The DeMatha basketball season ended Tuesday, March 2 with a home loss in the semifinal of the Maryland Private School State Tournament (MDPSST) to Clinton Grace, 73-63. The loss dropped their final record to 21-10. It is time to review the 2025-2026 season and preview the Stags’ chances for a Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) title in 2027.
DeMatha had some ups and downs but overall had a very solid season. They won 20 games, marking the 12th consecutive time the Stags have accomplished that milestone, excluding the Covid year. They only lost 4 conference games during the regular season and had some great WCAC wins including an upset over Bishop O’Connell (23-10) on the road. O’Connell was ranked 2nd in Virginia only behind Paul IV. However, the Stags had a propensity to start games slow throughout the season. In a few games, the slow starts really doomed DeMatha, including a late-season loss to Bishop McNamara (14-20) that impacted the team’s seeding in the WCAC playoffs.
“Overall, the big picture, we were 21-10 and won some big games. The team showed a lot of resilience all year just fighting and showing up to practice. It was a great team to coach,” said Coach Mike G. Jones III.
For Coach Jones and the staff, this capped their fourth season with the Stags, during which he led his 130th game as head coach; his record through those games is 90-41, a winning percentage of .687. This is the highest in school history for a coach’s first four years. Jones has led DeMatha to a 20-win season each of his four years here, during which he has guided the Stags to a MDPSST championship and an Alhambra Catholic Invitational Championship, both in 2023.
“It’s just a testament to what Coach Jones is. He always says separation is in the preparation and I think that just watching him as our head coach and our leader and watching how he prepares each day, it just makes us as a staff be even better and try to push,” said Associate Head Coach Isaac “Ike” Mcneil.
Some of DeMatha’s key players this season will no longer wear DeMatha on their chest ever again, including senior guards Ashton “Ace” Meeks and Jaden Shoultz.
Meeks, the senior captain, led the team in points this season averaging over 22 points per game and ending his career with 1,729 points. Ace was awarded first team honors for the WCAC and MDPSST. Meeks holds offers from Mississippi State, Oklahoma, and West Virginia to name a few.
Shoultz was a great 2/3 player, a versatile wing player often called a “swingman.” Shoultz led the Stags in 2-point field goal percentage among starters at 59.9%. He was also the team’s second best overall shooter at 46.8% and third best scorer, averaging 8 points per game. Jaden holds interest from Miami University (OH) and the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Jaden was WCAC All-Conference honorable mention.
The three other seniors will also be significant losses: guards Jaylen Ortiz and Jayden Smothers and power forward Jordan Stevens. All three of these guys provided real depth off the bench. Ortiz and Smothers provided great shooting while Stevens was a great rebounder.
“I feel like the seniors did an excellent job coming in, buying into what we wanted them to do,” Coach Jones said. “That’s playing with energy and effort but also playing for each other and just working hard. Each and every one of those guys have brought something unique to the table and I think the younger guys can definitely learn from that.”
With these guys leaving, especially two of the most efficient scorers, it begs the question: who is going to step up for the Stags next season? DeMatha seemed to struggle this year if Meeks did not get going early, so one of these juniors are most likely going to have to step up big.
The Stags will look to its junior class for success next year, with forwards Daniel “Danny” Abass and Jonathan “Jon” Farley, plus guards Donovan “Donny” Wright and Jared Jeffers.
Abass was one of the team’s best big men, finishing first on the team in rebounding at 7.3 boards per game as well as second in points averaging 10.4 per game. Danny holds interest from seven power five schools including University of Houston, Oklahoma State, and Purdue. Abass was also named to the All-WCAC second team.
Farley is one of the Stags best shooters. In only 17 games, he averaged 65% including 90% of his layups. With more time on the court, Jon is bound to a big impact next year. When asked about returning players, the first name that came out of Coach Jones mouth was Farley. With the coaching staff’s belief in him, the sky is really the limit.
Wright was one of DeMatha’s best defensive players; he tied with Abass for the most steals per game at 1.2. The staff put great confidence in Donny and on the defensive end he delivered, having great success guarding some WCAC stars like Jordan Smith Jr. of Paul VI and Ant Brown from Archbishop Carroll.
Last but not least, Jeffers was another of the team’s big men leading the team in blocks at 2.1 and recoveries at 3.1. The recovery stat is a player’s ability to secure a loose ball. Jeffers can shoot as well, averaging 7.6 points per game, good for fourth on the team. Jared holds offers from Virginia Tech, Old Dominion, and Brown. Jeffers was named a WCAC All-Conference honorable mention.
“The biggest thing we want to see from our seniors is that growth [and] that next step, and the way that you get that… is work,” Coach Mcneil said.
Beyond these juniors, the Stags have three talented underclassmen who may be ready to take the next step in their basketball journey. One of them may be the answer to the scoring deficit created by the departure of key seniors. Sophomore guard Major Jones, in a game where Ace Meeks was ineligible to play, led the Stags to an upset victory over the O’Connell Knights, scoring a career-high 24 points. Fellow sophomore guard Isa Camp has been on varsity since his freshman year, showing the confidence that this staff has in him. Lastly, another prospect who many inside the program believe will become the face of this team is freshman guard Morgan Brannigan, who split time with JV and varsity this winter. The other teams in the program showed great promise with JV going 14-5 and the freshmen finishing 19-2.
“I look at guys like Morgan, Brad, Cash, Nate, Major, Isa as our young guys. I call them our core guys… and we’re really excited for them to make the next step,” Coach Ike said.
Another question in trying to void the loss of the seniors is how active the Stags will be in the high school transfer portal. The transfer portal has become a very big deal in high school hoops. Last year the Stags landed Shoultz and Jeffers in the portal, so the question of how active they will be remains to be seen.
“We’ll be active in the scene of people who want to be here… and the people who contact us we will actively pursue them and go from there,” Coach Ike said.
The other, more traditional, outlet for acquiring more players is through freshman commitments. So far, DeMatha has three notable commits in Trey Cannady, Basir Smallwood, and Saleem King. Cannady, a 6-foot guard who was invited to workouts with Team USA, played middle school ball at St. Jerome’s and played with Team Takeover in AAU ball. Smallwood, a 6-3 guard, played middle school ball at Thomas Johnson and AAU at the Washington Warriors. He is a highly-regarded prospect and is one of the top middle schoolers in the DMV. King, another 6-3 guard, plays AAU for Team Durant, formed by NBA Star and Prince George’s County native Kevin Durant.
“We’re super excited. Trey Cannady…is super athletic [and] has the ability to defend at a high level. Saleem King is a kid who can flat out shoot the ball, has great size, has a feel for the game, and I am excited for him to grow more within our system. Basir Smallwood, that kid… is long, and he can defend. This class has untapped potential in the sense of what they could be… and it feels like a home run to get these three guys,” said Coach Ike.
These young players and development of the older players gives observers hope that the Stags can end their championship drought next year. “It is our job to continue to win… for us we have a standard and our standard is championships and that is our goal for next year,” Coach Ike said.
