Coatesville’s Hiller Brothers Are Two of the Best High School Athletes in America
Max is headed to Florida as one of the country’s top football recruits. Colton is the third-ranked junior basketball player in America. And they did it all without leaving home.
Colton (top) and Max Hiller are two of the top high school athletes in the U.S. / Photography by Steve Boyle
Colton Hiller can’t believe it. His older brother, Max, just told a visiting reporter that Colton started beating Max in basketball when Colton was in ninth grade.
Colton does not agree. “Seventh!” he corrects.
They compromise: Eighth grade.
“I’m not afraid to admit it,” Max says, of his little brother besting him.
He shouldn’t be. Colton is the third-ranked junior hoops player in the country; virtually no other high school kid can take him, including Max, who played basketball just to “stay in shape” for football. Smart move: The senior offensive tackle is the fourth-ranked high school football player in the country, and he recently committed to the University of Florida.
The brothers achieved this not at some national powerhouse in Florida or California, or even at St. Joe’s Prep (though those schools did court them). Instead, they played for Coatesville Area Senior High School, student population 1,366.
Sports matter in Coatesville. A lot.
Last year, the high school’s Red Raiders basketball team sold out eight home games in a gym that seats 2,200. That’s more than the devoted fan base at St. Joseph’s University, for instance, which averaged 2,142 fans for its men’s home games last year. CASH alum and basketball standout Richard “Rip” Hamilton went from Coatesville in 1996 to UConn and then on to the NBA, where he became a three-time All-Star and a 2004 NBA champion.
And then there’s CASH football, which is a full-on community pursuit. Churches provide pregame meals for the team. Players’ gear is emblazoned with the logos of local businesses. If a team member is out at a local restaurant, it’s not unusual for fellow diners — or the restaurant itself — to pay for his meal.
Last season, tickets for a basketball playoff game against Chester sold out in five minutes. Later, scalpers charged $100 for each $8 seat. Win a state title in Coatesville and it turns into a Frank Capra movie: parades, proclamations, a lifetime of free beer.
Truth is, Coatesville could use a little joy. Eighteen percent of the city lives below the poverty line, and the median household income falls well below the national average. Home prices are down in Coatesville, half the price as those in nearby Downingtown. Once a thriving steel town, Coatesville now struggles to find reasons for civic esteem. Which is where the Hillers come in.
“We are so proud of the brothers and the attention they’re bringing to Coatesville,” says head basketball coach John Allen. “They’re ours.”
The boys’ parents, Amy and AJ, grew up in Coatesville and were standout athletes too: Amy played field hockey at Millersville, and AJ played soccer at Coastal Carolina. Though their sons could’ve gone elsewhere for high school, AJ says the brothers were turned off by the prep schools that tried to recruit them. Coatesville is “real-world,” AJ says. “We’re super proud of where we come from.”
Choosing not to play for sports factories didn’t hurt the brothers. Both have still been pursued by the best college teams in the country, and they are represented — it is 2026, after all — by Creative Artists Agency, whose clients include Lionel Messi and Shohei Ohtani.
Colton (left) and Max Hiller
As players and prospects, Colton and Max are quite different.
“Max has a killer instinct,” says Downingtown West coach Tom Kline, who adds that Max is the best high school football player he’s seen in more than 30 years of coaching.
ESPN analyst and former scout and recruiter Tom Luginbill praises Max’s “competitive temperament.” Max puts it this way: “I like to hit.”
Red Raiders football coach Matt Ortega says he sometimes has to temper Max’s aggression during practice: “I say, ‘Calm down,’” Ortega says. “He gets this look on his face.”
Colton is more mild-mannered; coach Allen is helping him develop a more ruthless on-court demeanor. “I’m always on him about willing his team to win,” Allen says. But Colton is competitive. He made the national under-16 team last summer. He’s a great shooter, with tremendous instincts.
“He’s trending toward being the centerpiece of a college program,” says ESPN national basketball recruiting director Paul Biancardi. Lower Merion head coach Gregg Downer believes Colton will be “a one and done” once he gets to college — he’ll spend one year at school and then go to the NBA.
Rivals pester him with double teams and other junk defenses. “It’s like a compliment,” Colton says. “People are wide open, and they double faceguard me.”
Even though Amy describes the brothers’ boisterous childhood as “wild” and admits they sparred often, the two are extremely close.
“It’s brotherly love,” Max says. “I always protect him. He’ll always protect me.”
And both will always represent Coatesville, their hometown.
Published as “Brothers, Where Art Thou?” in the September 2026 issue of Philadelphia magazine.
