PA Writers Boys All-State Team: 3A

Written by: Dell Jackson on April 29, 2020

Ed note: The players were selected by nominations from across PA from writers/media folks who covered the sport. After nominations, the players were voted on by all included in the initial requests. LLhoops was included in this process. There will be a separate posting for each of the classes on several dates. Enjoy!

Credit: @BigStarRawSport

3A
First team
Chance Westry, 6-5 So. G Trinity
Jalen Warley, 6-5 Jr. F, Westtown
Noah Collier, 6-7 Sr. F, Westtown
Jordan Hall, 6-8 Sr. F, Neumann-Goretti 
Jamil Manigo, 6-4 Sr. F, Bishop McDevitt
Robert Smith, 6-0 Sr. G Bishop McDevitt, 

Second team
Hakim Byrd, 5-10 Sr. G, Neumann-Goretti 
Isaac DeGregorio, 5-11 Sr. G, North Catholic 
Franck Kepnang, 6-10 Jr. F, Westtown 
Aiden Gair, 6-2 Sr. G Loyalsock 
Cameron Young, 6-6 Sr. F, Neumann-Goretti 
Ed Holland, 6-6 Jr. F, Friends Central 

Third team
Cam Polak, 6-1 Sr. G, Steel Valley 
Isaiah Smith, 6-0 Sr. G, Lincoln Park 
Matt Bengel, 6-3 Sr. F, Mercyhurst Prep
Jake Perry, 5-11 Sr. G, Camp Hill 
Hysier Miller, 6-1 Jr. G, Neumann-Goretti
Aaron Collins, 6-0 Jr. G, Erie First Christian

Coach of the year: Dave DeGregorio, North Catholic.
Also receiving votes: Ron Insinger, Loyalsock; Carl Arrigale, Neumann-Goretti

By Mike Gross

Chance Westry raised eyebrows around Pennsylvania with a 40-point performance, as a freshman, in the 2019 Class AAA state championship game.

Westry, of Trinity High in Camp Hill on Harrisburg’s West Shore, raised his game to a consistent, dominant level this season, and was voted player of the year in voting for the Pennsylvania Sports Writers AAA All-State team announced Wednesday.

Westry has grown to 6-5, raised his scoring average from 15.1 to 24.4 points per game and made, according to Trinity coach Larry Kostelac, “that natural progression you hope to see.

“In terms of offensive talent, he’s one of the best I’ve seen.’’

Trinity was 22-3, had won the District Three AAA title and was through to the state quarterfinals when the coronavirus ended the season. Westry is the 25th-ranked sophomore in the country, and has scholarship offers from Syracuse, Michigan, Maryland, Florida, Georgetown and LSU, among others.

“I’m not even sure how many offers he has, but I know more are coming,’’ Kostelac said.

He’s 6-5 now, and he has point guard capabilities. All the coaches that have come in here say the same thing. He’s a terrific passer, and he sees things before they happen.’’

AAA includes some of the state’s best teams and players. Eight-time state champion Neumann-Goretti won the championship of the powerful Philadelphia Catholic League and rolled through two state-tournament wins by a combined 71 points. 

Westtown, a non-PIAA boarding school near West Chester, won the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association title for the third time in five years.

Those two programs placed seven players on the teams. Westtown’s Jalen Worley, a 6-4 junior guard ranked 26th in country in the class of 2021, and Noah Collier, a 6-7 senior forward signed with Pittsburgh, joined Westry on the first team.

So did Neumann-Goretti’s Jordan Hall, a 6-8 forward committed to St. Joseph’s. Also on the first team are 6-4 senior Jamil Mangio and 6-0 senior guard Robert Smith, who have led Bishop McDevitt’s resurgence the past two years in the Philly Catholic League.

Repeat all-staters: Westry, Mangio, Collier, Smith and Isaac DeGregorio, a 5-11 senior guard from Pittsburgh North Catholic. 

DeGregorio played for his father, AAA coach of the year Dave DeGregorio, who led North Catholic to a 26-2 record, WPIAL title and the state quarterfinals.

Isaac will attend Kentucky as a preferred walk-on; Kentucky coach John Calipari played for his grandfather, Joe DeGregorio, at Clarion University.

The all-state teams are chosen through nominations and voting by a panel of sportswriters throughout the state.

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