Sean Kelly receives NEPSBBA Les R. McMillen Award

The New England Preparatory School Boys Basketball Association (NEPSBBA) is proud to announce that Sean Kelly, director of athletics and boys basketball coach at The Wheeler School in Providence, RI, is the 2023 winner of the Les R. McMillen Award.

Kelly, a Wheeler and NEPSAC alum and former two-sport student-athlete, arrived back at his alma mater in August of 2010 and took on responsibilities as an English teacher, admissions associate, and boys’ basketball coach. Since 2020, Kelly has been Wheeler’s director of athletics. As a member of the NEPSBBA, he has served the association’s Executive Board in various capacities; including the last 8 years as president. Beyond basketball, the Wheeler School AD represents District 3 on the NEPSAC Executive Board.

“It is an honor to be recognized with this award,” Kelly said. “As someone who knew Les and saw first-hand the value in his work and the positive impact he had on student-athletes and coaches in the prep school world, I’m deeply appreciative of a connection to him in any way. Additionally, to be recognized by peers as talented as the ones in our association and in a league as prominent as the NEPSAC is truly special.”

During his 8 years as a NEPSBBA president, Kelly has done a wonderful job organizing the logistics associated with boys basketball coaches’ meetings, championship events, and postseason awards. Perhaps most notably, he has been a major catalyst behind the integration and execution of the annual NCAA Boys Basketball Showcase Events. The events, held each June at rotating NEPSAC campuses, attract over 600 student-athletes and coaches from more than 350 colleges and universities. The experience has been a meaningful and beneficial one for thousands of NEPSAC studentathletes over the last 4 years.

“I’ve been fortunate to have some really great mentors as a young coach, especially Mike Hart (St. Andrews),” added Kelly. “I’m also grateful for the continued mentorwship and support I’ve found with many people associated with the NEPSAC, especially Ed Reilly (Worcester Academy), Martha Brousseau (Greenwich Academy), Bob Howe (Deerfield Academy), and Laurie Sachs (Rivers School). I owe a lot of my approach to them.”

“Sean’s sincere dedication to both NEPSAC boys basketball and the NEPSAC mission is clear in all of his efforts,“ said Laurie Sachs, who was presented with the Les R. McMillen Award in 2020. “Having had the privilege of knowing Les McMillen and what a dedicated and positive person he was, I believe we are quite fortunate to have someone of Sean’s character behind the scenes, working to enhance the experience for all of our ath- letes, with that same consistent positive energy that defined Les.”

Beginning in the 2023–2024 school year, Billy Thom (Millbrook School) and Jim McCarthy (Cheshire Academy) will take over a copresidency role in the NEPSBBA.

Coach Les McMillen was a longtime athletic director and three-sport coach at the New York Military Academy. His teams were known equally for their talent and success as they were for their sportsmanship. In addition to his success mentoring and teaching young athletes on the court and playing fields, Les was also known among the basketball coaching circles in the prep school ranks for his consistent positive contribution to the experience of NEPSAC Boys Basketball and to the mission of NEPSBBA.