Coral Prosser lives in Berlin, a tiny town located in Somerset County with a population hovering around 2,000.
“It’s maybe a 100-yard walk to the school,” Prosser said. “Our town is very small, so a lot of people that attend our school are almost in walking distance.”
Some families like basketball and others love it, and then there’s the Prossers, who eat, breathe and sleep hoops, and have been so successful in the sport that you could say they have put the small town on the map.
“Listen, everybody I call, they’re like, ‘Tell me about them,’” explained AAU coach Jamal Woodson. “And I’m like, ‘They’re just a basketball family. That’s just what they do.’”
That includes Coral, a junior at Berlin Brothersvalley High School who has helped the Mountaineers win consecutive PIAA Class 2A championships, owns more than 40 Division I offers, and is considered one of the top players in the state.
“She’s the type of player every coach wants, every teammate loves playing with, and every program dreams of building around,” Woodson added.
Prosser, a 5-foot-7 point guard, is having another strong AAU season for SLAAM playing on the 2027 team that also includes Pine-Richland’s Mia LeDonne, Thomas Jefferson’s Allie Wilson, Baldwin’s Lynsey Bernotas and Trinity’s Sutton Williamson.
Prosser and her siblings have all been stars, the biggest among them being Pace, who, as the team’s leading scorer, led Gannon to a NCAA Division II national championship last month.
“It really did inspire me,” Coral said of Pace, who has since transferred to Division I Siena. “I’ve always looked up to Pace. Seeing him be successful on a higher level was just so much more inspiring than I ever thought would be possible.”
Coral and Bryn are all-state players at Berlin Brothersvalley, just like Pace was before them. Coral averaged a double-double (20.7 points, 10.1 rebounds) this past season when she earned first-team all-state honors for the second year in a row, while Bryn, a 5-9 sophomore guard, pumped in 13.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game on her way to second-team recognition. Bryn has bagged two Division I offers herself.
But they weren’t the only Prossers on the all-state team. That’s because their mom/coach, Rachel, was named Coach of the Year in Class 2A. It’s an honor that was previously given to dad Tanner, the Berlin Brothersvalley boys coach who has guided the Mountaineers to the PIAA final three times. Tanner is a graduate of Brentwood High School, who, along with Rachel, played basketball at Grove City College. Tanner is in the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
“It means everything,” Coral said of how big basketball is in her family. “It’s something we’ve been surrounded by basically since we were born.”
Coral began playing for SLAAM in sixth grade, with sister Bryn starting that same year.
“Even back then, you could see there was something different about her. She was fearless, skilled, and incredibly mature for her age,” Woodson said.
It didn’t take long for Coral to begin making waves. During her seventh-grade year, she was called up to play on SLAAM’s 11th-grade team, which was short on players.
“Most kids would have been intimidated. Coral walked into her first game against older players and scored 27 points,” added Woodson. “That moment told us everything we needed to know.”
Since then, colleges have taken notice. Prosser had three Division I offers before she even began high school, a number that has since grown to more than 40. The list includes Texas A&M of the SEC, as well as Duquesne, Robert Morris, Rhode Island and East Carolina.
Prosser said that she doesn’t currently have a favorite or favorites, but said she is beginning to narrow down her options before taking some official visits this summer.
In the meantime, she continues to work on her game. Although she’s typically her team’s leading scorer, Prosser said she wants to become a more consistent and efficient scorer.
While scoring is obviously important, Prosser said that putting the ball in the bucket isn’t the thing she enjoys most about the game.
“My favorite thing to do is have assists,” she said. “I like creating for my teammates. And that helps me get more open shots and helps me be able to create for myself. But I always like to say that having an assist is better than scoring points.”
Another facet of Prosser’s game, Woodson said, is her willingness to take charges. According to Woodson, Prosser will take about four per game, which often leads to applause from dad.
“She’s very modest and never gets super excited about having great games,” Woodson added. “And I think one of the best things is, her dad never cheers until she takes a charge. When she takes a charge, he starts clapping.”
Prosser is a big talent who is also a big-game player. She’s shown that in each of the last two PIAA championship games. As a sophomore, she poured in 35 points, 15 rebounds and 8 steals to beat Bishop McCort, and this past season went for 11 points and 11 rebounds in a 55-39 win over WPIAL champion Neshannock.
Woodson said that Prosser’s toughness is evident when she plays, a type of fearless mentality that has likely been aided by big brother. Woodson witnessed that when Pace and some of his high school teammates played against Coral and her team one AAU season.
“I remember the first time we played against him. She was still in eighth grade,” Woodson recalled. “He pushed her to the ground and fouled the heck out of her like she was a guy. And then I looked over at her. She got right up, sprinted back, didn’t say a word. It didn’t faze her because you can tell he’s been doing that with her for a while.”
Coral speaks glowingly of Pace. She and her family attended many of his games this past season, including the postseason run that saw Gannon win Elite Eight and Final Four games at Duquesne’s Cooper Fieldhouse before topping Lander, 84-61, in the final at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Pace had 28 points, 11 rebounds and 5 steals in the championship.
“It was really amazing,” Coral said. “And kind of eye-opening of what’s possible for a small-town kid. I never would have pictured that with him just coming out of high school. It was super special to get to watch that and watch him be successful.”
While Pace inspires her and Bryn pushes her, Coral also gets a ton of help from her coaching parents, of course.
“They’re working all the time. I said something one time to her dad about her footwork and that it needs to be faster. I heard that from a college coach. Boom! Next time I saw her, her footwork was better,” Woodson said.
Coral and her family have all achieved a lot in the sport, and that success doesn’t appear to be ending anytime soon.
“We’re a huge basketball family. We spend so much time playing, watching or just studying film,” Coral said. “It’s been really special just growing up around the game, and it’s super special what our family has been able to accomplish within it.”