Published March 24, 2025 by Michael Hoffer, The Forecaster.
South Portland hoops coaches Kevin Millington and Brianne Maloney get the nod.
Boys’ team
Who remain the gold standard in Class AA South.
One season after being upset in its first playoff game, South Portland returned to the biggest stage, which has been a frequent occurrence under Kevin Millington.
Millington had his share of challenges this winter, but he and his team figured things out and as a result, Millington gets our nod as our Winter Coach of the Year, of a boys’ team.
Millington was also given this award in 2021 and 2023.
Millington is a Red Riot through and through, cheering them on to championships as a kid, then wearing a South Portland uniform.
“One of the reasons I’m coaching is because I fell in love with those (1979 and 1980) teams,” Millington said. “They’re gods to me.”
It took Millington quite some time to become coach of his alma mater, as he spent 18 years coaching the Windham boys before getting the Red Riots job in 2015. Millington led South Portland to the Class AA state final his first two seasons (they lost to Portland each time). After consistently knocking at the door, the Red Riots burst through in 2022, ending a three-decade title drought. If that wasn’t enough, South Portland did it again the following year.
In 2024, however, the Red Riots were upset by Thornton Academy in the quarterfinals and didn’t even get to play at the Cross Insurance Arena.
This year was a return to form.
South Portland entered the season led by dynamic senior point guard Manny Hidalgo and full of potential, but the Red Riots had to get standout big man Darius Johnson healthy and hope other players would step into key roles against a very difficult schedule.
It all came together, as South Portland overcame a 2-2 start to finish 13-5, capping the season with a victory over reigning regional champion Gorham, which was the 300th of Millington’s career.
The Red Riots were ranked second to Thornton Academy heading into the Class AA South tournament, but South Portland would be the last team standing after downing Gorham, Scarborough and Bonny Eagle.
The Red Riots led most of the way against Windham in the “Millington Bowl” state final, but Hidalgo and senior Tom Maloji fouled out late and the Eagles eked out a 55-52 victory to dash South Portland’s title bid.
“No complaints,” Millington said. “I’m really proud of these guys. They competed so hard. They gave all they could.”
Once upon a time, when Kevin Millington was a mere lad, South Portland’s boys basketball team competed for titles year after year. Now, with Millington, our boys’ team Winter Coach of the Year, leading the way, history is repeating itself and the Red Riots aren’t close to done adding banners.
Girls’ team
BRIANNE MALONEY – South Portland basketball
Even in her wildest dreams, Brianne Maloney couldn’t have imagined that her first season as a varsity coach would be this memorable.
This triumphant.
Maloney got to coach with her father, coach her alma mater and coach a talented, hungry group of players who showed steady improvement and by year’s end, cut down the nets for the first time in nearly four decades.
After a season like that, it was pretty easy for us to name Brianne Maloney our Winter Coach of the Year, of a girls’ team.
Maloney was a standout player in her own right, both at South Portland (Class of 2014) and later at St. Joseph’s College. After returning to her alma mater as an assistant coach, Maloney took over the varsity program this season.
Witt the help of her assistant coaches, John Maloney and Kelsey Flaherty (another former Red Riots star), Brianne Maloney got the most out of her players, who simply got better and better as the season progressed.
South Portland started with three straight wins, lost to reigning champion Cheverus, then won four more times in succession before losing at home to Windham and Oxford Hills. The team was at a crossroads, but from that point on, the Red Riots were simply unstoppable, closing on a seven-game win streak to earn the top seed for the Class AA South tournament.
There, South Portland eliminated Noble in the quarterfinals, finally solved longtime nemesis Scarborough in the semifinals, then beat three-time reigning regional champion Gorham in the Class AA South Final to make it to the state game for just the second time this century.
And there, against Cheverus, the Red Riots rose to every challenge, got key contributions from every player that took the court and went on to a memorable, therapeutic 54-48 victory, bringing home the Gold Ball for the first time since 1986.
“I’m so proud and excited and so happy to do it in the community I grew up in that has been there for me since I was a little kid,” Maloney said, in the delirious moments after the championship was secured. “We’ve been on the brink a few times, so for this group to get it done start to finish, it’s just awesome. The emotions are so strong.”
Just exactly what Brianne Maloney, our Southern edition girls’ team Winter Coach of the Year, is going to do for an encore remains to be seen, but she’s proved, in no time, that has a special ability to lead a team to greatness and with her at the helm, there will be more celebrations in the future.