Justice Shoats and Ethan Meuser are back to try to lead the NEPA Elite Coyle 17U boys team to another successful season.
Head coach Brian Coyle and NEPA Elite owner Kevin Clark announced the roster for the club’s entry in the Hoop Group Showcase League, the highest level of season-long competition for the teams from the AAU club out of Riverfront Sports in Scranton, earlier this month.
The team opens its season at The Hoop Group’s Pittsburgh Jam Fest Friday through Sunday.
Shoats recently completed his junior season at Holy Redeemer. Meuser, a Wyoming Seminary senior, gained another year of AAU eligibility when he committed to attend The Hill School, a prep school, during the next academic year.
Both Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 all-stars were part of the Coyle team that went 16-8 last season. After beginning its first season 3-5, the team won 13 of its final 16 games.
Shoats was the NEPABasketball.com WVC Division 2 Player of the Year as a sophomore and was recently named as a first-team division all-star for his junior season.
Meuser was a first-team division all-star each of the past two seasons, helping Wyoming Seminary win the division both years.
Both were second-team, all-District 2 choices by the website this year for the team that covers players from all classifications.
Jason Shields from Scranton, and the Dallas guard combination of Nick Nocito and Austin Finarelli are all back with the NEPA Elite after playing on the club’s other 17U team last season. This season, they are on the Coyle 17U roster.
Shields is the NEPABasketball.com Lackawanna League Division 1 Player of the Year. He led the Knights to Lackawanna Division 1 and District 2-4 Class 6A Subregional titles.
Nocito was a first-teamer and Finarelli a second-team on the WVC Division 2 all-star team.
Holy Redeemer’s Matt Prociak and Scranton’s Arvel Chandler move up from 16U NEPA Elite teams to the Coyle team.
Prociak was a first-team WVC Division 2 all-star.
Chandler was a starter on Scranton’s championship team.
The roster also includes Pittston Area’s J.J. Walsh and Tunkhannock’s Ben Chilson, who played on teams out of Riverfront prior to last season, and Wilkes-Barre Area’s Naquan Hollman, a newcomer to the program.
Walsh was a first-team WVC Division 1 all-star.
Chilson was a second-team WVC Division 1 all-star, who set a record for the most 3-pointers by a player from District 2 when he hit 12 in a game this season.
Hollman started for the Wolfpack, who were in title contention most of the season.
NEPA ELITE COYLE 17U BOYS AAU TEAM
| First Name | Last Name | Class | High School |
| Arvel | Chandler | 2022 | Scranton |
| Ben | Chilson | 2022 | Tunkhannock |
| Austin | Finarelli | 2022 | Dallas |
| Naquan | Hollman | 2022 | Wilkes-Barre Area |
| Ethan | Meuser | 2022 | The Hill School |
| Nick | Nocito | 2022 | Dallas |
| Matt | Prociak | 2022 | Holy Redeemer |
| Jason | Shields | 2022 | Scranton |
| Justice | Shoats | 2022 | Holy Redeemer |
| J.J. | Walsh | 2022 | Pittston Area |
