It’s a blank slate, a new season for Western Massachusetts high school boys basketball teams as the winter 2025-26 slate officially kicks off Thursday night.
It was a memorable 2024-25 season. Pioneer Valley Regional won the MIAA Division V state title, and Monument Mountain reached the Division IV title game before falling to Georgetown. Both teams suffered heavy losses to graduation, so it should be interesting to see how they move forward this time around.
Transfer news is a big storyline to watch, especially early this season. There are lots of familiar faces playing for different programs, and some faces now playing outside the MIAA landscape.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at our preseason Top 20 poll, which will be updated each week throughout the season.
- Springfield Central
- Pope Francis
- Holyoke
- Putnam
- Agawam
- Chicopee Comp
- Minnechaug
- Longmeadow
- Taconic
- South Hadley
- Sci-Tech
- Monument Mountain
- Pittsfield
- West Springfield
- Duggan
- Northampton
- Amherst
- Springfield International
- Westfield
- Drury
Springfield Central reached the Division I semifinals a year ago, ultimately falling to Newton North. Central lost first-team All-WMass selections in Unique Kynard and Jabari Sifrin to graduation, but the addition of Holyoke star Aden Cabrera and Duggan Academy standout Allen Miranda immediately bolsters the backcourt. Miranda, who recorded his 1,000th career point last year at Duggan, and Cabrera give Central a 1-2 punch that should match up with just about any team in the Commonwealth this winter.
Pope Francis beat Central to win the WMass Class A title a year ago, then went on to reach the Division II quarterfinal round before falling to Somerset-Berkley. The Cardinals lost leading scorer and all-WMass pick Ryan Vedovelli to graduation, but senior guard Ryan Bingham is back to shoulder the load in the backcourt. Fellow seniors Jackson Maurer and Sam Mayfield also return to give the Cardinals plenty of firepower as they move up to the Valley League.
Agawam, Chicopee Comp and Minnechaug are looking to make the jump into the land of the elites this winter, and all three have plenty of top-end talent to compete with the Springfield-area schools. Hoosac Valley transfer Tre Moynihan gives Agawam a big scoring threat, while Super 7 picks Miles Fergus (Minnechaug) and Brody Fay (Chicopee Comp) help lead their respective teams in a deep Valley League.
South Hadley and junior point guard Noah Hambley will look to battle West Springfield and Westfield in the Suburban South, while the Berkshire should be a battle throughout the winter as Monument Mountain, Pittsfield and Taconic are all off impressive 2024-25 seasons.
There are many good players looking to lift their teams up the top 20. West Springfield’s Jahdiel Gonzalez, Westfield’s Evan Miller and Frontier’s Max Millette (who needs 66 points to reach 1,000) are just some of the names to watch this winter.
