2024-25 Prep Profile Series: Vermont Academy

Wednesday, October 16th, 2024

During the 2023-24 season Vermont Academy had the best season in their program’s history.  

They won the NEPSAC AAA Tournament and Regular Season titles, won their conference championship for the first time since 1982 and won a program record 29 games.

Things will be different this year as they lost two 1,000 point scorers and multiple impact players to graduation.  

All-in-all, the Wildcats had nine seniors who matriculated to the college level: Joson Sanon (Arizona State), Chike Ndefo (Towson), Jayden Watkins (SUNY Oswego), Mantas Zilys (Bentley), Darius Lopes (Maine), Azmar Abdullah (Boston University), Jayden James (Pace), Bangaly Berete (Trinity) and Matt Leaver (Connecticut College).

Vermont Academy has added plenty of new faces as they gear up for the 2024-25 season.

Senior Class Leads the Way

Zack Scherler and Emmanuel Cheung are the only two returning seniors on the roster. Scherler is the most intriguing prospect of the group, a 6-11 stretch big with great hands who remade his body over the Spring and Summer. Emmanuel Cheung adds a physical and athletic presence on the perimeter. 

Incoming post grads Jakye Rainey, Daye Kaba, Luke Brown, Nolan Raymond and Elijah Small all are expected to make an impact. Jakye Rainey broke Christian Laetner’s scoring record at his old high school in Buffalo while scoring over 2,000 points and is a prolific shot maker. Kaba adds length on the perimeter and a scoring prowess.  

Luke Brown is a Swiss army knife forward who impacts the game in a variety of ways. Nolan Raymond is a heady point guard who makes others around him better and makes shots on the perimeter. Elijah Small is a 6’7 forward who was an All League performer in the famed New York City Catholic League while finishing 2nd overall in scoring average.

Underclassmen are Ready

Isiah Rose is the lone returning underclassmen and is poised for a breakout year.  Isiah earned a rotation role on the NEPSAC AAA championship team last year and is a skilled forward with a high IQ.  

DJ King and Musa Kasanga round out the class of 2026. Musa is a high energy athlete who excels on the defensive end. DJ is a skilled playmaker with length defensively. 

Kamari Whyte and Filip Mozoul headline the 2027 class. Kamari is an über athlete who rebounds the ball on both ends.  Filip is a skilled big who’s just starting to blossom.  Landon Whiting adds an intriguing blend of length and athleticism in the class of 2027.

How will this all come together?

With so many new faces, the prevailing question is how will this all come together? 

Playing a national schedule on top of the gauntlet of NEPSAC AAA is challenging.  If the players don’t play together and do their best to impact winning, it could be a long year for the Wildcats.  

The talent is there, we anticipate the pieces will fit but they will be learning on the fly and the schedule will be unforgiving. We’re expecting the Wildcats to be a team to monitor this season.