Prep basketball: Analy hires new coaches for boys, girls programs

Analy has hired new boys and girls basketball coaches for the 2024-25 season.

Nic Pederson, who has led the boys program at Credo High School in Rohnert Park for the last four years, takes over the Tigers’ boys varsity team — while Ben Morita, an Analy alum who coached the girls’ JV team last year, has been elevated to the girls head varsity position.

Pederson replaces Kris Mahiri, who stepped down at the end of the 2023-24 season after two years at the helm. Morita replaces Earl Pasamonte, who also stepped down at the conclusion of last season after three years leading the varsity team.

“We are excited to see where both of these wonderful coaches will take their programs,” Analy Athletic Director Joe Ellwood said in a statement.

“Although new to Analy, coach Pederson brings a wealth of basketball knowledge to his program stemming from his personal playing experiences, high school coaching, and as a youth program director,” Ellwood said. “Coach Morita, an Analy graduate, has a long history of coaching several different levels of basketball for both the boys and girls programs, most recently being our girls JV coach under Earl Pasamonte. Both of them have shown enthusiasm for their respective programs and a genuine connection with their players.”

Pederson, 38, starred at Cardinal Newman during his prep days and was a McDonald’s All-American nominee for the Cardinals. He went on to star at Santa Rosa Junior College before playing at Division II Stanislaus State. He went on to play professionally overseas in nine countries, including Japan, Germany, Morocco, Chile and Finland.

He returned to the states eight years ago to start a family and now works as both a skills trainer and running his AAU program called Pass the Rock.

He got his start in coaching at Credo four years ago and helped lead the Gryphons to their most successful seasons in program history. Under Pederson, Credo won the North Central League II title in back-to-back seasons and made the first trip to the CIF NorCal playoffs in school history.

“Really excited to work with the Analy boys, very excited for the opportunity, but I was very torn to leave the Credo boys at the same time,” Pederson told The Press Democrat. Just looking to keep building and keep moving forward.”

“The first dunk of my high school career was in the Analy gym,” he added. “An and-one dunk on another famous Analy player, so I have good memories of Analy for sure. They’ve always had a strong program and one of the hopes is that we can build it back up to the triumph that they previously have been. It’s a tough league; we’re in with Windsor and Newman, but I think we’re heading in the right direction, for sure.”

Analy dropped its final nine games of the year to end the 2023-24 season with an 8-18 overall record and a 2-10 mark in the North Bay League Oak division. The Tigers won 17 games in 2021-22 and 16 in 2022-23 and made the playoffs in both years.

Morita, the athletic director at Brook Haven Middle School, has been involved in both Analy basketball programs for over a decade at all levels.

He started his coaching career during the late 2000s and was on the staff of the boys team when Analy won the North Coast Section Division 3 title in 2009. He took some time off from coaching at the high school level to focus on his full-time job at Brook Haven but returned to the sideline to coach the JV girls program last season. This will be Morita’s first varsity head coaching job.

“I’m excited,” he said. “I’ve been working with the young kids and just trying to teach the game, but now getting to be able to back at the high school level where things are a bit more competitive, it’s exciting.”

After going 23-6 and finishing second in the NBL-Oak in the 2021-22 season, the Tigers girls are 1-15 in league over the past two seasons and missed the postseason in both years. They’re set to return their two top scorers in Shawnessy Conway-O’Neill and Destin Emmert.

“There’s a good group of returning players that just didn’t have success, but they’re a team and they’re fun to be around,” said Morita. “I’m excited to get started.”

You can reach Staff Writer Gus Morris at 707-304-9372 or gus.morris@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @JustGusPD.