A pair of impressive runs to the MIAA Division 5 Final Four a season ago earned a pair of longtime local boys basketball coaches some hardware. 

Pioneer boys basketball coach Scott Thayer and Mahar boys basketball coach Chad Softic were both awarded 2024 Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Association’s Coach of the Year awards for their accomplishments last winter. The duo were honored at an award ceremony at Holy Cross in Worcester on Sunday. 

Thayer, Softic and Hoosac Valley’s Bill Robinson were the three winners in the Division 5 boys group. The trio were the only three western Mass. coaches to win awards. 

“It’s cool having them recognize us out here for our accomplishments,” Thayer said. “Only three western Mass. coaches — girls or boys coaches — to be nominated which is kind of cool.” 

It’s not the first time Softic or Thayer have been honored by the MBCA. 

Thayer first won the award in 2000, and went on to win it again in 2012, 2013 and 2023. Softic also won the award in 2012 and 2014. 

It was a season to remember for both the Panthers and the Senators last winter. 

Mahar really came into its own down the stretch of the season. It won seven in a row to reach the MIAA Div. 5 Final Four, where it fell to Hoosac Valley. That winning streak coincided with the Western Mass. Class C tournament, where the Senators knocked off Lenox, Athol and Granby to take home the program’s first sectional title since 2012.

Earning the No. 5 seed in the state tournament, Mahar knocked off Smith Academy, Old Colony and Boston English to reach the semifinals. The Senators finished the season with an 18-6 record. 

“It’s a good feeling,” Softic said. “I’m getting older and when you’re younger, you take it for granted. You think everything will be rosy and you’ll have these opportunities to have great teams and those chances to win the big games. When you do win those kind of games, this is the byproduct. You don’t get these all the time. We had a great season and it was a great team. I just tried to enjoy it. I had my parents there with me [Sunday], my girlfriend there with me. Knowing how much they support me is pretty special.”

Receiving the award along with two coaches he’s been competing against for years made the night even more special. 

“Getting this with Scott and Billy, I have the upmost respect for them,” Softic said. “I couldn’t have asked to be around better coaches. When I first started coaching, Billy and Scott were well established and they were coaches I really respected and looked up to. These awards are the byproduct of having great players and a great support staff.”

The Pioneer boys made a similar state tourney run. The Panthers opened the campaign with seven straight wins, then hit a lull midseason before ripping off six straight wins. They ultimately fell in the Western Mass. Class D semifinals. 

As the No. 3 seed in the Div. 5 state tournament, the Panthers defeated Fenway, Athol and Drury to reach the semifinals, where they fell to eventual champion New Mission. 

Pioneer finished its season with an 18-6 record. 

“It’s a team award, that’s for sure,” Thayer said. “It only happens with [assistant coaches] Fred [Redeker], Vinnie [Funari] and all our players buying into what we’re trying to get accomplished. It’s an award for everyone to share.” 

The two award-winning coaches will be back on the court next week, both returning squads with ambitions of making deep tournament runs once again.

Pioneer and Mahar will play the first of two games during the regular season on Jan. 6 in Orange.

“It’s an honor to get this with two great coaches like Chad and Billy who have done it for a long time,” Thayer said. “They’re good friends first and foremost. They do it the right way. It’s always fun to be in competition against those guys — win, lose or draw. In today’s age, it’s a humbling thing. The one thing the three of us have in common is the passion. The passion to teach and try to do the best we can with the kids.”