Worcester Academy junior Kayvaun Mulready changes commitment, will follow former PC coach Ed Cooley to Georgetown

There were numerous reasons why Worcester Academy junior Kayvaun Mulready verbally committed to Providence College in early January over the 18 other Division 1 offers he received.

At the top of the list — by a margin as wide as the space between the 3-point line and the basket — was Friars coach Ed Cooley.

“Coach Cooley is a great mentor, a great coach, a great person outside of basketball and off the court,” Mulready told the T&G after announcing he selected PC from a final four that included Connecticut, Marquette and Maryland. “He really made me feel comfortable with my decision.”

On March 20, Cooley announced he was leaving Providence after 12 successful seasons to become coach at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

On Wednesday evening, Mulready took to Twitter to say he, too, was bound for the nation’s capital. The Worcester native and resident thanked the PC community for its love and support, but was blessed to now be a member of the recruiting Class of 2024 at Georgetown.

“First, the main reason I went to Providence was because of Coach Cooley,” Mulready said Thursday afternoon. “I trust him a lot, and I know he’s a person and a coach that I want to play for. That’s the main reason why I went to Providence, and since he left, my reasoning of going to a school didn’t change.

“He went to Georgetown, so I went to Georgetown. And Georgetown is also a good academic school, a lot of good basketball history, so it just made sense.”

Mulready doesn’t remember if Cooley, whose move to Georgetown was in large part fueled by family reasons, reached out to him March 20 or 21, but he definitely appreciated the call.

“He told me everything that he knew so I wouldn’t feel left out,” the four-star recruit said.

As for whether Cooley made a pitch to Mulready to join him with the Hoyas, who went 13-50 the last two seasons and have missed the NCAA Tournament in eight of the past 10 years, well, that was an unequivocal no.

“He didn’t even have to sell,” Mulready said. “There was a lot on his plate, so I wasn’t expecting him to tell me right away.

“But later in the day, he found the time to call me, which I really appreciated. But, yeah, he didn’t have to sell anything.”

Mulready said no one representing other schools contacted him, but “There were a lot of people who were reaching out to my coaches or people who are close to me.”

The 6-foot-4, 210-pound combo guard was named MVP after scoring a game-high 20 points to help Worcester Academy defeat Cushing, 69-67, and repeat as NEPSAC Class AA champions on March 6 before an overflow crowd of 2,500 at Clark University.

It was the first time the Hilltoppers went back-to-back since 1981-82.

“The winning aspect obviously meant a lot,” said Mulready, who was named to the headmaster’s list on the same day he was presented his MVP trophy. “There hadn’t been back-to-back championships at Worcester Academy in a long time, and I’m from Worcester, so that always means so much.

“The group of guys, we fought through a lot of adversity throughout the year, and there really isn’t anyone I wanted to do that with, so I’m really happy with the outcome.”

The season, which concluded with a 29-5 record after the Hilltoppers advanced to the semifinals of the National Prep Championships, which also was held at Clark, was one of growth for Mulready.

Not just as a player as he continued to expand his two-way game, but as a teammate.

“Personally, I think it was a good learning experience because I was hurt (hamstring) for almost a month,” Mulready said. “Just being able to sit down and watch my teammates and become a better and vocal leader, that helped me even though it sucked being hurt. That helped me a lot.”

Mulready kept close tabs on the North High boys’ basketball this winter and was among the 5,000 or so fans in attendance when the Polar Bears defeated Needham, 73-64, to win the Division 1 state championship on March 19 at the Tsongas Center in Lowell.

He sat behind the North bench and did all he could to keep from bouncing in his seat while cheering on the likes of Amir Jenkins, Ty Tables, Joe Okla, and Tahlan Pettway as North became the first public school from Worcester to win a D1 state title in any sport.

“Obviously, I wanted them to win, and I knew they were going to win, but it was stressful,” Mulready said. “I don’t really watch games; I play the games.

“So it was stressful seeing something that I could have done and I can’t fix anything, do anything about it. It was a big game for the guys, and especially Worcester.”

—Contact Rich Garven at rgarven@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @RichGarvenTG.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: WA's Mulready to follow former PC coach Cooley to Georgetown