Devon Prep wins 55-39 vs. Berks Catholic to take home the PIAA 4A State Title - PSD Photo by Donna Eckert
Photos/Videos: Donna Eckert & Rich Flanagan
By: Rich Flanagan
HERSHEY, PA – To find how Devon Prep rose to the height of Pa. high school basketball and became one of the PIAA’s premier teams, the answer isn’t simply found in the medal presentation line highlighted by a decorated senior class or a head coach who has been at the helm for this historic ascendance.
It began with a mindset change in how to approach player development, roster construction and the implementation of increased pressure and expectations. It came from seeing what a great program looks like and not duplicating it but rather taking subtle nuances that can aid in program growth to build consistency which translates into winning and seizing moments. Like the one Devon Prep captured by defeating Berks Catholic, 55-39 in the PIAA Class 4A Tournament Championship Game at the GIANT Center.
Jason Fisher played under legendary Holy Ghost Prep head coach Tony Chapman, who compiled an astounding 928-351 record to go along with 23 Bicentennial Athletic League (BAL) titles, nine District 1 championships, and two Eastern State titles. Fisher scored 1,557 career points at the University of Scranton and coached the Holy Ghost Prep JV program for 15 seasons as one of Chapman’s assistants. He left his alma mater to take over at Devon Prep in 2013 for Bill Frio, who had led the Tide to consecutive District 1-2A titles in 2011 and 2012.
Devon Prep, with an enrollment of a little over 300 students, has changed immensely over the last 12 seasons and the skill set and development plan for a player in this era is vastly different from what it was when Fisher started coaching. Fisher remembers what he set out to do with Chapman’s framework to reference and looked back on changes to the program and the game of basketball in that timespan.
“It was different,” Fisher said. “The kids always worked hard and gave everything they possibly could. They were easy to coach but talent-wise, they weren’t at this level. Gradually over time, we started to build, and it turned into what you saw out there today.”
PIAA 4A Championship Highlights - Devon Prep vs. Berks Catholic - PSD Video by Rich Flanagan
Devon Prep receives their gold medals & PIAA 4A State Championship Trophy - PSD Video by Rich Flanagan
What the Tide have accomplished over the last four seasons is nothing short of staggering. Devon Prep joined the Philadelphia Catholic League in 2018 and after winning five league games in its first two seasons, Fisher and the Tide made the league semifinals for the first time in 2021 and began the upward trajectory that has come to fruition over the last few seasons. Devon Prep is now one of three Philadelphia Catholic League boys programs to win at least three state titles, joining Neumann-Goretti (9) and Roman Catholic (4).
Furthermore, after losing its entire starting lineup from the 2022 team in IV Pettit (Chestnut Hill College), Allen Cieslak (Susquehanna College), Lucas Orchard (Monmouth), Jacen Holloway (Army) and Ty Mishock (DeSales) over a two-year span, Fisher and the Tide shifted their gaze on how to not replace guys who have moved on but create a pipeline where another player who was part of one (or multiple) PIAA state championship can pick up the mantle and establish the consistency required to win three state titles in four seasons.
The methodology is working as well as Fisher and his staff could’ve hoped for, even if winning multiple state titles wasn’t necessarily on the docket.
“I don’t think you can ever envision winning three state championships in four years,” Fisher said. “It’s not like we sat down 10 years and said this is where we want to go. It’s instilling the foundational pieces that you can control every single day. It truly started six or seven years ago when we joined the Catholic League. Everybody wants to win games, but you can’t control that. We just controlled what we could, and the result was out there on the floor.”
Senior forward Zane Conlon reflects on his career at Devon Prep as an 1,000 point scorer and talks about what it takes to win multiple state championships - PSD Video by Rich Flanagan
Shane Doyle reflects on Devon Prep's 2022 state championship run and what he learned from that group to make it back to win the 2024-25 title - PSD Video by Rich Flanagan
What’s distinctively different with this current iteration from the 2022 team is that all five starters are seniors and instead of Holloway, Orchard and Mishock returning, it will be a completely different roster for Fisher next season. Zane Conlon and Shane Doyle are the only two starters who were part of that 2022 run with Conlon playing sparingly and Doyle getting acclimated to high school basketball in his first varsity season.
Conlon is the face of this corps, and the 6-5 senior forward posted nine points and 13 rebounds in his final high school game before he heads to play at NAIA Southeastern University. He scored his first basket at the 1:07 mark of the first quarter to put Devon Prep (23-5) up, 14-8 then converted inside to put his side up by seven. Conlon finishes his career with 1,066, the sixth player in Devon Prep history to reach the 1,000-point mark and first to do it since Jeff Hughes in 2010.
Conlon took what that 2022 class accomplished and adapted its work ethic to this team in hopes of pushing Devon Prep into one of the more consistent programs in the Philadelphia Catholic League and Pa.
“We were just a motivated group of kids who hold each other accountable,” Conlon said. “Throughout the summer, we were playing for our goal and that was to win the state championship and be good in the PCL, which we have accomplished.”
Doyle had eight points, five rebounds, three assists and five steals in his prototypical style. He filled the stat sheet like few players in the league have done over his three years in the rotation and reiterated much of what Conlon professed.
“Being a freshman was definitely intimidating but learning about the program and going with the flow helped me,” Doyle said. “We still do things that those seniors did, follow the same workouts and we have the same traditions after games. Learning from them over the years played a big role in our run the past two years.”
Reece Craft arrived by way of Malvern Prep and the 6-7 senior forward, who scored the first basket of the PIAA 4A title game, was looking for a change. The Swarthmore commit converted an and-one with 7:52 left in a play that energized the Tide in a four quarter that saw them outscore Berks Catholic, 17-3. Craft finished with eight points, 10 rebounds and four assists, one of which found Conlon for a vintage finish of a cut after drawing a Berks Catholic double team.
Craft wanted to be part of Devon Prep’s rise while simultaneously growing his individual game. He did that and more during his three seasons in the program.
Reece Craft talks about what factors influenced him to transfer to Devon Prep and how the team kept motivated after last year's state championship victory - PSD Video by Rich Flanagan
Head Coach Jason Fisher talks about building a solid foundation at Devon Prep - PSD Video by Rich Flanagan
“The culture is a winning culture, for sure,” Craft said. “It really bought into development and always empowered our guys. [The coaches] always ask guys what they’re looking for in terms of improvement and development, and that was something that really appealed to me. Playing in the PCL is always something everyone wants to do to test themselves against the best.”
The two latest additions in Mason Thear and Calvin Smith were unable to play in last year’s state tournament run due to PIAA transfer rules after Thear came over from Perkiomen Valley and Smith previously played at Harriton. After having 13 points against Roman Catholic at the Palestra in the Philadelphia Catholic League semifinals, Thear closed out his career by shooting 62.5% from the field and finished with a game-high 19 points in the PIAA 4A final.
Smith hit one of his three three-pointers with 4:49 remaining in the game to give the Tide its first double-digit lead at 46-36. He scored 13 points in the state final after dishing out 13 assists in the semifinals against Valley View. Smith knocked down 41 three-pointers as a sophomore at Harriton then made 99 more shots from deep over the last two seasons as an elite marksman.
PIAA 4A State Championship Gallery Devon Prep vs. Berks Catholic - PSD Photos by Donna Eckert
Thear feels that what has transpired over these past few seasons has put the program in a position to produce longevity and continue much of what he and the 2025 class accomplished.
“I think Coach Fisher has done a great job the last couple years and especially the run we had this year, I think it kind of put us on the blueprint to be a powerhouse in the Philadelphia Catholic League, for sure,” Thear said.
Smith may have summed up what the 2025 class has meant to the history of Devon Prep basketball and how it will be remembered.
“Best Devon Prep team of all time,” Smith said. “I was thinking about it last night, we were walking, all the seniors, and this was really like our last practice, which is crazy to think about. It’s just such a great group of guys, we mesh so well together and play really well, and we’re best friends off the court. It’s a great group of guys and I’m excited to see what they do next year.”
Berks Catholic (24-5), playing its first ever state title game, pushed Devon Prep in that third quarter as leading scorer Kingston McKoy, who was averaging 21.6 ppg coming in, scored six points then found Johnny Giesa on a great kick out for a trey to cut the Saints deficit to 38-36 heading into the fourth. McKoy finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds and freshman Carmelo Harper added nine points. McKoy’s three-pointer in the second made it 22-20 at the 4:53 mark then Thear sank two free throws followed by Conlon’s finish through traffic then Craft found Smith cutting down the lane for a layup and the lead grew to 28-20.
After winning the first state title in program history three years ago, Fisher began systematically finding ways to further motivate the team. He saw the Philadelphia Catholic League victories start to steadily increase then added more challenging nonleague matchups with some of the best teams in the state. Fisher also scheduled the majority of those high-level matchups on the road, forcing his group to react to hostile and, in some cases, overwhelming environments that would prepare them for the Philadelphia Catholic League playoffs and beyond. These were welcomed changes and translated onto the GIANT Center floor in each of the last two seasons.
“I don’t think they thought they could win those Catholic League games until the last few years happened,” Fisher said. “I think they hoped they could win and went out and played hard, but I don’t know if they had the belief they could do it. This year is the first year they walked onto the floor and expected to win those Catholic League games.”
“Hopefully that continues to filter down through the program where they walk onto the floor and expect to win those games. It was a huge change for us as we thought we had to win all these games, but we couldn’t control that. We made those changes, started to build the right way and that’s where we are now.”
Devon Prep Celebration Gallery - PSD Photos by Donna Eckert
Doyle, Conlon and Craft were the focal leaders during last year’s run and combined for 46 points in the 2024 PIAA 3A title game. The GIANT Center did not phase them one bit, even without overarching experience in that atmosphere and missing two starters who were ruled ineligible. That confidence transformed a team fresh off a title into one that wanted so much more, which was to play at the Palestra. Doyle emphasized that he and the 2025 class made it their mission to get there, which they did before losing to Roman Catholic, and it was the culmination of another objective completed.
“After winning that last championship, our goal was the Palestra,” Doyle said. “We wanted that and that became our new goal. We set everything for it. We played every game as if we were going into the Palestra, even Friday night games picturing what it would be like. When we hit that goal, we felt we had achieved something. It felt like our season was complete then Coach Fisher had a couple challenges to get us to refocus and back into another gear to go. It took us a couple games, but we got back to it pretty quickly.”
Doyle explained that “the Palestra definitely prepared us for this environment” and it’s precisely why the Tide answered Berks Catholic’s third-quarter run in the fourth with a dominant defensive showing that saw the Saints miss eight field goal attempts.
The list of firsts rolled on as the Tide defeated Math, Civics & Sciences in 2024 to win the program’s first District 12 title and the first district crown since 2012. They followed that up with their best finish in the Philadelphia Catholic League with 11 victories then the trip to the Palestra followed by another district title.
Thear came here with the intention of helping build on that 2022 title and elevating an entire program while elevating his own performance.
“We’ve just got a really good group of guys,” Thear said. “We might not look like basketball players, but we can play, and I think we showed that this year, and I think that’s the number one thing. You can’t just be judged off the lore of Devon Prep, everyone knows what it is. This year, it’s just kind of like we made a mark, and I think that’s what we want to be remembered for. We’re a powerhouse now, and that’s what we want to be.”
Conlon leaves Devon Prep as one of the most decorated players to don the blue, white and gold (and now dark blue) uniform, one he has worn in three state championships. He contributed to so much of the program’s success over his four years and knows that as this group was setting goals for itself, it never strayed from the path even when the results didn’t initially align.
“We always believed in ourselves,” Conlon said. “Even the year we lost in the state tournament, we were set on our goal to win it but fell short. For us as a team, we’re always striving for that goal.”
Fisher will now have to replace his entire starting lineup but there isn’t a feeling of angst or trepidation for him in doing that. He did it once before after winning the first state championship and he will do it again, only this time the expectation is not only set but understood and amplified within the program with the remaining players, who will share this now innate pedigree of winning with the next assortment of standouts to come to Devon Prep while continuing this newfound tradition of success that has and will remain a pillar of the program.
“I think that the younger guys look at this group and realize how hard they have to work if they want to be successful, not only in basketball but also in life. You can already see it in the guys who didn’t play in how they approach the weight room and work on their games.”
“They’ve left a legacy of hard work and set the bar really high. I think the younger guys are going to live up to it. Hopefully we’re talking about this next group in terms of playing up in a higher classification and doing what the 2025 class did.”