How did Western Mass. basketball teams do in the state tournament compared to years past? Let’s take a look.

On the boys side seven teams — Springfield Central in D1, Pope Francis in D2, Taconic in D3, Monument in D4 and Pioneer, Drury and Ware in D5 — reached the Elite 8. Four of those teams (Central, Taconic, Monument, Pioneer and Drury) reached the semifinals, Pioneer won the D5 tournament while Monument fell in the D4 title game.

How does that compare to past years? In 2024 eight Western Mass. schools reached the Elite 8 while five made it to the semifinals. Just Hoosac Valley in D5 made it to the championship game.

In 2023 just five Western Mass. teams made it to the quarterfinals, two reached the semis, Taconic won the D5 championship while SICS fell in the D4 title game. In 2022, the first year of the new format, 10 Western Mass. squads made it to the quarterfinals, five reached the semis but just Paulo Freire made it to a championship game, where it fell in the D5 championship.

On the girls side, eight schools — Springfield Central in D1, Northampton in D2, Pittsfield in D3, South Hadley in D4 and Lee, Hoosac, Lenox and Renaissance — reached the quarterfinals, with Central, Pittsfield, South Hadley, Hoosac, Lee and Renaissance each advancing to the semifinals. Hoosac and Renaissance met in the D5 title game with the Hurricanes taking the trophy back to Cheshire while South Hadley reached the D4 championship game.

The 2024 tournament saw seven Western Mass. schools reach the quarterfinals and six make it to the semifinals. Hoosac won the D5 championship while South Hadley was in the D4 championship game. In 2023 five Western Mass. squads made it to the quarters, three made it to the semis while SICS won the D5 championship and Wahconah fell in the D4 title game.

The 2022 season saw seven Western Mass. teams make it to the quarters, five reach the semis while Springfield Central hoisted the D1 title while Hoosac lost in the D5 championship game.

So all in all, it was a good winter for Western Mass. teams on the courts as the five area schools to reach the championship game was the most in the new tournament format.

Public schools lead the way

It was a good year for the public schools. On the hardwood just six of the 40 Final Four teams across the five divisions were private schools, which is actually up from the previous year of five privates reaching the semifinals.

It’s a trend of the public schools competing well at the state level, as nine private schools were in the semis in 2023.

Look ahead to the spring

As we put a bow on the winter season, it’s time to take a quick peak at what’s on the horizon this spring.

On the softball diamond, the MIAA Div. 5 champion has come out of Franklin County each of the last three years, Greenfield winning the title in 2022 and 2023 while Turners Falls won it in 2024.

Both teams are returning their aces — Madi Liimatainen with the Thunder and MacKenzie Paulin with the Wave — and both will certainly be in the mix for another state title. Watch out for Franklin Tech as well, with Hannah Gilbert back in the circle and a talented returning roster that will have its eyes on hoisting some hardware.

On the baseball diamond, Pioneer has reached the Div. 5 semifinals each of the last three years. Can this be the year the Panthers break through to the championship game? The Panthers have the talent to do so and will be a dangerous team to deal with this spring.

As will Greenfield, which made a surprise run to the Final Four as a 15-seed as veteran coach Tom Suchanek’s team has heated up during the postseason each of the last two seasons. Throw in a Frontier team that is always a tough out and the Suburban League West will once again be a battle.

Look for Turners to build off its Bi-County North title last year, the Thunders’ first league title in 31 years. Full spring previews will be available in the coming weeks.