Matt Ashcroft resigning as head boys basketball coach at Exeter, according to report

Exeter’s Matt Ashcroft has compiled a 56-45 record in four seasons as head boys basketball coach. (BILL UHRICH – READING EAGLE)

Matt Ashcroft is resigning as the boys basketball coach at Exeter, according to a report on the Exeter Examiner Facebook page by Jerry Geleff Media.

Ashcroft cited the need to spend more time with his family, specifically his 2-year-old daughter and his wife, Becca.

Messages left with Ashcroft and Exeter athletic director Tom Legath have not been returned.

Ashcroft led the Eagles on a magical run in 2022-23, when he was named the Berks Coach of the Year by the league’s coaches and the PIAA Class 5A Coach of the Year by the Pennsylvania Sports Writers.

Exeter finished 27-7, winning its first division title since 1984, advancing to the Berks Conference final for the first time since 1974, winning the first District title in program history and reaching the PIAA Class 5A championship game. That state finals appearance was also the program’s first since 1974.

The Eagles lost to Reading High 70-63 in the Berks final, defeated Manheim Central 67-53 in the district final and fell 78-40 to Imhotep Charter in the state final. Imhotep featured ESPN’s top-ranked prospect in Justin Edwards, a Kentucky commit.

Ashcroft, a Central Catholic and Albright College grad, has compiled a 56-45 record in four seasons as head coach.

He led the Eagles to a 13-9 record in his first season, 2019-20. Exeter went 3-14 in his second season, then 13-15 in 2021-22, when it finished seventh in District 3 Class 5A and qualified for states.

This winter, the Eagles — led by center Anthony Caccese, a second-team All-State pick in Class 5A, and guard Zyion Paschall, a third-team All-State selection — featured a balanced offense that had four starters who averaged at least 10 points per game.

“This was a total team thing,” Ashcroft said after being named state Coach of the Year. “First and foremost I have to say thank you to our players who were absolute warriors all year long. I’m so proud of them and so happy for them. And the key word is unselfish; they were unselfish to a fault. You don’t have four or five guys in double figures without being unselfish.”

Ashcroft helped Central Catholic win a PIAA Class 1A championship as a senior in 2007. He finished his high school career with 1,036 points.

In college at Albright, he was a two-time all-conference pick and helped the Lions to a Middle Atlantic Conference championship as a junior in 2010.

“When I look back and think about all the people in my life that have had an impact over my basketball career, not only as a player and as a coach, but also as a person, the list is extensive,” Ashcroft said earlier this month. “It starts with my parents, my brother, my sister and my wife. And then I look at all the coaches and players that have had an impact on my basketball career and on my life; the list just runs forever.”