April 8th, 2022 Press Release:

Prolific Prep of Napa Christian (Napa, CA) names Ryan Bernardi Head Boy’s Basketball coach for the upcoming 2022-2023 basketball season.

Prolific Prep of Napa Christian is coming off a semi-final appearance in GEICO Nationals last week in Ft. Myers, Fl.

Ryan Bernardi is a Boston, MA native who spent the past 3 years as the Head Coach of Burlington School in NC and 1 year at the Burlington Christian Academy in Burlington, NC. In 4 years as a Head Coach overall, Ryan graduated 16 players to go on and play college basketball. He achieved a 99-31 overall record in 4 years, 2 state championships in back-to-back seasons, and 1 state runner-up.

Ryan was hired as head coach at Burlington Christian Academy in April 2018 for the 1819 season and coached 1 year there. He was hired as a 19-year-old, he set the program record of 18 wins (18-9), reached state quarterfinals, and produced the first-ever division 1 player at the school.

He then was hired at The Burlington School in July of 2019. In 3 years at TBS, Ryan won 2 North Carolina state championships (2021 and 2022) and 1 state runner-up (2020). Ryan had an 81-22 record as head coach of TBS. Ranked as high as #17 in the country by MaxPreps, first-ever national ranking for the school.

Ryan also served as the athletic director at The Burlington School from August 2020- June 2022. Ryan is an Elon University graduate.

Prolific Prep of Napa Christian will be entering its 9th season in 2022-2023 and coming off 3 consecutive GEICO Nationals selections. Prolific Prep has had 8 McDonald’s All-Americans in the previous 7 seasons, has had 3 players drafted in the NBA in the past 4 NBA drafts, 2 of whom were drafted in the Top 5 with the most recent being Jalen Green who was drafted 2nd overall in the 2021 draft by the Houston Rockets.

Ryan Bernardi Quote:

‘I am honored and thrilled to be named the next head basketball coach at Prolific Prep of Napa Christian. I would like to thank Jeremy Russoti and Philippe Doherty for this incredible opportunity. Prolific Prep changes lives, on and off the court. I am fired up to be a part of an unbelievable tradition and exciting future.’

Co-Directors Philippe Doherty and Jeremy Russotti Quote on Ryan Bernardi:

“Our program is a platform for both our players and our coaches as they aspire to get to the next level and beyond. Ryan is an incredibly accomplished young coach who has a bright future ahead in the coaching industry. He will impact our players from around the world both on and off the court and help our young men achieve their dreams. Ryan built a powerful program in a very short period and will look to continue the success and tradition that Prolific Prep has displayed in it’s first 8 years as a program. We are excited to welcome Ryan to the Prolific Prep of Napa Christian family.”

Billy McKnight is headed back to the college ranks where he spent time on the University of Oregon Staff from 2003-2005 and earned his MBA.

Billy spent 2 stints as the Head Coach at Prolific Prep, from 2015-2019, and this past year 2021-22. Billy compiled a 145-32 record in his 5 years as head coach at Prolific Prep. Billy coached 6 McDonald’s All-Americans in his 5 years and has coached 26 Division 1 players in his 5 years at Prolific Prep.

Co-Directors Philippe Doherty and Jeremy Russotti Quote on Billy McKnight:

“Billy has coached at every level, from Professional, to College, to High School, and has been a very successful Head Coach at all those levels. Billy will immediately impact a college program with his very strong recruiting skills and x’s and o’s. What we built from scratch starting in 2014 in 8 very short years can hardly be matched. Billy was an integral part in building what is now known as one of the best basketball programs in the country. Billy developed his players on and off the court and has coached kids from 14 countries. Billy coached 6 McDonald’s All-Americans and 26 Division 1 players in his 5 years. His international experience will come in handy at the collegiate level as basketball has become a global sport. We look forward to following Billy’s coaching career at the next level and beyond and our program is indebted to him for all that he has done for both the players and the Napa community.”

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