Berlin Brothersvalley father-son duo earn coach, player of year after PIAA runner-up finish to front area all-state picks

Apr. 24—The Berlin Brothersvalley High School boys basketball team finished just short of earning the ultimate prize this season, finishing as state runner-up for the third time in four years.

But the Mountaineers' incredible four-year run didn't go unnoticed.

Berlin Brothersvalley senior guard Pace Prosser earned Class 1A player of the year honors on the 2023-24 Pennsylvania Sports Writers All-State Basketball Team. His father, Tanner Prosser, repeated as coach of the year in 1A, while senior guard Craig Jarvis joined teammate Prosser as a repeat first-team all-state selection.

"It's a cool way to cap off a career," said Pace Prosser, who is a Gannon University recruit. "Obviously, the best way would've been with the state championship. It's a nice award to get.

"It's cool to have my dad be coach of the year as well. I feel like I've put in a lot of hard work over the course of the years and it paid off."

Tanner Prosser's Mountaineers finished runner-up to Imani Christian Academy for a second straight season.

"It's not the way we wanted to cap it off," Tanner Prosser said of the Mountaineers' 79-52 loss to District 7 Imani Christian Academy March 21 in Hershey. "It's about winning as a group and as a team and not about individual awards and accomplishments.

"I've said before, that's why those guys (Pace Prosser and Jarvis) are so good," Tanner Prosser said. "They put team goals ahead of personal accomplishments, but this is a nice honor and well-deserved by those two."

Nine honored: A total of nine area players received all-state recognition Wednesday with five second-team and two third-team selections.

The second-teamers included Greater Johnstown junior Donte Tisinger in 4A, Chestnut Ridge senior Nate Whysong in 3A, Conemaugh Township senior Jon Updyke in 2A, and Bishop Carroll Catholic senior Luke Repko and Conemaugh Valley junior Jeremy Dietz in 1A.

Turkeyfoot Valley junior Bryce Nicholson and Bishop Carroll Catholic sophomore Jace Casses each earned third-team honors in 1A.

Elite club: Berlin Brothersvalley's Prossers joined an elite club as a father-son duo to take coach and player of the year honors in the same season. One of the most recent times the feat happened was in 2010, when Chartiers Valley's Tim McConnell was coach of the year and his son, current NBA Indiana Pacers guard T.J. McConnell, took player of the year.

"It's always been said that the most important thing is what do people think of you when they watch you play the game," Tanner Prosser said. "I think most people think Pace plays the game the right way. I think he's earned the respect of a lot of people he's played against, and more important, those who he's played with."

The 6-foot-2 Pace Prosser averaged 25.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 7 assists and 3.1 steals a game. He scored 2,281 career points.

'Works so hard': The 6-2 Jarvis averaged 21.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 steals a game and finished with 1,703 career points.

"Craig is just everything you'd ever ask for in a player when you're trying to get kids to improve and get better," Tanner Prosser said. "He just works so hard. He went from a kid who wasn't ready to play varsity as a freshman to someone who worked hard to be a better player and a leader — to become one of the best players in the state."

In the past four seasons, Pace Prosser and Jarvis have been a part of 98 Mountaineers victories, four District 5 championships and three state runner-up finishes (2024, 2023, 2021).

Berlin Brothersvalley went 28-3 this past season.

"It's extremely special. Not a lot of people get to experience this," Pace Prosser said. "I'm very fortunate to be in this type of position. It's a testament to the coaches, to my dad, the program they've built and us learning from the guys on the earlier teams. I probably wouldn't be in the position I'm in without Craig (Jarvis). We got at it at practice every day and we made each other better."

'Hard work': Greater Johnstown's Tisinger averaged 23.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.9 assists on a District 6 Class 4A repeat championship squad that reached the second round of the PIAA tournament.

"It means a lot. Next year, I'll try for first team," Tisinger said.

"This offseason, I'm going to continue to work on my game to get stronger.

"This season, I think we just jelled together as a team. We knew what the goal was. We obviously didn't achieve that goal (to win a state title), but still went pretty far."

The 6-2 guard has 1,362 career points entering his senior season and has received NCAA Division I interest.

"These type of accomplishments, being recognized statewide in a difficult and talented 4A division, goes to show all the hard work by Donte and his teammates — his success comes from the contributions of everybody around him," said Greater Johnstown coach Ryan Durham, whose team went 22-5.

"I'm happy for him. I'm happy for our program."

'One of the best': A 6-3 guard, Whysong led Chestnut Ridge to a program-record 23 wins (23-5) and a District 5-8-9 Class 3A subregional championship. The Lions reached the second round of the PIAA tournament.

"I've been around basketball a long time and Nate is one of the best," Chestnut Ridge coach Don Ellis said. "He's a kid that has all the tools and the attitude and the leadership skills. He's excellent in every category.

"He inspires kids to be good. He's one of the most talented kids I've ever seen on a high school basketball court. Super player."

Whysong averaged 21.1 points, 9.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 2.9 steals a game. He joined his older brother and former Lions standout Matt in the all-state club. In 2021, Matt Whysong was a third-team selection.

"Nate could have scored 30 points a game, but he's a team player and he knew we couldn't be successful as a team if he did that," Ellis said of the Wake Forest University baseball signee.

"He got everybody involved. He put individual goals aside. He's been a huge part of the program for four years."

'Positive influence': Conemaugh Township's Updyke was the lone senior starter on a 22-6 Indians team that won three District 5 crowns with him in the lineup. Updyke averaged 20.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 3.6 steals a game as the Indians reached the second round of the PIAA tournament.

"You don't have to look any further than this past season to see the influence he had on the program and the younger guys," Indians coach Chuck Lesko said. "He was playing with four sophomores. He led by example, by deed, by word and every way a team could be led."

A 5-10 sharp-shooting guard, Repko scored 613 points and averaged 21.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 3.5 steals a game on a District 6 champion Huskies team. Casses tallied 553 points and averaged 19.1 points, 3.8 assists and 2.6 steals a game as Bishop Carroll Catholic reached the state 1A semifinal round a year after missing the playoffs.

"You take a look at last year's record, didn't make the playoffs, and then here we are in the final four," Huskies coach Cosie Aliquo said after his team's semifinal appearance. "They put us back on the map."

Conemaugh Valley's Dietz tallied 20 or more points in 17 of his 22 games played, an average of 22.5 points a game on a District 6 Class 1A third-place team that reached the PIAA tournament before losing to Berlin Brothersvalley. The second-team all-state pick grabbed 9.7 rebounds and dished 2.5 assists a game for the 20-6 Blue Jays.

Turkeyfoot Valley's 5-7 guard Nicholson made the all-state third team after averaging 26.4 points a game and surpassing the career 1,000-point milestone on a 19-7 Rams team that finished second in District 5-1A.

Mike Mastovich is a sports reporter and columnist for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 814-532-5083. Follow him on Twitter @Masty81.