Essex County Player of the Year: Nilah Rivera, senior, Arts
One of the state’s top point guards, Rivera was the ultimate difference maker for the Group 1 state champion Jaguars averaging 17.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 6.3 steals per game for the 27-4 Newark-based magnet school which upset defending champion New Providence 57-45 in the state final. The type of player who simply makes everyone else better on her team, Rivera had one of her best performances in that state final with one of her typical virtuoso performances with 19 points to go along with 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 6 steals to help her team knock off a very good Pioneers team. The Jaguars floor general, who is also an excellent student, had led Immaculate to a Non-Public B state crown in 2025 before that school closed its doors due to financial issues.
Runner-Up: Player of the Year: London Caldwell, senior, West Orange
When star center Ayana Karriem graduated off the 2025 Group 4 state runner-up Mountaineers squad coach Caniece Williams needed a key addition to combine with returning standout guard Rhyan Watt and found a great go-to and experienced player to turn to in Caldwell, who was another transfer from Immaculate who made the very most of her senior high school season landing in a great situation at West Orange while helping to lead the Mountaineers to a second straight Essex County Tournament title along with another North 1, Group 4 state sectional crown. The Siena-bound future Division I player averaged 15.4 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 4.2 apg and 2.8 steals for the 28-4 team which relied heavily on its first-year contributor to provide a major presence while emerging as one of the county’s very best players this past season.
Essex County Coach of the Year: Amanda Keenan, Caldwell
The former Chiefs standout point guard has evolved into one of the county’s better coaches and did one of her best jobs this season leading a young Caldwell team to its first state sectional title in 30 years or since she was the floor general for a team coached by Ken Trimmer which made it to the Group 2 state final vs. Point Pleasant Boro. Keenan’s ability to promote a family atmosphere for her Chiefs also translated into success on the hardwood as she also emphasized a defense-first approach that resulted in dominance for the most part, including with a perfect mark on the homecourt, highlighted by victories over both West Orange and Arts. Keenan has built a complete program and with its high-quality, youthful quotient, the Chiefs appear to be destined for future success as well as the players continue to respond well to her philosophy of team chemistry being first and foremost along with solid fundamentals on the court.
Runner-Up Coach of the Year: Tarik Brown, Arts
While he did gain an advantage the majority of ‘public’ schools don’t have with the addition of multiple transfers including former Immaculate standouts Nilah Rivera and Niaja Troutman, Brown did a superb job combining all the pieces on hand at the Brick City school into a state championship team which also was highly-competitive throughout the season while winning 27 games. Brown has proven very good at adapting to different types of teams, including heading the men’s program at Essex County College, the boys hoops squad at Science Park, and now directing a very cohesive and academically-solid Arts girls team to statewide success.
Essex County Team of the Year: West Orange
The Mountaineers have won three Essex County Tournament titles and now two in a row under veteran coach Caniece Williams, plus had been dominating the North 1, Group 4 state section with back-to-back championships there. Even with a tight 56-52 Group 4 state semifinal setback to Westfield West Orange had an outstanding season while also sharing the Super Essex Conference-American Division championship with Caldwell. The talented backcourt of junior Rhyan Watt and senior London Caldwell along with a solid group of role players led by sophomore forward Taraji Muhammad bolstered the entire package for Essex’s top team and one of the better squads in the Garden State.
Runner-Up Team of the Year: Caldwell
The Chiefs, who were boosted by one of Essex County’s more impressive fan sections, became one of Essex County’s top stories in the recently-completed season while setting a new program single-season record for victories, finishing 27-3 and winning their first state sectional title since 1996 by rolling through the North 2, Group 2 field in dominant fashion. There was just one senior starter in the terrific all-around contributor Tea Fiore who was the team’s second-leading scorer behind first-team All-County selection Addy Keenan, who was one of the state’s top juniors. That pair combined with three sophomores in Tea’s sister Fallon Fiore, who was one of the county’s top defensive stoppers; along with solid role players Elena Kearns and Aaliyah Rodriguez to form a very cohesive first 5. The Chiefs split its two meetings with West Orange to earn a share of the SEC-American Division crown, and had a narrow setback to University in the Essex County Tournament semifinals after defeating the Phoenix twice during the regular season in addition to a win at home vs. a strong Arts squad.
AROUND ESSEX- Glen Ridge, a Group 1 runner-up in 2024-2025, had to retool after graduating three important seniors off that team, but was still very competitive behind the direction of first-year head coach Grace Cannon, the former Bloomfield High School and Ithaca College standout…Mount St. Dominic had an up-and-down season and saw its coach Brian Dorf resign at mid-season but the Lions did readjust behind the promising efforts of interim head coach Kyla Ramseur who was another former area standout player turned coach including as a scholastic star at Bloomfield Tech…Columbia finished 19-8 and 9-1 in the SEC’s second-best division, the Liberty, with solid players such as juniors Jo Joe Yarde and Gabriella Ervin…Newark Tech went 24-5 and 8-2 in the SEC-Independence Division behind the direction of former, longtime East Orange Campus coach Derrick Johnson, who had one of the younger teams in the county including precocious freshmen such as Kassidy Ahmad…Verona, which has a superb coach in Patty Coyle, also finished 9-1 in the SEC-Liberty and 18-8 overall while also winning eight of its final 11 games…University, which went 20-10 and was a game under .500 (4-5) in the top-tier SEC-American Division, had a strong late-season run which coincided directly with the arrival of talented junior transfer Arielle Edwards, who gave the Phoenix a pair of powerful 6-foot-1 forwards along with Briana Holt for seven games and resulted in the Newark school earning a berth in the ECT final opposite West Orange before being edged, 51-48, for the county championship. Edwards, who came to University during the current school year was ruled by the NJSIAA to be ineligible for the state tourney where the Phoenix lost to Arts in a very competitive N2G1 final…Millburn (19-10) had a strong run in the North 2, Group 3 state tournament behind veteran coach Eric Schroeder while reaching the sectional semifinals where it fell to Mendham…Livingston went 19-7 and won the SEC-Colonial Division with a 9-1 mark...Among the players reaching the 1,000-point plateau during the past season were junior Addy Keenan and senior Tea Fiore of Caldwell and London Caldwell of West Orange, while University's Brian Holt surpassed 1,000 rebounds.
Sideline Chatter Final Essex County Top 10:
1-West Orange (28-4)
2-Caldwell (27-3)
3-Arts (27-4)
4-University (20-10)
5-Glen Ridge (16-13)
6-Mount St. Dominic (15-12)
7-Verona (18-8)
8-Columbia (19-8)
9-Livingston (19-7)
10-West Essex (9-19)
Sideline Chatter’s 2025-2026 All-Essex
First Team:
London Caldwell, senior, West Orange
Nilah Rivera, senior, Arts
Addy Keenan, junior, Caldwell
Rhyan Watt, junior, West Orange
Briana Holt, senior, University
Second Team:
Tea Fiore, senior, Caldwell
Caitlin Hood, junior, Glen Ridge
Gia McArdle, sophomore, Mount St. Dominic
Harmoni Burgess, sophomore, Arts
Bella Iannitelli, junior, Mount St. Dominic
Third Team:
Ally Snyder, senior, Glen Ridge
Niaja Troutman, senior, Arts
Nola Lewis, freshman, Millburn
Fallon Fiore, sophomore, Caldwell
Jordan Salisbury, sophomore, West Essex
Fourth Team:
Annabel Koss-Defrank, senior, Glen Ridge
Taraji Muhammad, sophomore, West Orange
Sage Reed, senior, Central
Morgan Rossi, junior, Verona
Eden Avery, junior, Newark Academy
Fifth Team:
Carryn Grand-Pierre, senior, University
Aubrey Cohen, senior, Livingston
Sydney Kittles, sophomore, MKA
JoJo Yarde, junior, Columbia
Yazmyn Scruggs, junior, Newark Tech
Sixth Team:
Jada Bednar, senior, Verona
Ariana McKinnon, senior, East Orange Campus
Kassidy Ahmad, freshman, Newark Tech
Ava Brignola, senior, West Essex
Iyanah Lafonant, junior, Arts
Seventh Team:
Anna O’Keefe, senior, Montclair
Gabriella Ervin, junior, Columbia
Erica Reed, senior, Newark Academy
Haily Root, freshman, Mount St. Dominic
Kaitlyn Nelleger, junior, Nutley
