks. From all of my interactions with her, I found her to be a high-character young woman.”
Ayo maintains an A average in the classroom, has volunteered locally with the Unitas Leadership Academy, and founded Sweet Desserts, an initiative that bakes birthday cakes for incarcerated juveniles.
3. Best of the South Coast crowned
The Dave Cowens awards, given annually to the top boys’ and girls’ basketball seniors from among the 17 South Coast schools, went to Wareham’s Aaron Cote and Apponequet’s Cece Levrault.
Cote led Wareham to its third state title in four years, and he was a starter on all three. After missing 20 games his junior year with an ankle injury, he returned to average 25.1 points, 4.3 assists, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.4 steals per game while surpassing 1,000 career points. He is the second Wareham player to earn the honor, following Ajay Lopes in 2024.
Levrault became the third Apponequet girl, but first since Jen Smith in 2001, to receive the Cowens award after leading the Lakers to a school-record 21 wins and the Division 3 semifinals. She finished her career with 1,149 points and four South Coast Conference Blue division titles.
Joseph Case’s Emma Plante and Old Rocheter’s Emma Johnson were the girls’ finalists, while New Bedford’s Diego Montanari and Somerset Berkley’s Dom Taylor were boys’ finalists.
4. Top WMass players tabbed
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame’s 15th anual Western Massachusetts Player of the Year awards went to Sam Brigham of Pope Francis and Emersynn Cage of Longmeadow.
A two-year starter at Pope Francis, Brigham finished as the second all-time leading scorer in Western Mass. history with 2,107 points, including a school-record 48 during his sophomore season for St. Mary’s of Westfield. He led Pope Francis to the state semifnals this year, averaging 24 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals per game.
Cage finished her career with 1,220 points, despite tearing her ACL midway through her sophomore season. A four-time All-Western Mass. first team selection, she averaged 16 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals per game this season, leading the Lancers to the state tournament.
Brigham and Cage will receive their awards during halftime of their respective games at the Western Mass. All-Star Games on Friday (starting at 5:30 p.m.) at the Basketball Hall of Fame. Tickets are $20 for adults and $12 for students and can be purchased here.
▪ Longtime Brewster Academy boys’ basketball coach Jason Smith is leaving his post after 26 seasons to join the new Masters Academy, where he will serve as head coach of the boys’ basketball program, working under John Carroll. At Brewster, Smith won seven national prep championships between 2010 and 2020, winning more than 700 games and sending 25 players to the NBA. He is a three-time National Prep Coach of the Year, six-time New England Prep Coach of the Year, and five times has been named one of the 100 most influential people in men’s college basketball.
▪ Norwood girls’ basketball coach Kristen McDonnell, who previously won four state titles at Braintree and coached the Norwood boys, stepped down for family reasons, and Trevor Hass had the story.
After eight years coaching Malden Catholic girls’ basketball, Jay Keane announced he is stepping down. Keane coached MC since the inception of its program, leading the Lancers to their first Division 1 playoff win this past season and a 14-8 record. In seven varsity seasons, he led MC to the tournament seven times as they moved up from D4 to D1. He previously coached the Wilmington girls for eight seasons, going 120-60. He won his 200th game in 2025.
▪ After four seasons, Beverly boys’ hockey coach Andy Scott announced he will step down to spend more time with family. Scott led the Panthers to an 11-7-3 record and a playoff berth this winter, finishing his stint with a 32-43-7 mark. Cam Kerry recently wrote about how Scott didn’t let paralysis keep him from coaching.
▪ Lowell wrestling coach Nick Logan announced he is resigning after eight seasons. Logan helped build Lowell into one of the premier girls’ wrestling programs in the state.
▪ Springfield Central junior lineman GaVin English announced he has committed to play football at UMass. The 6-foot-5-inch, 300-pounder with a 6-9 wingspan will team up with former Central teammates Pope Watson and Joe Griffin, who both transfered to UMass.
▪ Former Fairhaven star running back/linebacker Justin Marques, who spent a post-grad year at Portsmouth Abbey after setting the state’s all-time touchdown record and leading the Blue Devils to back-to-back Super Bowl appearances and one title, announced he will play at American International. The 5-10, 200-pounder was named All-NEPSAC after rushing for 805 yard and 10 touchdowns in just six games for Portsmouth Abbey.
▪ Medfield senior Eva Thomson committed to play field hockey at St. Anselm.
▪ Malden Catholic senior captain Abbie Poole signed her commitment to play ice hockey at Endicott.
▪ Somerset Berkley senior Alex Javier will wrestle at Bridgewater State. The 132-pounder won a Division 2 title last month.
▪ Andover junior Gus Concemi, a 6-4, 200-pound tight end and long snapper, will be transferring to Phillips Andover and entering the Class of 2028.
▪ Archbishop Williams sophomore David Santiago announced he will transfer to Lawrence Academy and reclassify as a 2029 prospect. The 6-2, 270-pound defensive tackle is from Pawtucket, R.I.
▪ Lynnfield junior Grant Neal, a 6-4 175-pound guard, will be transferring to St. Mark’s to play basketball and will reclassify as a sophomore. Neal averaged 21.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists this season.
▪ On Friday, Assumption will host the Spring Jam Classic: Friday Night Lights showcasing some of the state’s top high school talent. The night starts with a Top 20 girls’ high school showcase at 5 p.m., followed by a Leadership game, then the Top 20 Central Mass. showcase at 7, and Worcester vs. Boston (Part 2) at 8 p.m. The event also includes a vendor showcase and community resources.
▪ On Saturday, Quincy High will host the BABC vs. MA Select Teams games, with the underclassmen playing at 5:15 p.m. and the seniors at 6:45 p.m. The MA Select senior team features many of the state’s top hoopers: Central Catholic’s Javi Lopez, Wareham’s Cote, Burlington’s Matty Gray, Malden Catholic’s Aboubakar Nimaka, Medfield’s Thomas Behrman, Bridgewater-Raynham’s Cason Faulk and Cam Santos, Xaverian’s Thatcher Purdy, Hanover’s Ryan Mutschler, Attleboro’s Ladanian Rodrigues, Rockland’s Rophil Ngintoundem, Bedford’s Mekhi Volcy, Needham’s Ben Marino, Quincy’s Malcom McMorrow, and Abington’s Kingston Maxwell and Tyler Staiti.
▪ The Catholic Conference Showcase for football will be held from 5-8 p.m. on May 14 at a location to be announced.
▪ Registration is open for the Northeast 7v7 summer tournaments, which will be held from July 18-30 at Fitchburg, Berwick (Maine), Milton, and Peabody. The New England championship will be held July 30 at Peabody.
Brendan Kurie can be reached at brendan.kurie@globe.com. Follow him on X @BrendanKurie.
Massachusetts
Editorial: Want to end poverty in Mass.? Don’t drive away wealthy
If you want to help people in poverty, don’t drive the wealthy out of state.
That might be something the state senators in the Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities should keep in mind after they advanced a sweeping bill going full bore at reducing the state’s poverty rate.
Sen. Sal DiDomenico told the State House News his proposal (S 3095) “is a compilation of many bills that have already been filed.” According to his office, the bill, as originally filed, included provisions that would increase the Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children cash benefits for pregnant people, families and caregivers; increase Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled and Children cash benefits; codify related benefits and allowances; and bar the government from taking any amount of child support payments from low-income parents.
His office also said the bill would direct the state to replace Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program cash benefits “stolen by criminal rings through skimming or phishing”; ensure access to free menstrual products in public schools, homeless shelters, prisons and county jails; raise farmworker wages to at least the state’s minimum wage; establish a “baby bonds program”; and “enhance” the attorney general’s ability to “ensure companies pay their employees the wages they deserve and hold employers accountable when they steal workers’ wages.”
It’s a tall order, and an impressive one. But the hurdle isn’t just getting it on the Senate’s agenda before the July 31 deadline, it’s how to pay for it.
The idea of front-loading assistance appears sound: helping people escape poverty means they won’t need to rely on social services down the line. But it will still take a sustainable revenue source to keep it all going.
And Massachusetts has been shooting itself in the foot when it comes to keeping revenue inside state borders.
According to Moneywise, Massachusetts millionaires took $4.2 billion in income out of the state in 2023, new Internal Revenue Service data revealed.
As reported by Bloomberg, that’s an 8% increase from the year before, and it comes just as the state began enforcing a new 4% surtax on incomes above $1 million. Higher-income households are now accounting for a larger share of total departures from the state. In 2023, top earners accounted for roughly 70% of total income outflow. That doubles their share from just a few years earlier.
We need to keep them, and their tax payments, here.
But that won’t happen if efforts to lower taxes are met with derision, and the notion that tax breaks only benefit the very rich. The deep-pocketed set that’s heading to tax-friendlier states are gifting their new home turf with a cumulative windfall, even if the individual tax amount is lower than the Bay State.
The same goes for companies who see better opportunities elsewhere.
The senators working on anti-poverty measures have some great ideas, and they should have a budget to implement them. Lifting people up from poverty uplifts the state.
But we can’t pay the bill if we keep driving out high-earning taxpayers. To help the poor, we must keep the rich.
Massachusetts
Marlborough Ice Cream Shop Lands On MA Ice Cream Trail
Trombetta’s Farm, at 655 Farm Rd., is listed as a Central Massachusetts stop on the Massachusetts Ice Cream Trail, a state-backed guide launched in 2024 to promote ice cream shops, farm stands, and dairy farms that use Massachusetts dairy products, according to GBH.
The trail features more than 100 destinations across Massachusetts and is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. The map includes dairy farms with ice cream stands, farms selling packaged ice cream, and shops selling Massachusetts ice cream products, according to the tourism office.
Massachusetts
This Massachusetts beach has the ‘best etiquette’ in the state.
Medford native Maria Menounos hosting ‘Heal Squad Day of Reset’ in Yarmouth
Medford native and celebrity Maria Menounos is hosting ‘Heal Squad Day of Reset’ at Red Jacket Beach Resort & Spa in Yarmouth.
Looking for a beach where fellow beachgoers have good manners?
Travel website Exoticca conducted a survey and found the beach with the best beach etiquette in each state, including Massachusetts, so you can know the place where Bay Staters treat both the beach and each other with the most respect.
“We surveyed 3,011 Americans to find out where beachgoers are seen as having the best etiquette, and the results say quite a lot about what people actually want from a beach vacation,” Exoticca said.
In Massachusetts, voters said to head to the North Shore.
Crane Beach — Ipswich, Massachusetts
The extremely popular Crane Beach in the North Shore town of Ipswich was voted the best for beach etiquette by Exoticca’s readers.
Exoticca said that the places that scored the highest in positive beach etiquette were places where people focused on the clarity of the water and the beautiful scenery rather than external distractions like seaside restaurants or shops on the boardwalk, where “everyone around seems to understand that nobody wants the place spoiled.”
Crane Beach is known for its white sand and conservation. It’s one of the nesting places for piping plovers, according to The Trustees.
“To protect threatened shorebirds during your visit, we ask that you avoid the fenced nesting areas and the wrack, the line of washed-up organic debris where the birds feed and hide,” the Trustees said.
Despite having 350,000 people visit annually, according to the Trustees, Crane Beach still achieved the top spot of beach etiquette.
How to visit Crane Beach
Barring going on Martin Luther King Jr. Day or on Veterans’ Day for families with veterans, visitors do have to buy tickets for vehicle entry and parking. Tickets are cheaper if visitors arrive via motorcycle, biking, or walking.
“Strict rules apply: no drop-offs, re-entry for nonmembers, or outside food delivery; dogs and horses are not allowed April 1–September 30,” the ticket selection webpage said.
Rin Velasco is a trending reporter. She can be reached at rvelasco@usatodayco.com.
-
Health28 minutes agoThe Epicenter of Drug Deaths in America Is Shifting West
-
Lifestyle46 minutes agoHomelessness is more common than you think. : It’s Been a Minute
-
Technology58 minutes agoLucid’s bankruptcy rumor is a bad sign for the EV future
-
World1 hour agoSlain American mother Jamey Carney remembered as ‘ray of sunshine’ at Ireland funeral
-
Politics1 hour agoCanadian woman accused of slapping Trump-supporting teen turned over to ICE
-
Health1 hour agoPopular diet trend could boost mental health among older adults, study finds
-
Sports1 hour agoConor McGregor makes 3-word promise for UFC career in video after another devastating injury
-
Technology1 hour agoInsurance breach exposes 7M driver’s licenses