Monday Morning MIL: Seabury Hall boys appear ready to defend state basketball title

With its top two returnees from last season’s state championship team sitting on the bench, the Seabury Hall boys basketball team showed Saturday morning why it has developed into a perennial contender.

Simply put, coach Scott Prather’s team has remarkable depth. They showed all of it Saturday in a 68-23 win over Hāna.

The only returning starter from last season’s Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association Division II state champions, 6-foot senior guard Sebastian Peterson, missed the weekend sweep of the Dragons with a sore shoulder that he suffered while taking a hard pick against Maui Prep on Jan. 7.

Peterson is averaging 26.4 points per game and had a career-high 45 points against King Kekaulike, a Maui Interscholastic League Division I team, on Dec. 22 in a 71-51 win. He is expected back this week for the Spartans, who are 19-2 overall and 9-0 in MIL Division II play. 

Nobu Shing, last season’s sixth man for Seabury Hall, is a 5-5 junior who is out for the year after suffering a severe head injury in a skateboarding accident in September.

Seabury Hall’s closest game at state last season was a 59-49 win over Kohala in the semifinals. Kohala beat Seabury Hall 49-45 in the state championship game in 2024.

The Spartans’ only losses so far this season are to Kohala, 71-56 on Dec. 3, and to last season’s Division I state runner-up Saint Louis, 72-63 on Dec. 6. 

Kohala is a Division II power from the Big Island Interscholastic Federation.

Prather was quick to point out that he is confident his team can repeat as state champions.

“Absolutely,” Prather said. “The hope is to get there. And to do all the prep that we need to do in advance. Once we know the seedings and know the matchups, we’ll kind of like zero in our prep. But I really feel like the team that we were when we played Kohala the first time was very different from what we’ll be in a few weeks. And the same thing for them.”

The Spartans have not missed the state tournament since 2008 and have won 14 of the last 15 MIL Division II championships. They can clinch a 17th straight state berth with a win Wednesday against Kīhei Charter School at Eddie Tam Community Center.

Seabury Hall lost Gatorade State Player of the Year Bromo Dorn after he led the team to its first state title and just the fourth state boys basketball championship in MIL history — Maui Prep won the D-II state crown in 2022, while Lahainaluna (1982) and St. Anthony (1977) each won Division A state titles in a format that was played from 1965 to 1982.

Prather said his program is now to the point where it can reload after seeing standouts like Dorn graduate. Dorn is currently playing at Rogers State University in Claremore, Okla. 

“Well, first things first, just want to give thanks to my coaches,” Prather said of John Dudley, Kaleb Palmer, Justin Farmer and Neil Yashiro. “They do a great job developing players and to build a program with me. And, God willing, we just get these guys out there that love the game and they want to buy into what we’re trying to teach them.”

Prather added, “the program’s in a good place in the sense that we can be competitive, but it’s really up to the boys that want to put in the work. And fortunately, we’ve had guys that are willing to really just dedicate themselves to the game and the art of just getting better.”

Peterson is currently talking to Portland (Ore.) Community College and NCAA Division II Chaminade University of Honolulu to continue his basketball career. First, however, there is more to do with the Spartans for the clear leader of this team.

“We’re still, in my eyes, we’re still a top team to contend for that state championship, to win it all this year too,” Peterson said. “Even though we’re young, we lost a bunch of guys, we’re still one of the top teams in D-II in my eyes.”

Peterson admitted “it’s hard to sit out, but I want to see the other guys grow and see how they can play without me, but I want to be on that court with them as well.”

Fellow senior Peter Ruegsegger scored 12 points for the Spartans on Saturday, second on the team to Asher Starr’s 14.

“I feel like we’re ready to go. We’re just getting better every day and that’s all you could really ask for,” Ruegsegger said.

Playing without Peterson is helping develop the depth that has become the identity of the Spartans.

“He’s our best player for sure and we play through him,” Ruegsegger said. “But other guys got to step up and it’s created opportunities for guys, for sure. I feel like I’ve stepped up when he’s not around and other guys surely step up as well.”

Hāna coach Chris Sherwood is on a one-year mission for Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is helping coach the Dragons for Elzie Brook, who is the head coach for basketball and football for the tiny school in East Maui.

“They’ve come a long ways. Even a couple years ago, all they did was practice. They never had any set plays, any organization, any scheme,” Sherwood said of the Dragons. “So, we’re implementing that this year and we’re seeing some change.”

Hāna was led by Ulumana Cantero’s 10 points. Sherwood tipped his cap to the might Spartans.

“Having not met any of them, I knew we were in trouble because my guys all week have been petrified and afraid to come play, but they came and they fought hard,” Sherwood said.

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HELP WANTED: Lahainaluna looking for head coaches for varsity baseball, track and field

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Lahainaluna High School is looking for head coaches for varsity baseball and track and field.

Duties and responsibilities for both positions include:

• Organize and supervise a total sports program including JV and varsity teams
• Relate well with student-athletes
• Understand and maintain preventative procedures
• Manage team finances, equipment, and facilities
• Maintain positive public relations

Qualifications include for both positions include:

• College degree preferred
• Knowledge of technical aspects of baseball
• Strong communication skills, computer literacy, knowledge of DOE/MIL policies
• NFHS learn Fundamentals of Coaching Certification
• Two or more years of coaching experience at the high school level or above preferred
• Skilled with Google applications including Mail, Drive, Sheets, Meets, etc.
• Able to build positive student, parent and community relationships

To apply for either, send resume and cover letter to jonathan.conrad@k12.hi.us no later than 6 p.m. Thursday. No drop-offs will be considered.

“Monday Morning Maui Sports” columns appear weekly on Monday mornings with updates on local sports in the Maui Interscholastic League and elsewhere around Maui County. Please send column ideas — anything having to do with sports in Maui County — as well as results and photos to rob@hjinow.org.