More than four dozen of the league’s top upperclassmen will be showcased during tonight’s Greater Middlesex Conference Basketball Coaches Association’s annual senior charity all-star doubleheader.
All proceeds from the girls game (6 p.m.) and boys game (7:30 p.m.) at Old Bridge High School will benefit The Marisa Tufaro Foundation.
Complete rosters for both all-star games can be found below.
The all-star doubleheader has a decades-long tradition of giving back to the community and generating thousands of dollars for numerous charitable causes including the American Cancer Society, Team LeGrand, the Christopher and Dana Reeves Foundation, the Gene Haley Memorial Scholarship Fund, Fightstrong Foundation, individuals in medical crisis, and others.
The Greater Middlesex Conference Basketball Coaches Association has been among The Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s biggest supporters, donating gate receipts totaling nearly $8,000 from three previous all-star doubleheaders to the nonprofit. Basketball teams from the conference also turned the league’s pod tournament during the pandemic-shortened 2021 season into a fundraiser for the foundation.
“We are eternally grateful to the Greater Middlesex Conference Basketball Coaches Association for selecting our nonprofit as the beneficiary of this year’s all-star doubleheader,” said Cyndi Tufaro, executive director of The Marisa Tufaro Foundation.
“Our foundation has been blessed beyond words with incredible support from the entire conference, which has helped us make a profound impact on the lives of countless children in need.
“We congratulate the players selected to represent their schools in the all-star doubleheader and wish them all the best in tonight’s games and in their future endeavors.”
Since its inception in July 2017, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has donated nearly $350,000 to fulfill its mission of assisting pediatric patients and other children in need throughout the greater Middlesex County area.
The nonprofit has also donated thousands of toys, nonperishable food items, winter jackets, baby supplies and other items upon which it has placed no monetary value.
In addition, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has awarded $29,500 in academic scholarships to 42 high school seniors (basketball players are among those recipients) and sent 20 elementary and middle school students to attend a weeklong summer art camp at Rutgers University’s Zimmerli Art Museum.
Marisa Tufaro survived six open-heart surgeries and a heart transplant before succumbing to a rare form of cancer in 2017 following a valiant battle. She was just 13 years old.
Despite being hospitalized for more than two years and maintaining hundreds of doctor’s appointments, Marisa Tufaro was an Edison Township Public Schools honor roll student involved in myriad extracurricular activities who lived a vibrant life that inspired.
GIRLS SENIOR ALL-STAR GAME ROSTERS
TEAM WHITE
Courtney Edmondo, Piscataway
Olivia Gulick, South Amboy
Abigail Jazmin, Old Bridge
Avery Labaska, Monroe
Kayla Martel, Wardlaw + Hartridge
Gabby Nieves, East Brunswick
Jordan Oster, East Brunswick
Mya Patino, Colonia
Mia Phelps, East Brunswick Magnet School
Lelani Ponder, South Brunswick
Shruthi Saravanan, Woodbridge Academy
Nicole Turco, Monroe
Meher Vig, South Brunswick
Coaches: Tim Corrigan (Saint Thomas Aquinas), Keith Connery (Dunellen) and Mike Howell (Wardlaw + Hartridge)
TEAM BLACK
Paula Antunes, J.F. Kennedy
Arlette Batista, Perth Amboy Magnet School
Katherine Bogutsky, J.P. Stevens
Jolie Dawson, Perth Amboy
Jaclyn Deshields, Middlesex
Ava Fema, Spotswood
Ghelsy Gho, Edison
Jennah Johnson, Woodbridge
Avani Jones, North Plainfield
Matti Miller, Piscataway Magnet School
Trisha Nair, J.P. Stevens
Natalia Vera Cruz, South River
Madison Vitucci, South River
Coaches: Tim Weber (J.P. Stevens) and Vinny Vizzy (Spotswood)
BOYS SENIOR ALL-STAR GAME ROSTERS
EAST ALL-STARS
Abdul Adebule, South Plainfield
Estevan Atanacio, East Brunswick Magnet School
Dave Caruso, Saint Joseph
Jayce Green, Sayreville
Brian Hennessy, East Brunswick
Brandon McCain, North Brunswick
Gurshan Nahal, J.F. Kennedy
Ehi Odion, Old Bridge
Varun Panjeti, J.P. Stevens
Tyrece Parrott, Carteret
Ariel Perez, Perth Amboy
Nate Carman, Piscataway Magnet School
Daniel Yarus, Spotswood
Daniel Swirad, South Brunswick
Pablo Melgarejo, South River
Coaches: Jan Cocozziello (Saint Joseph) and Steve Mate (Spotswood)
WEST ALL-STARS
Nfii Bannavti, North Plainfield
Sebastian Cano, Middlesex
Rinelson Dilone, Saint Thomas Aquinas
Micah Eason, Woodbridge
Ricky Harvey, Edison
Johnkelly Jimenez, Perth Amboy Magnet School
Jowuan Keyes, Highland Park
Myles Marabuto, Monroe
Matt McSorley, Colonia
Gavin Pelkey, South Amboy
Ben Santus, Metuchen
Logan Smith, Piscataway
Jon Walker, Timothy Christian
Omari Williams, New Brunswick
Coaches: Jonathan Toczynski (Woodbridge) and Dennis McNulty (Timothy Christian)