Matt Ashcroft set to leave Exeter basketball program, according to report
Matt Ashcroft is getting out on top, apparently.
According to a published report the Exeter boys basketball coach plans to resign after leading his team to a historic season that included the program’s first District 3 championship and runs to the Berks Conference and PIAA championship games.
The Exeter Examiner reported earlier today that the 34-year-old Ashcroft plans to leave, “citing the need to be more present with his family,” according to the report.
Ashcroft, in his fourth season, took the team from losing record to a 27-7 finish – including 10-2 in the postseason.
He was named Pennsylvania’s Class 5A Coach of the Year, as well as the Berks Coach of the Year.
Ashcroft, a guard on Central Catholic’s 2007 PIAA championship team, put together a balanced team that played strong defense, shared the ball, had inside-outscoring punch and always played hard.
The Eagles built a reputation as a resilient team that overcame obstacles, none bigger than losing their No. 2 scorer and rebounder, Reece Garvin, to an injury for two weeks during the postseason. Despite that they reached the district final where Garvin returned and helped lead the Eagles to a 67-53 victory over Manheim Central.
They played short-handed in the state playoffs when Alex Kelsey was suspended for a second-round state game against Mechanicsburg, then faced constant foul trouble in their next two games. They rallied for an improbable 75-72 overtime victory over Peters Township in the state quarterfinals, then held off Cathedral Prep in the semifinals.
They ran up against Class 5A Player of the Year Justin Edwards and a monstrous Imhotep Charter team in the title game, falling 78-40. That Imhotep team landed three players on the All-State first team, including repeat pick Rahmir Barno and Ahmad Nowell.
“Our boys all just pulled together as a team, never caring about an individual goal or accolades,” Ashcroft told the Examiner. “(It was) just team-first all the time.
“Our six seniors were the best student-athletes I’ve ever had the privilege to coach.
“Their leadership and mentorship to the underclassmen was incredible, and a gift that will keep giving to Exeter basketball for years to come.”
Ashcroft leaves Exeter with a 56-45 record over four seasons.
The Eagles went 3-14 in his second season, 2020-21, but formed a gritty edge that was displayed the following season as they fought their way through the District 3 Tournament to earn a state berth for the first time since 1999.
They finished with a losing record in 2021-22 but, playing without injured Joey Schlaffer over the final month of the season, learned to win with defense and teamwork, characteristics displayed through last season’s long postseason.
Exeter last season reached the Berks championship game for the first time since 1984; the Eagles Berks II title was their first division title since 1984. Their district title game appearance was their first since 1983.
They reached the PIAA championship game only one previous time in their history, 1974.
Ashcroft was an overachiever as a player, setting 3-point shooting records at Central Catholic and scoring 1,000 points and leading Albright to a Middle Atlantic Conference championship in 2010.
Ashcroft, always a student of the game, continued to add to his basketball catalogue throughout his stay at Exeter. He was constantly adding plays and notes to that crumpled piece of paper his holds in hands during games.
Colin Naugle, a teammate since their grade school years with the St. Catherine CYO team and an assistant coach at Exeter, saw that immediately when he joined the Exeter staff in 2019, Ashcroft’s first.
“His attention to detail was college-level,” said Naugle. “He gets the players to understand what they’re doing and how it impacts our game.”
