Prep Profiles 23-24 - South Kent School

Owen Carlson | Thursday, December 14th, 2023

The South Kent Cardinals, reigning NEPSAC Class-AAA champions, have started the year strong with an updated roster filled with high-level talent. They already have players signed to play in college on full scholarships. Let’s take a look at the intriguing lineup for this year, as they also take part in one of the first NEBL seasons…

“The South Kent starting lineup is a blend of versatility and special talent. Nate Guerengomba and Kelvin Odih provide physical bully ball to push opposing backcourts around on both ends, while Jacob Hogarth controls the paint with his strength, and spaces the floor along with Isaiah Chappell. The insertion of Badara Diakite to the lineup is much anticipated as the wing brings size, versatility and scoring chops. 2024 Guards Ben Eisendrath and Jojo Wallace are already committed to mid major schools, and clearly can captain an offense.” -Dylan Thayer

3 Things You Need to Know About This Year’s Team

FIVE players have already announced their commitment to play at the Division I level…

UMass-commit Nate Guerengomba has filled up stat sheets early, tallying just under 30 in a win against Newman, as well as 31 against nationally-ranked Perkiomen and 39 against IMG Academy Prep at the National Prep Showcase. He shows no sign of slowing, as he recently dropped 30 points in a close victory over Worcester Academy. 

High-IQ point guard Ben Eisendrath is also set to remain in New England for the next chapter of his career, as he takes his talents to the Ivy League to join Harvard.

Combo guard JoJo Wallace will stick with 6’8” power forward Jacob Hogarth for the next stage of their careers, as both are committed to join Iona following the end of this year.

Finally, 6’9” power forward Isaiah Chappell takes his talents to the Golden State for college, as he announced his commitment to UC-Davis for his next chapter. 

There is still plenty of uncommitted 2024 talent…

6’10” forward Clemson Edomwonyin has received offers from Drexel and Fordham. wing/forward Folabomi Fayemi has received a couple of offers from D2 programs in Michigan, including Davenport University and Grand Valley State. Point guard Luke Razi is another worth noting, as he has received high academic interest from programs of all divisions.

But don’t sleep on point guard Oliver Jones, 6’6” small forward Xander Booker, 6’6” small forward Jace Williams, or 6’7” small forward Parby Musongela, as they add an element of depth, bringing length to the perimeter. 

Small group of 2025s, but they have BIG potential…

The duo of 6’5” combo guard Kelvin Odih and 6’9” wing/forward Badara Diakite already puts this class in conversation with any in the country. Odih has received offers from Sacred Heart, Albany, Marquette, Rhode Island, Xavier, Penn State, George Mason, Iowa, Rutgers, and Texas A&M. Diakite has received offers from the likes of Penn State, Xavier, Missouri, and Drexel. 

6’9” wing/forward Rashawn Tibby holds some pretty big mid-major offers, including from local programs Fairfield, UMass, and Rhode Island, as well as his most recent offer from Indiana State. 6’7” wing/forward Adam Chiacchia is not one to forget about, as he has earned numerous standout recognitions for performances at various events throughout this past summer. 

3 Questions Heading into the Season

How will Badara Diakite impact the team once he is back? 

One of the highest ranked players in New England has yet to see the floor so far this season, and this raises some questions as to how the squad will be affected by his return. His multi-positional skills will be a nice add to the lineup in due time. 

Can they repeat last year’s NEPSAC Class-AAA Championship? 

After winning the program’s first AAA championship last year with the top-ranked duo of Kansas-commit Elmarko Jackson and Pittsburgh-commit Papa Kante, it will be interesting to see how this year’s squad stacks up with last year’s.

Will they buy in?

Though last season was their first NEPSAC Class-AAA championship, South Kent has had plenty of national level teams under Coach Raphael Chillious, including earning as high as the #4 spot on the national rankings. Part of why he is known for being one of New England’s best prep school coaches is for the fact that his teams have always consistently placed players into high major Division I programs. With the combination of dominant returners and strong newcomers, it will be something to keep an eye on in regards to how quickly they play up to Coach Chillious’s standards. We would bet on it happening sooner rather than later when looking back at past teams. And so far this year, they have done just that. 

So far this season:

South Kent has had a solid start to the year. At the time of this article’s writing, the Cardinals hold an 8-3 record, with big wins coming against national powerhouses at the National Prep Showcase such as Perkiomen by a difference of 5 and IMG Academy in overtime, as well as against more regional powerhouses such as NEBL/NEPSAC-AAA competitor Newman by 2 points and another NEBL competitor in Cushing by 1 point. 

It will be exciting to track South Kent throughout the course of this season as they try to repeat last year’s NEPSAC Class-AAA Championship…