Leaving one elite program to coach at another is never an easy decision, but after a lot of soul searching and consideration Head Coach Matt Regan has stepped down at Division II Pelham high school to take over at Division I Bishop Guertin. 

Regan replaces longtime head coach Jim Migneault who guided BG to three Final Four appearances in the last seven years including the 2011 Class L (Division I) title.

Regan was the choice after a long interview process of nearly a month.  

Bishop Guertin is considered by many Division I basketball coaches as one of the elite jobs in the state and athletic director Peter Paladino was going to be certain that he and the search committee got this one right. “We were fortunate enough to have a large pool of candidates to choose from but as the process moved along Matt really rose to the top,” said Paladino. “His track record as a coach speaks for itself and as we dug a little deeper into his references it was clear we had an outstanding candidate to be our head basketball coach.”

This is a hire that will not go unnoticed across a close knit Division I coaching fraternity. With its ability to draw students outside of Nashua to the school (The 2011 title team was led by Connor Green from Bedford and Sean McClung from Merrimack) and its close proximity to the Massachusetts border BG is s sleeping giant. Adding a coach with a reputation as one of the best young coaches in the state is a big hire for the basketball program.  Still, even with the prestige that comes with coaching in Division I (longtime Hopkinton head coach Dave Chase made a similar move when he took over at Concord high last spring) Regan had a difficult time leaving his alma mater and the kids he has grown close to. “I will miss coaching in Pelham. I have been a part of this program for the past 16 years as both a player and a coach. I want to thank all of my players especially my two returning seniors Kyle Frank and Joe Pantaleo for going to battle with me every day. I know they will have a great year and I am excited to follow them as a big fan.“  Regan, who lives with his wife Stacie and two daughters Ayla & Haylie in Salem, has been the boys’ varsity coach at Pelham High School since 2010.

In 2016 Pelham won its second straight NH Division III state championship game and the 2015 undefeated team was widely regarded as the best team in New Hampshire, regardless of division. 

That team finished 24-1 overall and 22-0 in Division III while Regan was named the 2015 NH Division III Coach of the Year. In 2014 the Pelham Boys finished the season at 17-4 reaching the Division II Semi-Finals for the second time under Matt's guidance before losing to eventual champion Pembroke Academy.

Regan has a coaching record of 110-33 to go along with over a 100 wins as a Junior varsity coach. He was the 2010 NHSportsPage Coach of the Year and is also the Pelham 4th grade travel coach. 

His 4th grade team was the Merrimack Valley A division champions in 2016 while Regan also runs skills clinics and camps to hundreds of youth in the southern New Hampshire area

In BG Regan takes over a team expected to finish in the lower part of a division with a ton of parity headed into the 2016 season. “I am extremely excited to start the next chapter in my coaching career at Bishop Guertin. BG has an excellent reputation of both academics & athletics and I feel my philosophy of helping young men become better citizens, students, and basketball players fits in nicely.”

Regan now joins an impressive Division I cast of coaches that now includes Dave Chase and one of Regan’s mentors Jim Mulvey of Portsmouth. “I am excited for the opportunity to coach against the likes of Doc Wheeler (Manchester Central), Tim Goodridge (Merrimack), and of course some of my coaching friends, Nate Stanton (Londonderry), Rob McLaughlin (Salem), Jay McKenna (Winnacunnet), and Jim Mulvey (Portsmouth)”

Regan’s one time coaching rival and good friend Eric Saucier of Conant applauded the move by both his friend and Bishop Guertin. “I think it’s a great hire by BG,” said Saucier, “If you want to re-start a program he’s the perfect hire because he’s a great coach, he relates to the kids and he is going to put in the work necessary. Matt will do the little things like scouting and watching film, to get BG back to the top of the division.”

With the school year already under way Regan begins the task of meeting his new players, and assessing what he has to work with in year one. “I have not seen the players yet so ultimately that will determine our style of play, but I hope to play super confident and aggressive. At the end of games we need to be able to execute when needed. What separates the top teams from the good teams in New Hampshire is execution and that will be priority number 1.”