One of the most successful seasons in Williston Northampton boys basketball history ended with a New England Preparatory School Athletic Council championship, as the Wildcats captured a Class A championship with a 75-57 win over Phillips Exeter Academy on Sunday, March 9, 2025.
The top-seeded Wildcats advanced to the championship with two other playoff wins—an 82-61 win over St. Paul’s School in the quarterfinals and a narrow 73-69 win over No. 4 Choate Rosemary Hall in the semifinals.
The title is Williston’s first since the program won back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2016, and the first piece of hardware for head coach Ben Farmer.
“This was an incredible season—one that we’re going to remember for the rest of our lives,” Farmer said. “Being on a team like this doesn’t happen all the time. All season, we just really tried to appreciate the moments we had together. These guys put in so much work to get here and I couldn’t be happier for them.”
In the championship game, played at Suffield Academy, the Wildcats hopped out to an early lead and never looked back. With a large contingent of Williston fans in the stands, Preston Edmead ’25 scored a game-high 26 points to lead the way. Edmead, who was named the Class A tournament Most Valuable Player, told the Daily Hampshire Gazette after the win that the team worked all season to get to this point.
“We’re super connected,” Edmead said. “I remember from the start of the season, from our first practice, every time we broke it down in the huddle we would say, ‘Chip season on 3,’ and we manifested this championship. Every day we all came together, just a super tight group… I’m a senior, it’s a great way to go out.”
Ricardo Nieves ’25 had 15 points in the win and Kyle Seltzer ’27 added 16 of his own.
Against St. Paul’s in the quarterfinals, Edmead again led all scorers with 31 points, while Ashton Reynolds ’25 added 17 and Ore Odutayo ’25 chipped in with 15. In the semifinals against Choate, Edmead posted 26 points, Nieves had 24, and Reynolds had 13.
With the win, the Wildcats finish the season with a 25-1 record, and a perfect 18-0 mark against Class A teams. Williston’s lone loss on the year was to Worcester Academy, which captured the Class AA championship in 2025.