Regan Przepioski knows she can always rely on Mackenzie Rogers.
And Rogers always knows Przepioski has her back.
The two girls, both Somerton natives, have been best friends and teammates for as long as they can remember.
They went to St. Christopher’s together.
They played basketball together.
They went to Archbishop Wood together.
And this year, Przepioski and Rogers, both juniors, transferred from Wood to Archbishop Ryan, where they’re both now starters for the Ragdolls basketball team.
They’re not just doing exactly what they love, they’re doing it together.
“When I first thought about coming to Ryan, I live so much closer to Ryan, but I was terrified,” said Przepioski, who plays power forward and center for the Ragdolls. “I didn’t know coach (Jimmy) Dillon was the coach, they didn’t have a coach when I decided to transfer. I was hoping for the best. I had no clue.
“I told my coach at Wood a couple weeks later. I love Coach (Mike) McDonald. He was my AAU coach since third grade, he was always my coach, it was really tough leaving him. He understood. My mom talked to him, too.
“But it was so much easier because of Mackenzie. She’s my best friend. We went to school together, we grew up together, we made the decisions ourselves, but I think we were both happy the other came.”
“I’ve known her since kindergarten and our family grew up together, so we knew each other from that. We have always played basketball together. We do everything together. I play soccer and she’s the manager.”
Now, they’re winning together.
Last year, the Ragdolls won two games during the Catholic League regular season to go along with nine losses. This year, three games into the Catholic League schedule, and the Ragdolls have already matched their 2025 win total. Not only that but the two teams they have already defeated – Conwell-Egan and Bonner-Prendergast – are two teams that are usually competitive in league play.
Ryan has taken a huge step already under Dillon, the team’s fourth coach in as many years. The Philly basketball legend who played at Holy Ghost and then went on to play for the University of Notre Dame didn’t come alone. He brought his two daughters to Ryan with him, so don’t expect a fifth coach next year.
That’s what makes Przepioski and Rogers so excited about playing at Ryan. Not only do they have this year to build the team into a winner, they’ll have next year. That’s when the pair will be in their senior season. That would be a great time to make noise and compete with the best of the best in the PCL.
“We know we can be good because we were both on a good team,” Przepioski said. “We made it to the PCL semifinals and the state championship, but we lost. Playing for Wood was great because we played a lot of good teams. Neither of us started, but we got to see what it was like.”
“I didn’t know how good we’d be, but we’re pretty good,” said Rogers, the daughter of former Ryan boys coach Bernie Rogers. “I didn’t know about all the good young players we had. And we like playing (for Dillon). It’s been going great.”
Of course it helps that the girls have each other.
No matter what happens, they both know the other is there. Need a pep talk? They have someone to do that. Need advice? They can rely on each other.
And it helps, the girls say, that both are among the best players. Of course they don’t say that about themselves but are quick to brag about their bestie.
“Mackenzie is a great teammate,” Przepioski said of Rogers. “She’s the hardest worker I know, she’ll hustle for every loose ball, and she’s so fast. She’ll kick it to the open person right away, really unselfish. I can say a lot, she’s my best friend, I love her to death. Nicest person, really unselfish, she’ll always play her hardest.”
The feeling is more than mutual.
“She works so hard, she really helps us a lot,” Rogers said of her teammate. “She’s really good, she always makes the right play all the time, and she’s really good passer. And underneath, she’s a great defender and she gets all the rebounds. She’s a great person to play with because she plays with so much energy.”
Their goal is to have as much fun as possible.
And, of course, keep getting better.
“It was nerve racking at first, we had no idea who was going to be here, no JV team maybe, but it all came together,” Przepioski said. “It feels so good to be something special. Having an impact. I became a starter and became a captain. It’s really great, I was so excited, I knew it would be a challenge, but it’s going great.”
“We have a lot of good players, a lot of young players, and it’s going pretty well,” Rogers said. “We still have a lot of friends at Wood, and we love them, but things are really good here.”
