Banned for playing in a tournament? The power struggle that's rocked New York high school basketball

Stepinac head coach Patrick Massaroni is seen on the sidelines against IMG Academy during a high school basketball game at the Hoophall Classic, Saturday, January 17, 2026, in Springfield, MA. (AP Photo/Gregory Payan) ASSOCIATED PRESS On the morning of April 21, a high-ranking administrator in New York’s Catholic High School Athletic Association sent a startling letter to the league’s member schools. Kevin J.

Pigott announced that the league’s executive committee unanimously recommended harsh sanctions against Archbishop Stepinac’s ballyhooed boy’s basketball program, including a postseason ban, a lengthy suspension for the head coach and the prohibition of out-of-state travel. What were the salacious crimes that spurred this potential death-penalty-esque punishment? Stepinac had the audacity to participate in a basketball tournament.

The CHSAA took issue with Stepinac accepting an invitation to Chipotle Nationals despite the league’s warning not to take part in an event that operates outside the framework of the National Federation of State High School Associations. Chipotle Nationals annually showcases the nation’s best high school teams, many of them basketball-centric academies and prep schools that recruit top talent from across the country and beyond. The letter from Pigott also contended that Stepinac violated CHSAA rules by committing to a tournament that extended beyond 4 p.

m. on Holy Thursday. Stepinac lost to Ohio prep powerhouse SPIRE Academy in the opening round of Chipotle Nationals on April 1, the Wednesday before Easter Sunday.