By TOM WILLIAMS

We are a bit late for the annual basketball buffet, a bunch of stats and links plus lists of the best of the recently completed 2025-26 season.

So, before falling further behind, here we go.

The Ocean City boys were state champions for the third time in school history and the first time since 1964. The Raiders won their eighth South Jersey title, and a school record second straight, along the way. The Middle Township boys were South Jersey champions this season for the 11th time. No CAL girls teams won a South Jersey title this year, ending a 14-year streak.

The Atlantic City boys and Middle Township girls won the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament championships. It was Atlantic City’s 10th CAL Tournament/Playoff title – the last in 2013. The Middle girls won for the second straight season and for sixth time overall. Video of this year’s championship games is HERE.

Scoring champions: Markus Polite of Cedar Creek (21.0) and Khalia Lewis of Our Lady of Mercy (20.6) were the scoring champions of the 2025-26 Cape-Atlantic League season. It marked the first scoring champion for both Cedar Creek boys and OLMA girls – though the Pirates’ Kristine Miller was the CAL girls champion in 2012.

Other boys stat leaders: Vineland junior Ricardo Johnson was the top rebounder (12.2) and top shot blocker (5.4) in the CAL. Johnson was second in New Jersey in blocked shots. Lower Cape May’s Ty Bonner (5.6) was tops in assists and Atlantic City’s Tamir Rex (3.6) in steals. Atlantic City’s Don’Taye Thompson and Hammonton’s Braeden Cassidy made the most three-pointers (57). Pleasantville (59.3) scored the most points per game among CAL teams this year and Millville (41.2) gave up the fewest. But we have to remember that conference alignment can play a role in those team stats.

Other girls stat leaders: EHT sophomore Elaina Kraybill was the top rebounder (13.8) and shot blocker (3.5). Another sophomore, Alivia Ellis of Hammonton (5.0), had the most assists. And, still another sophomore (getting the trend here?), Wildwood Catholic’ ‘s Dani Daley (5.8), led in steals. Emily Seltzer of Cedar Creek made the most three-pointers (66). Wildwood Catholic (55.2) scored the most points per game and Middle Township (33.6) gave up the fewest.

Offensive Players of the Year: Don’Taye Thompson and Dani Daley.

Thompson & Daley

In 2020, something new was added to our end-of-season summary. In all the stats categories, only two directly pertain to defense, which is pretty much half of the game. So, we created all-defense teams. And who better to ask than the coaches who study opposing teams on video looking for weaknesses and strengths.

Boys All-Defense (selected by the CAL coaches): Caiden Allen, Millville; Bryce Clark, St. Augustine; Ricardo Johnson, Vineland; Chase Moore, Middle Township; Tighe Olek, Ocean City; Tamir Rex, Atlantic City; .

Girls All-Defense (selected by the CAL coaches): Lauren Cella, Holy Spirit; Dani Daley, Wildwood Catholic; Sarah Farrow, Middle Township; Elaina Kraybill, Egg Harbor Township; Reilly Nagle, Mainland; Marley Ostrander, Ocean City.

Defensive Players of the Year: Ricardo Johnson and Sarah Farrow.

Johnson & Farrow

In the past, we had always selected a five or six player all star team from the CAL. But last year we expanded it to a 10-player rotation. Here they are, in alphabetical order.

All Cape-Atlantic Boys: Ty Bonner, Lower Cape May; Bryce Clark, St. Augustine; Alex Daniel, Middle Township; Edwin Drummond, St. Joseph; Jordan Gonzalez, Holy Spirit; James Lawson, Vineland: Josh Lenko, Ocean City; Chase Moore, Middle Township; Markus Polite, Cedar Creek; Don’Taye Thompson, Atlantic City; Luke Tjoumakaris, Ocean City.

All Cape-Atlantic Girls: Abbey Cappelletti, Middle Township; Damiya Carter, Wildwood Catholic; Lauren Cella, Holy Spirit; Dani Daley, Wildwood Catholic; Sarah Farrow, Middle Township; Lily King, Wildwood Catholic; Khalia Lewis, Our Lady of Mercy; Marley Ostrander, Ocean City; Taison Parker, Atlantic City; Reagen Powell, Middle Township.

Players of the Year: Don’Taye Thompson and Reagen Powell.

Thompson & Powell

The Predicted 2027-28 CAL Boys All Star Team: Owen Bannon, Wildwood; Zebron Bartley, St. Augustine; Zane Forest, Oakcrest; Andrew Godfrey, St. Augustine; Jayden Kurtz, Holy Spirit; Brian Little, Holy Spirit; Jacob Plenn, St. Augustine; Emree Rembert, Atlantic City; Ro’saun Rhett, Millville; Don’Taye Thompson, Atlantic City.

The Predicted 2027-28 CAL Girls All Star Team: Evalyn Brown, Egg Harbor Township; Naomi Burkhart, Millville; Damiya Carter, Wildwood Catholic; Dani Daley, Wildwood Catholic; Ayana Frierson, Atlantic City; Siena Jaworski, Egg Harbor Township; Elaina Kraybill, Egg Harbor Township; Laila Munir, Atlantic City; Jewel White, Pleasantville; Addison Troiano, Wildwood.

Now for some some nostalgia.

The Flashback All-CAL Boys Team from 20 years ago (2005-06): Dennis Horner, Holy Spirit; Charles Johnson, Lower Cape May; Andrew Keister, Absegami; Anthony Raffa, Wildwood Catholic; Frank Turner, Atlantic City.

The Flashback All-CAL Girls Team from 20 years ago (2005-06): Tara Booker, Absegami; Tasha Cannon, Atlantic City; Jaleesa Coleman, Pleasantville; Sara Mostafa, Absegami; Jordan Sykes, Holy Spirit.

The 2003-04 Players of the Year: Frank Turner and Tasha Cannon.

2025-26 All-Transfer Team: Bryce Clark, St. Augustine (from Camden Catholic); Alex Daniel, Middle Township (from Wildwood Catholic); Paris Kinsey, Wildwood Catholic (from Vineland); Joelle Murphy, Wildwood (from Wildwood Catholic); Will Spross, Paul VI (from St. Joseph).

Best of the PA: There are dozens of men and women who take the microphones in the CAL gyms and tell the fans what is happening. Some pretty much just introduce the starting lineups but most describe the entire game. They all add to the game experience in their own way. But two stand out – Dennis Smith at Holy Spirit and Will Morris at St. Augustine. Their approach is different but they really add to the game experience. However, it is a challenge to decide between them. Morris is also the league’s best clock operator, so maybe that could be the tie breaker. Regardless, you can be sure if you go to games in Absecon or Richland, you will get the best PA announcers the CAL has to offer.

Game officials were assigned again by the longtime IAABO boards in the area. To recognize the best, we again asked the coaches. We like to have six to cover two games. This all star team is named in memory of a former great official.

Steve Shincarick Memorial All-Officials Team (selected by CAL coaches): Lance Bailey, Frank Basile, Ron Bokunewicz, Amanda Feldman, Steve Selby, Rob Murtha.

Welcome back Chuck: Chuck Donohue, Jr., one of the most respected athletics directors in New Jersey, has returned to the CAL. After 16 highly successful years at Southern Regional, Donohue has returned to his alma mater as AD at St. Joseph Academy in Hammonton. It was St. Joseph High School when he graduated in 1989. Among other positions in his career, Donohue also served as assistant to George McNally with the Egg Harbor Township boys basketball program.

The 2026 winners of the Boo Pergament Memorial Awards as the CAL’s Most Improved Players are Kevin Brewster of Holy Spirit and Elaina Kraybill of Egg Harbor Township. They were presented their awards during All Star Saturday on March 21. The Ken Leary Memorial Award to the highest ranked CAL boys basketball team goes to Middle Township. And The Joe Fussner Award to the highest ranked CAL girls basketball team will also be displayed by Middle Township.

Brewster with Coach Kyle Dhyne – Kraybill with Coach Cam Bell

Injury of the Year: In her first two years of high school basketball, Wildwood Catholic’s Lola McGonigle scored 817 points and added 263 assists, 205 rebounds, 109 steals and 137 three-pointers. As a sophomore she scored in double figures 24 times in the Crusaders’ 29 games. She scored 20 or more 11 times with a high of 27. That was what was missing from the WCA lineup this season when an injury forced her to miss her junior year.

Double Figures: Four players averaged a double-double this year (double figures in two stat categories) – Khalia Lewis of Our Lady of Mercy, Mariah Thorne of Pleasantville, Ricardo Johnson of Vineland and Adam Leigh of Absegami. Thorne had 18 double-doubles in games this year, Lewis had 14, Leigh 11 and Ricardo 11. Four of Ricardo’s were actually triple-doubles, when he had double figures in points, rebounds and blocks.

Live Streams: Those who couldn’t get to the games this year or who just wanted to watch a game again had an assortment of choices. Live video streaming is alive and well in the CAL. Led by Matt Ulmer, who blazed the trail, games were also available because of the work of Bill Shallcross, Brian Cunniff, plus those at BFA Productions, Quinn Broadcasting, Hermit Broadcasting, Middle Township Broadcasting, Vineland Broadcasting, Gami TV and more. And, when a game was not covered by those outlets, it could generally be found silently on Hudl.

Hartman 3-Point Champs: Holy Spirit’s Lauren Cella and Cedar Creek’s Markus Polite were the champions in the Beth Hartman Memorial Three-Point Shootout. Cella made 22 of 30 to win the girls shootout and Polite made 17 of 30 to become boys champion. In the showdown between the two champions, Cella won – making 11 of 15. Polite made 9 of 15.

Shot of the Year: There are always a lot. But Ocean City’s Tighe Olek’s drive to the bucket in overtime to break a tie with Winslow Township in the NJSIAA Group 3 Tournament was big and, as we all know, the Raiders went on to win the state championship. But the shot of the year was probably by Atlantic City’s Don’Taye Thompson. No, it wasn’t one of his logo three-pointers or twisting drives. It was a free throw with five seconds left in the CAL Tournament that decided the championship game.  

Game of the Year: There was the Wildwood Catholic girls’ 54-53 win over Wildwood at the Boardwalk Classic. It was a great game but it is also great to just see the schools playing again. The two Middle Township-St. Augustine games were great – the teams split the games, both in overtime. The three Holy Spirit-Pleasantville boys games, all won by the Spartans but by a total of just nine points. And pretty much any of Ocean City’s games in the state tournament. But the best was probably the Middle boys beating Camden in the Clarence Turner Gymnasium to win the South Jersey title.

Coaching salutes: Among others in the media, we regularly select coaches of the year. And we’re about to do it again. These are usually coaches whose teams won championships or whose seasons were much improved. But the CAL needs 42 head coaches (soon to be 44) and some slip through the cracks. For example, Scott Douglass will return for his 15th girls basketball season at Lower Cape May. The first 14 haven’t all been easy but he has put together a staff that has helped him produce a school record 195 victories. And there was a South Jersey title in 2015. With his first five wins next season he will become the 14th CAL girls coach to reach 200. And then there is Marissa Franklin, a 1,000-point scorer at Pleasantville and at Bloomfield College. Two seasons ago, her first as the Greyhounds’ coach, the team finished 0-20. This season they were 14-10, got a win in the CAL Tournament and qualified in Group 2. The Greyhounds actually lost their first six games this year but bounced back with seven straight wins and 10 wins in 11 games. There were many moments along the way when Marissa could have given up. But she didn’t. Scott Douglass and Marissa Franklin – two coaches at different places in their careers who have faced challenges and took them on. They are often over-looked examples of why basketball continues to be successful in the Cape-Atlantic League.

CAL Girls Coach of the Year: Middle Township’s John Leahy became No. 2 in CAL career wins in a season when his Panthers won another CAL Tournament title. Jess Santorio produced a conference champion at Cedar Creek. Larry DiGiovanni became a TV star. And both Egg Harbor Township’s Cam Bell and Wildwood Catholic’s Steve DiPatri had 20-win seasons. But the nod goes to Ryan Staiger, who guided Hammonton to a 23-win season and a conference title. He has 56 wins in three years with a program that had only five winning seasons in the previous 13, including an 0-23 team in 2010-11. The challenges will be tougher when the Devils move up to the American Conference next year but five of his top six scorers, his top two in assists and five of his top six rebounders will be back. For turning Hammonton into a serious, consistent contender, Ryan Staiger is the Girls Coach of the Year.

CAL Boys Coach of the Year: LaMarr Greer guided Middle Township to a South Jersey championship over Camden in Group 2. Atlantic City’s Wayne Nelson captured the title in the CAL Tournament with a 20-win season. Lower Cape May’s Scott Holden and Holy Spirit’s Kyle Dhyne each won 20-plus games and conference championships. Paul Rodio fought through injury and illness to increase his record win total to 1,060. And Will Wareham coached Vineland to its first 21-win season since Ed Harvard’s 1986 team. But Ocean City’s John Bruno stole the show. His anti-shot clock offense used crisp passes, effective screens and strong cuts to win a state title. And Ryan Gill was probably the assistant coach of the year. Bruno finished the season with a six-game winning streak and 15 straight home court wins in NJSIAA play. He is No. 3 in the CAL in career wins and No. 10 in South Jersey history. He also did more for Hawaiian shirts than Don Ho and Bruno Mars, combined. But John Bruno is the Boys Coach of the Year.

You can check out the Online 25 final South Jersey rankings for boys and girls (a total of 10 CAL teams are included in the rankings) and much more HERE.

It was a good Cape-Atlantic League basketball season this year, including the continuation of the league’s expanded 21-team basketball tournaments. A lot of talent graduates. But there are a great many exciting players returning. Things should be entertaining again next season, which includes slightly new CAL conference alignments.