Super Duo Launches Masters Academy International Basketball
Masters Academy International (MAI) is building a fully integrated 360-degree sports boarding school in Stowe, MA, where elite athletics, academics, and student life operate as one unified model. To lead its men's basketball program, MAI has assembled what may be the most accomplished director-and-head-coach duo ever brought into a start-up: program director John Carroll and head coach Jason Smith.
John Carroll, Program Director
Over more than two decades in prep school basketball, Carroll has produced more Ivy League players than any coach in the country while twice building nationally premier programs from the ground up. His résumé includes 370 wins as a head coach, four New England Championships, nine National Prep Championship Final Fours, five title-game appearances, and the 2013 National Prep Championship. His teams ranked in the national top five for 15 consecutive years, the top 10 for 17 straight seasons, and held the No. 1 ranking six times.
Beyond the Ivies, Carroll's players have advanced to Stanford, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Michigan, and North Carolina, among others. At the Division III level, they've landed at MIT, the University of Chicago, Williams, and Middlebury — cementing his reputation as the nation's leader in academic basketball.
Most recently, Carroll built The Newman School program from scratch beginning in June 2022. In just four seasons, Newman captured the 2025 and 2026 New England (AAA) Championships, earned No. 1 national rankings in both 2024–25 and 2025–26, and won the 2026 National Prep Championship tournament. That National tournament title made Carroll the only person to win it with two different schools.
Nearly two dozen Newman players have advanced to Division I programs, highlighted by 2026 McDonald's All-American Quinn Costello. Four Newman student-athletes are Ivy League–bound this year alone, with a potential fifth to follow.
His honors include the 2022 All-Academic Basketball Lifetime Achievement Award, induction into the Assumption University Greyhound Hall of Fame, the Positive Coaching Alliance National Double-Goal Coach Award, and induction into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame as a prep player, college player, and coach.
Jason Smith, Head Coach EYBL team
Announced on March 17, Smith arrives at MAI after 26 seasons at Brewster Academy, where he built one of the most dominant prep programs in the country. Under his leadership, Brewster captured seven National Prep Championships (2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020), seven New England Prep Tournament titles, and ten New England Prep regular-season championships.
Smith has amassed more than 700 career victories while developing 25 NBA players, more than 200 NCAA Division I players, and dozens of professionals across the NBA G League and international leagues. In 2024–25, Brewster finished 28–5, ranked No. 3 nationally in the ESPN Top 25, and shared the Nike EYBL Scholastic Regular Season Championship — widely regarded as the most prestigious high school league in the country. Smith will head MAI's EYBL team.
A three-time National Prep Coach of the Year and six-time New England Prep Coach of the Year, Smith has also been a Jersey Mike's Naismith National High School Coach of the Year finalist and a five-time honoree on Silver Waves Media's Top 100 Most Impactful People in Men's College Basketball. Stadium Talk recently named him the Greatest High School Basketball Coach in New Hampshire History.
Supporting Staff
Naadir Tharpe, a former University of Kansas standout and veteran prep coach, has been named Co-Director of Player Development and head coach of MAI's Prep Team.
Ryan Hurd joins as an assistant coach after six years at Brewster Academy. He previously spent more than a decade as head coach at Notre Dame Prep (MA), where he coached seven future NBA players and more than 80 Division I student-athletes, leading the program to seven National Prep Championship Elite Eight appearances. His Division I experience includes assistant coaching at Dartmouth and serving as Director of Basketball Operations at the University of New Hampshire — a role he earned as an undergraduate.
Josh Lee joins as Assistant Basketball Coach and Physical Therapist, also arriving from Brewster Academy where he held a similar dual role.
Early Student-Athlete Commitments
MAI is already drawing high-profile recruits:
Tayden Langdon (2027), 6'2" guard — Son of Detroit Pistons president and former Duke star Trajan Langdon. A high-motor, super-athletic two-way player with deep range, sound ball-handling, and strong communication. Drawing Ivy and Patriot League interest. National Honor Society student. PH profile
Antonio Pemberton (2027), 6'1" guard — A four-star recruit from Methuen, MA, ranked No. 49 nationally by On3, No. 2 in New England by NE Basketball Journal, No. 3 in New England by Prep Hoops, and the top prospect in New Hampshire by NERR. A high-volume scorer who plays within the flow of the offense while knowing when to hunt his own shot. Already holds D1 offers from Notre Dame, Creighton, Maryland, Boston College, Iowa State, and Utah. Plays club ball with Mass Rivals. NERR profile PH profile
Benton Welker (2027), 6'8" forward — A long, fluid lefty who moves exceptionally well in the open floor. Operates as a grab-and-go rebounder, passes well out of the post, and finishes above the rim when attacking closeouts. His perimeter jumper is fluid, and his length makes him an asset as a help-side rim protector and in the passing lanes. PH profile
Joe Colagrossi (2029), 6'3" guard — A natural scorer off the bounce with the creativity to finish through contact and the touch to hit contested mid-range shots. His floor vision and passing instincts stand out, delivering accurate passes both stationary and on the move. PH profile