Tag: East Brunswick

by Mike Pavlichko

Early look at Big Central Football 2026: Old Bridge, Piscataway will try to hold off South Brunswick, East Brunswick, Monroe in National Gold

The Big Central Conference realignment in the off season didn’t touch the two big school “GMC” (sort of) Divisions, with no changes made to the National Gold and Silver Divisions for the next two season. (We say “sort of,” of course, because all but one of the ten teams in those divisions are from Middlesex County, the only outlier being Franklin, which at one point years ago attempted to defect from the Skyland Conference to the GMC.)

That said, in the National Gold, 2025 champion Piscataway and runner-up Old Bridge both should be in the running for another division title. The Chiefs bring a lot back, while the Knights will have to figure some things out after the graduation of Central Jersey Sports Radio Offensive Player of the Year Brody Nugent. South Brunswick has a new coach, while East Brunswick’s newest mentor is in his second season, and it’ll be Year Three for Nick Isola in Monroe; all will look to make inroads this season, and all have the potential to do it.

Here are the preliminary schedules for the National Gold Division teams – in order of 2025 finish – compiled from the official league schedule and other online sources to the best of our knowledge as of the date of publication, along with a few notes on each squad. Division games are starred.

Piscataway Chiefs (8-3, 4-0, National Gold Division Champions)
Head Coach: Dan Higgins, 23rd season (181-61)

  • Week 0: East Orange (Jim Grasso Classic at Northern Highlands)
  • Week 1: Somerville
  • Week 2: at East Brunswick*
  • Week 3: South Brunswick*
  • Week 4: at Old Bridge*
  • Week 5: Franklin
  • Week 6: St. Joseph-Metuchen
  • Week 7: at Monroe*
  • Week 8: at Sayreville

The Chiefs will open against the Jaguars up at Northern Highlands, a team that went 9-2 last season, but was knocked out of the playoffs in the sectional semifinals by eventual Group 5 finalist Passaic Tech, and they’ll close the regular season at rival Sayreville, with a lot of tough games in between. Fortunately, Piscataway has two senior linemen back, plus QB Landon Pernell for his final year, after an excellent 2026 in which he threw for 1,382 yards and 14 TDs, and just three picks. Top rusher Zaire Young went for 758 yards and seven scores in his junior campaign last year. The defense should have some key returnees back as well, and this veteran coaching staff led by Higgins knows what they’re doing.

Old Bridge (10-2, 3-1, 2nd place National Gold)
Head Coach: Matt Donaghue, 5th season (25-17)

  • Week 0: Shawnee (Battle At The Beach at Ocean City)
  • Week 1: at Montgomery
  • Week 2: at South Brunswick*
  • Week 3: St. Thomas Aquinas
  • Week 4: Piscataway*
  • Week 5: at Sayreville
  • Week 6: at Monroe*
  • Week 7: East Brunswick*
  • Week 8: at Ridge

This won’t be an easy schedule for Old Bridge, then again they did go down and beat Cedar Creek last year in the Battle of the Beach; this year, they open with Shanwee in the same event, but back in Ocean City this year after being at Rowan in 2025 due to a once-every-few-years scheduling conflict. The Knights’ only regular season loss last year came at Piscataway, before they fell to Washington Township in the “Central Jersey” Group 5 final. But the big task will be replacing Brody Nugent, who threw for 2,276 yards and rushed for 1,262 on the season, accounting for more than 3,500 yards of offense in 2025. His backup, Aiden Rios, a sophomore last season, only three three passes last year, completing two for 33 yards, while mostly playing receiver and grabbing 13 catches for 268 yards and three TDs. Much of the receiving corps is back, but the defense will have some spots to fill, though rising senior Justin Barkaszi (7.5 sacks, 3 blocked kicks, 1 fumble recovery) and Latrell Alexander (2 1/2 sacks) should return on the defensive line.

South Brunswick Vikings (4-6, 2-2, 3rd place National Gold)
Head Coach: Mike Gerst, 1st season

  • Week 0:  Watchung Hills
  • Week 1: North Brunswick
  • Week 2: Old Bridge*
  • Week 3: at Piscataway*
  • Week 4: Monroe*
  • Week 5: at Rahway
  • Week 6: at East Brunswick
  • Week 7: Franklin
  • Week 8: at Colonia

The Vikings got off to a 2-1 start last season, but faltered as the schedule got tougher and lost four straight in the second half of September and first half of October to miss the playoffs. Now, Ibrahim Halsey is out after two seasons (and has joined Derrick Eatman as an assistant at Franklin under Blair Wilson) and Mike Gerst steps in from Fort Lee, whose team went 9-0 last year playing in the Super Football Conference Ivy Red Division, meant for rebuilding programs, and who are not eligible for the postseason. It was the Bridgemen’s first 9-0 season in over 100 years of football. But against this competition, it’ll be much more of a challenge. He’ll likely have a returning starting quarterback in Brenden Shearstone, who threw for 675 yards and seven touchdowns last season, while top runningback Oscar Duran rushed for 642 yards and three scores, while fellow junior Kamari Toney went for 606 and five touchdowns. A very senior-laded defense, though, will need to be retooled.

East Brunswick Bears (3-7, 1-3, 4th place National Gold)
Head Coach: Zach Gega, 2nd season (3-7)

  • Week 0: JFK
  • Week 1: North Hunterdon
  • Week 2: Piscataway*
  • Week 3: at Monroe*
  • Week 4: Voorhees
  • Week 5: at Edison
  • Week 6: South Brunswick*
  • Week 7: at Old Bridge*
  • Week 8: at North Brunswick

One thing Zach Gega won’t need to worry about in his second season as the head coach is qho will be the quarterback, as junior Sean Christie returns off a season where he threw for 1,257 yards and six TDs, but he’ll need to cut back on the interceptions. He also ran it for nearly 500 yards, but the only other back to crack 100 was senior Nathan Charleston, who’s now graduated. Tight end Noah DeJesus, Christie’s favorite target, also is gone. And he led the defense with 8 1/2 sacks, too, so the defense will need some figuring out as well. The schedule isn’t easy, but manageable for the Bears.

Monroe Falcons (1-8, 0-4, 5th place National Gold)
Head Coach: Nick Isola, 4th season (10-20)

  • Week 0: at Perth Amboy
  • Week 1: Governor Livingston
  • Week 2: at North Brunswick
  • Week 3: East Brunswick*
  • Week 4: at South Brunswick*
  • Week 5: at North Hunterdon
  • Week 6: Old Bridge*
  • Week 7: Piscataway*
  • Week 8: at Carteret

The Falcons won just their opener last season, a 41-0 victory at West Windsor-Plainsboro, then lost their last eight to end the season, and didn’t play a “crossover” – what the NJSIAA now calls consolation games, which are up to leagues and teams to schedule. But they were only shutout twice and could put up some points. Junior QB Ghayoor Abbas was a thousand-yard passer last year and is expected to be back for his senior year, while top rusher Julian Hughes (492 yards, 4 TD) was just a sophomore. Jayden Badillo – a junior with two sacks and eight TFLs – will be counted on over on the defensive side of the ball.

by Mike Pavlichko

Longtime East Brunswick boys’ hoops coach Mark Motusesky steps down after 13 years leading the Bears

Coming off one of the program’s most successful campaigns in over a decade, East Brunswick boys’ basketball coach Mark Motusesky has stepped down as head coach after 13 seasons at the helm.

Motusesky made the announcement Friday afternoon.

“It was a very difficult decision,” Motusesky wrote, “but ultimately it was the right one to be made. My daughter is going to be a freshman, and I know I would regret not being there.”

That’s his daughter Ashley, who will be on the freshman team this coming school year. And, the girls’ program is somewhat of a family affair.

Sophomore Ava Catanho – the reigning CJSR GMC Girls’ Player of the Year – is his niece, and his sister Kara is an assistant in the program under head coach Travis Retzlaff. The Lady Bears were a GMC Tournament finalist this year, and also reached the semifinals of the Central Jersey Group 4 section in the state tournament.

Under Mark Motusesky, the boys won the GMC’s Red National division this past season, going 8-0 in their division and finishing 21-7 overall.  They reached the GMC Tournament quarterfinals, and made it to the Central Jersey Group 4 semifinals in the state tournament, where they fell to Jackson Twp., 63-58.

Motusesky was 180-145 during his decade-plus tenure as head coach, but more than that, he was an East Brunswick lifer.

He was a standout for the Bears on the hardwood, graduating in 1988 with a GMC title the team won in 1987.

Nearly a decade later, he coached the eighth grade girls for two years in the late 1990s, then switched to the boys’ side, spending 14 years as an assistant to longtime varsity head coach Bo Henning, and won four JV tournament titles as that squad’s head coach.

He was named head coach by then-Athletic Director Frank Noppenberger for the 2013-14 season, taking the team to the GMC Tournament finals his very first year, just after going toe-to-toe in a double-overtime title game loss to St. Joseph-Metuchen in 2013.

Click here to listen to Mark Motusesky talk about his decision to step down as East Brunswick boys’ basketball coach with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY: Woodbridge 3, East Brunswick 2

After East Brunswick tied the game with a run in the top of the seventh on a passed ball with the bases loaded, Woodbridge left fielder Michael Gurovich worked out a five pitch walk – also with the bases loaded – to give the Barrons a walk-off win over the Bears in the opener of their two-game set Tuesday in GMC Red Division play.

Click below to listen to Alec Crouthamel and Nick Hart call all the play-by-play live from Woodbridge High School on April 27, 2026.

Woodbridge shortstop Gavin Slicner (6) hits a ball.
by Alec Crouthamel

Woodbridge walks off East Brunswick, wins pivotal GMC Red slugfest 3-2

Tuesday’s game between Woodbridge and East Brunswick on the diamond featured two offenses that had been tearing the cover off the ball of late, as each team shook off slow starts to jockey for position in a tough GMC Red Division. Both coaches expected offense to reign supreme, even with the top arms on the bump for each side.

So, naturally, the Barrons (6-7) came away victorious in walk-off fashion, 3-2, in a good-old-fashioned pitcher’s duel.

As they say in the Tri-State area, “That’s baseball, Suzyn.”

The Bears (6-8) trailed the entire way until they were down to their final out, tying the game in the top half of the seventh on a passed ball with the bases loaded. Third baseman Javier Casacuberta scored easily to tie it at 2-2, but the throw from Woodbridge catcher Anthony Lyczkowski skidded past pitcher Kevin Arroyo’s glove, and the ball rolled back into the infield.

Pinch runner Sean Christie advanced to third on the play, then tried to snag home plate after the low throw to give East Brunswick the lead. But Barrons’ star shortstop Gavin Slicner fielded the ball cleanly, fired a laser home, and Arroyo applied the tag to end the inning and keep the game deadlocked.

Then in the bottom half, Woodbridge pinch-hitter Endy Soto grounded a single into right field, flipping the lineup back to Slicner. He reached on an error after a pitching change, putting second baseman Josh Hines on the mound, and first baseman Xavier Diaz walked on four pitches to load the bases. Left fielder Michael Gurovich — five days removed from a five-inning no-hitter in a 14-0 victory over Edison — drew a five-pitch walk to end it in walk-off fashion.

Now time to catch your breath.

Before the wild seventh inning, both teams were locked into a classic pitchers’ duel. Arroyo and Bears’ starter Tyler Ditzel controlled the pace for much of the first half of the game, with just a single run coming through in the first four innings.

The bottom of Woodbridge’s order came to play on Tuesday, and they helped open up the scoring. Right fielder Hogan Boyd — batting seventh — reached on a single to lead off the bottom of the third after Ditzel had retired the Barrons’ first six batters in order. He then stole second, advanced to third on a groundout, and came around to score after Lyczkowski reached on an error.

Slicner then threatened with a two-base error, after a long fly ball bounced off the glove of East Brunswick centerfielder Joe Spinello, to put runners on second and third. Ditzel held strong, though, inducing an infield fly and a lineout to end the inning with only one run on the board.

Arroyo continued to breeze through his outing, as Woodbridge added a second run in the fifth, also helped by the bottom of the order. Boyd worked another leadoff single and stolen base, and centerfielder Jack Kobylakiewicz walked to put two runners on with nobody out. The Barrons tried a double steal, and Boyd got caught at third, but Kobylakiewicz found his way there anyway on a passed ball as Lyczkowski walked.

With runners on the corners, Ditzel got the ground ball he needed, but Slicner legged out an RBI fielder’s choice, beating the double-play throw at first.

The Bears finally got on the board in the sixth, as they started to figure out Arroyo’s stuff and varied pitch mix. Catcher Brandon Bastek lined a double down the left-field line, and Spinello reached on an infield single. Hines brought courtesy runner Jaiden Valdez in on an RBI groundout, but with the tying run one base away, Arroyo froze DH Cole Zebro on a two-strike breaking ball to end the inning.

Woodbridge looked to score once again in the bottom half, with back-to-back one-out walks, but Ditzel found his mojo with a pop-out and strikeout of Kobylakiewicz to keep the game within a run.

Then the seventh inning madness came into play.

By the time the dust — or turf pellets — settled, the Barons’ offense manufactured the game-winning run when they needed it most, on the back of a patient approach after a slow start to the game.

Arroyo earned the win with seven innings of two-run ball, surrendering five hits while striking out five with one walk. Ditzel was given the loss despite a standout outing, allowing three runs in six innings on four hits, five walks, and two strikeouts.

Woodbridge also notched a big win in GMC Red Division play, bringing the standings even closer. Edison leads the pack at 9-2, but second place through sixth place sit just two games apart.

The Barons won their fifth game in seven tries, and even on a day where the bats took a bit to heat up, they’re proving they can win the close ones.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel talk with Woodbridge head coach Mike Monaco and shortstop Gavin Slicner about the Barrons’ 3-2 victory over East Brunswick on Tuesday:

by Alec Crouthamel

Woodbridge readies for yet another key matchup in rugged GMC Red division against East Brunswick

As the adage in sports — and much of life — goes, the numbers don’t lie.

But sometimes, they don’t tell the whole story.

Woodbridge baseball sits at 5-7 on the year, but don’t be mistaken. The Barrons boast a run differential of +32, and have put up eight runs or more in all but one of their victories.

They’ve also rebounded from a 1-5 start — where all five losses came by three runs or fewer and the lone win was a 10-0 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas — to win four of their last six games.

The losses have all come late in games, where Woodbridge was in each one of them, and even had a lead in many, while the wins have come with impressive offensive outputs.

Now to close April, the Barrons open a two-game set against East Brunswick, another team with a similar story: high-powered offense with some close losses at the beginning of the year, playing in an extremely tough GMC Red division.

You can hear the first division game live from Woodbridge High School at 4 pm Tuesday, with pregame at 3:45. Alec Crouthamel and Nick Hart will call all the action; click here to listen.

Woodbridge brings both returning veterans and younger talent to the lineup, and the production speaks for itself. Five players with regular at-bats are hitting over .300, and the lineup as a whole has combined for 33 extra-base hits.

Senior shortstop Gavin Slicner has set the table at every turn, as the head of the Barrons’ metaphorical offensive snake. He sports a .486 batting average, with 11 extra-base hits of his own. After him, the rest of the lineup is dangerous as well. The coaching staff has put full trust into anybody that steps into the batter’s box, and more times than not, that trust is validated.

And with the season nearing the midway point, now is the time to start playing your better baseball, and the Barrons have done that. Their last two series against St. Joseph (Met.) and Edison — one of the favorites for the Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament’s top seed — saw the bats come alive with wins of 16-6 over the Falcons and 14-0 over the Eagles as they split each series. With the Red Division as tough as it is this year, each series and game means more and more.

But tournament seeding isn’t everything, and Woodbridge knows it. It earned the top seed last year and was upset by 16-seed South River in the first round. All that matters is putting together your best ball as the season continues along, and the Barrons will look to continue their upward trajectory against a division rival jockeying for momentum themselves in the Bears.

It all starts at 4 pm on Tuesday.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel talk with Woodbridge head coach Mike Monaco:

by Nick Hart

East Brunswick looks to extend win streak to four games in GMC Red road matchup against Woodbridge

After an up-and-down start to the season, East Brunswick is on the brink of a four-game win streak as it travels to face Woodbridge. A win Tuesday afternoon would bring the Bears back to .500 on the season as they approach the home stretch of the 2026 regular season campaign.

It has been an offensive outpouring for East Brunswick over the past three games, outscoring opponents 36-19, while recording 31 hits during the stretch, something that head coach Chris Kenney always knew his guys were capable of.

“We’ve always been a pretty good hitting team,” he said. “Our top four or five guys really put the ball in play, very selective, good bat speed.”

You can hear that GMC Red Division game live from Woodbridge High School at 4 pm Tuesday, with pregame at 3:45. Alec Crouthamel and Nick Hart will call all the action; click here to listen.

While production has come from throughout the lineup, it has been the veterans who have shined bright for the Bears. The top four players with the highest batting average this season are all seniors. 

Two players in particular, Julian Satterthwaite and Jaidon Coello have stood out the most as both are sporting a batting average over .400 through 13 games. 

On the mound, it still has been the upperclassmen who have flourished this season, but instead of seniors, it has been by way of a pair of juniors. Tyler Ditzel and Jordan Rudolph both are spotting a sub-three ERA on the season and have played a key role in their team’s success. With seven starters returning from last season, it is no surprise that East Brunswick has seen most of its production from familiar faces. 

Despite now playing twice a year, the Bears have only faced Woodbridge five times dating back to 2025 and have fallen to the Barrons in four of their last five matchups. Coming into Tuesday’s contest, Woodbridge has won three of its last five games, with the biggest victory being an impressive 1-0 win over Edison, the number one team in the GMC Red division. 

With both teams teetering around the .500 mark, the upcoming home-and-home series could be the difference between a winning and losing record this season. At the same time, both squads sit towards the middle of their division and will look to improve their seeding heading into the GMC tournament.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Nick Hart talk with East Brunswick head coach Chris Kenney:

by Mike Pavlichko

Central Jersey Sports Radio unveils 2026 High School Baseball Broadcast Schedule featuring a dozen regular season games, plus County, State tourneys

With a dozen regular season games, plus coverage of the GMC and Somerset County Tournaments – as well as state tournament coverage to be announced at a later date – Central Jersey Sports Radio has announced its 2026 high school baseball broadcast schedule.

It all gets started next week, with our opener on Tuesday, March 31 at 4 pm between defending 2025 SCT champion Immaculata and NJSIAA Central Jersey Group 4 winner Hillsborough. Then, after the calendar turns to April mid-week, we get state Group 1 champion Middlesex visiting Spotswood, on Thursday, April 2.

Coverage also includes two regular season games at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater – Montgomery vs Pingry on April 11, and Rutgers Prep against South Plainfield two Saturdays later – as well as the semifinals and finals of the Somerset County Tournament on April 18th and 20th, respectively.

The schedule includes three of last year’s SCT semifinalists, and all four of 2025’s GMC Tournament semifinalists, including a rematch of the title game between Edison and St. Joseph-Metuchen, and a rematch on the Invitational final between New Brunswick and East Brunswick Magnet.

Last year’s North 2, Group 3 winner South Plainfield also is on the schedule, as well as finalist Colonia.

Click here to see the full 2026 broadcast schedule.

by Mike Pavlichko

Stellar sophomore campaign earns East Brunswick’s Ava Catanho CJSR GMC Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year

We get asked a lot about our process for naming a Player of the Year. It starts out that they have to be really good, of course, but there are a lot of very good ball players out there.

So, our next criteria is the value to their team. A team is just that, never one player, but sometimes, there’s one star who stands out, without whose contributions the success of that season might very well not have been possible.

For East Brunswick, that’s sophomore Ava Catanho.

Sure, senior Julianna DelosSantos-Branson had a huge impact, nearly averaging a double-double, with 64 steals, and no one really knew what she might be able to do this year coming off an ACL injury. Juniors Sophia Tannura and Zoey Alexio could hit the three, with 50 each. And sophomore Ave Krzywdzinski dished the ball to the tune of 161 assists with the best of them.

But without Catanho – the team’s top scorer with 543 points (18.7 per game) and a team-best 61 treys, and now a member of the 1,000 point club (at 1,011 and counting) – East Brunswick doesn’t reach the GMC Tournament finals, nor do the Lady Bears get to the CJ4 semis.

And for that reason, Catanho is our 2025-26 GMC Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year.

Catanho also has the athletic lineage: her mother, Kara (nee Motusesky), is an assistant under Travis Retzlaff, who was named CJSR Coach of the Year in the GMC as well, and was a thousand-point scorer at East Brunswick when she was in high school. Her father is Alcides Catanho, a standout football player at Elizabeth and Rutgers who spent two seasons in the NFL with New England and Washington.

“I’ve been shooting since I was in the crib,” Ava says.

And she’s still going to be shooting for years to come.

Click below to listen to East Brunswick sophomore Ava Catanho – with additional comments from head coach Travis Retzlaff – with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Jordan Barnes, St. Thomas Aquinas: Barnes finishes a four-year career in North Edison with 1,385 points and 746 rebounds, good for career averages of 11.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. This year, she averaged 16.2 points and 5.6 boards in helping lead STA to its record seventh straight GMC Tournament championship, and next year, she’ll be playing at Rider.
  • Trista Whitney, St. Thomas Aquinas: The senior – who played her first year at Edison – also has been a huge factor in the last three championship seasons for the Trojans. This year, she averaged 11.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, and next year, will play at Maryland-Eastern Shore.
  • Angel Smith, Woodbridge: The senior was consistent for the Lady Barrons, scoring double figures in all but four games this year, while also registering 15 double-doubles. She hit for 15.7 points per game and 11.2 boards, helping Woodbridge flip the script this year, going 17-9 coming off a 6-19 campaign a year ago.
  • Layla Gutierrez, North Plainfield: Finishing her career with 1,289 points, the senior was one of the league’s most prolific scorers the last three seasons. She even dropped 50 in a GMC Tournament game this season against New Brunswick, less than a month after scoring 42 against South Brunswick. And she opened the season with 30 against a solid Piscataway team.
  • Gabrielle Hill, Spotswood: Though her scoring was down a tad from last year (15.4 to 13.8), the junior more than doubled her rebounding numbers from a year ago, grabbing 6.4 a game this year. She also got to the foul line 24 more times and hit 34 triples on the season for the Chargers.
by Mike Pavlichko

East Brunswick’s Travis Retzlaff named CJSR GMC Girls’ Basketball Coach of the Year

First came the recognition from the league’s coaches, now from everyone else.

Or at least, in this case, Central Jersey Sports Radio, which has named East Brunswick’ Travis Retzlaff its GMC Girls’ Coach of the Year for 2025-26.

The Bears had a special season, winning 23 games, its best season since Keith Lane’s squad went 22-4 a decade ago and won the GMC Tournament championship.

This year, it was a second place finish in the Red National behind St. Thomas Aquinas, and a run to the GMC finals against the Trojans, who won their seventh straight.

But with a relatively young club – their biggest loss will be top rebounder Julianna DelosSantos-Branson – and standout Ava Catanho returning for her junior year, the Lady Bears should be well poised for success the next few seasons, perhaps even the league’s best shot to dethrone the Trojans.

To see a team without a lot of veterans do what East Brunswick did, getting the most out of a young squad – and keeping them composed in big games – takes a steady and patient coach, something that fits the bill for Retzlaff.

The Lady Bears also reached the Central Jersey Group 4 semifinals, falling to Hillsborough.

Click below to listen to Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with CJSR GMC Girls’ Coach of the Year Travis Retzlaff:

by Mike Pavlichko

Four titles earns Gill St. Bernard’s No. 1 ranking in final Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten

When high school basketball teams open their preseason, hitting the gym in earnest for the first time, they can set all kinds of different goals. For most with high-end aspirations, there are four main ones: win the division, win the county, win a sectional, win a state championship.

In 2025-26, it was check, check, check, and check one more time for Gill St. Bernard’s. And that’s why they finish as the No. 1 team in the final Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball rankings of the year.

With a mark of 28-2, the Knights won the Skyland Conference Delaware Division, and while they played though the division only once due to the new alignment, they decided to play Rutgers Prep twice anyway, the last meeting coming after the SCT seeding meeting, and took both matchups. They then beat the Argonauts in the Somerset County Tournament final, went on to avenge a defeat at the hands of Roselle Catholic in the Non-Public Group B title game, then put on a defensive masterclass in the Non-Public B state final at Rutgers, beating Holy Cross Prep of Delran to win the program’s first state title in school history

The Knights are followed by a very close second in St. Joseph-Metuchen. In their first season under alum Mark Taylor – in his second go-round coaching the Falcons – they went 29-2, their lone loss coming to South Plainfield by one on the road before falling in the Non-Public South A final to St. Peter’s Prep – which, by the way, beat every Central Jersey Sports Radio-area team it played this year: Colonia, Gill St. Bernard’s, Rutgers Prep, St. Thomas Aquinas (twice) and St. Joe’s.

Montgomery finishes in third. At 26-5, the two-time defending champion Cougars won a third straight Central Jersey Group 4 title, but this time had to go on the road to do it after being the top seed each of the last two seasons. Not only did they win at top-seed Hillsborough in the final, but the Cougars dominated Cherry Hill East in the Group 4 semifinals, and made it all the way to Rutgers for the state Group 4 final, where they lost back on Saturday to Plainfield for a second straight season, in a tight game most of the way.

Close behind in fourth is Colonia, which finished 21-11 after a 2-6 start, and having lost several key starters, including Aiden Derkack (transfer to Spire Academy in Ohio) and R.J. Wortman (early football enrolee at Rutgers) among others. The Patriots bowed out to Piscataway in a tight GMC Tournament semifinal game, but wound up getting the top-seed in North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3, and won the sectional title for a fifth straight year, and sixth time in the last seven playoff seasons, all under head coach Jose Rodriguez. They made their first state final ever, too, but fell to Ocean City Sunday in the Group 3 finals at Rutgers, giving the Red Raiders their first state title in over 60 years.

Checking in at five is Piscataway (23-8). The Chiefs – despite a lack of height – were tough again in the GMC Red American Division this year, and took St. Joe’s to overtime in early January. They made it all the way to the county final, where they fell to the Falcons in the title game, and bowed out of a brutal North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 playoff section in the semifinals to eventual state Group 4 champion Plainfield.

At six, it’s Rutgers Prep (18-10). The Argonauts still had Will Brunson, but had to deal with the loss of Andrew Kretkowski, who transferred to St. Joseph-Metuchen. But they still showed out this season, reaching the Somerset County Tournament final, where it was another battle with Gill St. Bernard’s, who won the championship.

Hillsborough (22-8) checks in at No. 7, after putting together their first 20-win season under head coach Tim Palek, who just wrapped up his fifth season on the bench. The Raiders had fans enthralled through their playoff run, with an exciting win over Jackson Twp. in the Central Jersey Group 4 semifinals, and they took Montgomery to overtime in the championship before taking the loss.

At No. 8, it’s Immaculata (21-7), the Skyland Conference Raritan Division champs. Season highlights included a home win over in-town rival Somerville, and handing Bridgewater-Raritan its first loss on the road after an 8-0 start by the Panthers.

The last three teams were unranked in the final poll before the postseason.

East Brunswick comes in at nine – going 21-7 this season, and winning the GMC Red National Division with an 8-0 mark – while two others share the tenth and final spot.

We put Perth Amboy (22-6) in at the ten spot along with Manville (19-9), honoring two teams for their full body of work, teams that might not otherwise get recognized in a crowded field of 48 teams between Middlesex and Somerset Counties. The Panthers won their first division title since 1993, claiming the GMC’s White American with an unblemished 12-0 record. The Mustangs, meanwhile, were Skyland Conference Mountain Division champions at 8-0, and beat rival Bound Brook twice this season, with the first of their two victories being their first against the Crusaders in 20 years.

Dropping out were Pingry (13-10) and South Plainfield (18-11).

Below is the complete final Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten for 2025-26: