Long Island boys and girls basketball Hardwood Heroes
Meaghan Campbell of MacArthur during a Nassau girls basketball game against host Jericho on Jan. 17, 2026. Credit: Kelvin Loarca
BOYS BASKETBALL
CASEY DEUTSCH, Jericho
Congratulations to the Jayhawks, who lifted their first conference title since 2013 Thursday as Deutsch scored a game-high 17 points against New Hyde Park.
ADRIAN MERCHANT, Half Hollow Hills East
Merchant made the most of his team’s Senior Night, scoring a career-high 32 points against West Babylon.
ASHTON PIERRE-CHARLES, Calhoun
The star senior capped off a 35-point game with the winning layup with 1.2 seconds left off an assist from Luca Facciponti.
JACOB STEFFANS, Sachem North
Steffans had 26 points, hitting eight three-pointers which included the go-ahead trey with nine seconds left, to beat Ward Melville. He added 14 points in a playoff-clinching win over Lindenhurst.
KAMARI VERNOT, Half Hollow Hills West
The defensive star hustled his way to 27 rebounds in a win over Hauppauge, breaking Conor Hagans’ program record of 25 set in 2002.
JAKE WALSH, North Babylon
With 34 points, six rebounds and five assists against Copiague — plus another 20 points against Commack a day prior — Walsh earned his spot on this list.
HANK WILLIAMS JR., St. Mary’s
Williams Jr. scored 30 points with five three-pointers to make St. Mary’s 92-89 win over St. Dominic possible. He added 24 points against Knox.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
MEAGHAN CAMPBELL, MacArthur
It’s only fitting that her sister, Cara, was the one to assist Meaghan’s 1,000th career point. With 16 points against Great Neck South, she became the second MacArthur player to hit 1,000 points and the first to have 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
ELLA COLONGELI, Glenn
With a game-high 24 points, Colongeli marched the Knights past Bayport-Blue Point.
ELYSE FRANCIS, Lawrence
Francis scored 21 of her team’s 33 points to lift Lawrence past Valley Stream South on the way to its first win of the season.
ANABEL and KADY KEEGAN, Shoreham-Wading River
Kady posted 21 points, six steals and five rebounds and Anabel added 14 points, 13 rebounds, three steals and three blocks against Center Moriches on Senior Night. The twins combined for 34 points, 16 rebounds, 14 steals and six assists against Bayport-Blue Point.
KAYLA MANNIX, Wantagh
One of Nassau’s best, Mannix had 19 points, 12 rebounds and seven steals along with the go-ahead layup inside the final 30 seconds against Lynbrook. She added 20 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and four steals against Floral Park.
EMILY McGOWAN, Seaford
She capped a 21-point performance with the go-ahead shot against Malverne, adding five steals. She also had 16 points and seven steals against Lawrence.
OLIVIA MULADA, Cold Spring Harbor
With 25 points and six steals, Mulada led Cold Spring Harbor past Carle Place.
Michael Sicoli covers high school sports for Newsday. He graduated from Quinnipiac in 2022 and left with a master’s degree in sports journalism in 2023.
