As of the 2017–18 school year, the school had an enrollment of 354 students and 28 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.6:1. The school's student body was 34.7% (123) Black, 24.9% (88) White, 17.8% (63) Hispanic, 12.7% (45) Asian and 9.9% (35) two or more races.[7]
The Roselle Catholic High School Lions[5] compete in the Union County Interscholastic Athletic Conference, which includes public and private high schools in Union County and operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) and was established as part of a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey.[9] Prior to the NJSIAA's 2009 realignment, the school had participated in the Mountain Valley Conference, which included public and private high schools in Essex County, Somerset County and Union County.[10] With 255 students in grades 10–12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Non-Public B for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 37 to 366 students in that grade range (equivalent to Group II for public schools).[11]
The boys track team won the indoor track Non-Public state championship in 1965, 1967 and 1969, and won the Non-Public B title in 2011.[12] The girls team won the Group II title in 2004 (as co-champion) and the Non-Public B title in 2009.[13]
The boys track team won the Non-Public indoor relay championships in 1967–1969, 1973 and 1974. The program's five state titles are tied for ninth-most in the state.[14]
The boys baseball team won the Non-Public A North state championship in 1967 and 1968, and won the Non-Public A state title in 1978 vs. Camden Catholic High School.[15] The 1978 team won the Parochial A state title with a 3–1 win against Camden Catholic in the championship game played at Mercer County Park.[16]
The boys track team won the Non-Public Group A spring / outdoor track state championship in 1967 and 1973.[17]
The boys cross country running team won the Non-Public Group A state championship in 1968 and 1969, and won the Non-Public B title 2004 and 2008.[18]
The boys bowling team won the Group I state championship in 2008 and 2009.[19]
The girls volleyball team won the Non-Public state championship in 2006, defeating runner-up Immaculate Heart Academy in the final match of the tournament.[20]
The boys' basketball team won the Non-Public B state championships in 2013-2015 (defeating St. Anthony High School in the finals each of the three years) and 2018 (vs. Ranney School).[21] The team won their third consecutive Non-Public B title in 2015 with a 56–52 win against St. Anthony in the championship game.[22] The team won the 2018 Non-Public B title with a 63–61 win against Ranney School on a basket scored with just over six seconds remaining in the championship game.[23] The team came into the 2013 Tournament of Champions as the top seed and finished the season 25-5 after winning the program's first ToC title with a 78–54 win against fifth-seeded Newark Tech High School in the semifinals and 65–49 against number-two seed St. Joseph High School of Metuchen in the championship game.[24][25] The 2015 team won the school's second ToC title with a 103–34 win against Paulsboro High School in the semifinals and 57–45 against Pope John XXIII Regional High School in the finals, behind 27 points by Isaiah Briscoe.[26] The team came into the 2018 ToC as the top seed and won the program's third title with a 75–62 win against Nottingham High School in the semifinals and a 61–54 win against Don Bosco Preparatory High School in the finals at the CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton, despite a career-high 33 points from Don Bosco's Ron Harper Jr.[24][27]
Labyrinth
RCHS Labyrinth in the school's courtyard
At the center of the school's courtyard is a spiraling brick walkway called the Roselle Catholic High School Labyrinth. The labyrinth is made of 8,000 bricks and was constructed in the summer of 2008 to commemorate Roselle Catholic's 50th anniversary as a school.
^School Profile, Roselle Catholic High School. Accessed February 11, 2022. "Founded in 1959, Roselle Catholic High School is located in Roselle, New Jersey, a suburban community, on a fifteen acre campus. Roselle Catholic is a faith-based school, conducted under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark in affiliation with the Marist Brothers."
^"Bishop Eustace wins Parochial B title, 5-0", The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 4, 1978. Accessed February 7, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Bishop Eustace and Sacred Heart of Vineland each won NJSIAA state baseball championships yesterday in the Parochial finals held at Mercer County Park.... Camden Catholic's bid to take Parochial A was stopped by Roselle Catholic, 3-1, in a meeting of sophomore pitchers."
^Schneider, Jeremy. "Roselle Catholic downs St. Anthony in Non-Public B final for third straight season", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, March 24, 2015. Accessed January 14, 2016. "St. Anthony is the most storied program in New Jersey high school basketball with 27 state titles. But after Saturday night, it's clear that the Non-Public B torch has been passed to Roselle Catholic. The Lions, No. 3 in the NJ.com Top 20, defeated No. 1 St. Anthony, 56-52, at Pine Belt Arena for their third straight NJSIAA/ShopRite Non-Public B title win over the Friars, with Isaiah Briscoe scoring 17 points and Pierre Sarr netting 13."
^Sherlon, Christie. "Boys Hoops: Ranney School puts on a show, barely misses upset of Roselle Catholic", Asbury Park Press, March 10, 2018. Accessed October 27, 2020. "Back and forth, that’s how the momentum swung like a pendulum in the second half of the NJSIAA Non-Public B State Final between the Ranney School and Roselle Catholic. Before a capacity crowd, Roselle Catholic barely held off the upset-minded Panthers, 63-61, by the slimmest of margins. If it wasn’t for a Naz Reid alley-oop dunk with 6.3 seconds left, there may have been an extra session of basketball."
^Haley, John. "St. Joseph (Met.) (49) at Roselle Catholic (65), Tournament of Champions, Final Round - Boys Basketball", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, March 19, 2013, updated August 25, 2019. Accessed November 27, 2020. "With Tyler Roberson posting 19 points and 12 rebounds and Malachi Richardson adding 22 points on 5-for-5 shooting from 3-point range, top-seeded Roselle Catholic captured the NJSIAA/ShopRite Tournament of Champions with a 65-49 victory over second-seeded St. Joseph (Met.) in the final before a crowd of 6,084 last night at Sun National Bank Center in Trenton. Roselle Catholic (25-5), No. 10 in The Star-Ledger Top 20, also received eight-point performances by guards Hakim Saintil and Asante Gist as depth proved to be a key for the Roselle school, which made its debut in the T of C."
^Dzenis, Brian. "Roselle Catholic takes TOC title over Pope John", The Trentonian, March 23, 2015. Accessed November 27, 2020. "This year’s Tournament of Champions ended the way most of these games have ended at this stage of the postseason: on an anticlimactic note. Roselle Catholic didn’t have its best game, but the effort was enough to beat Pope John, 57-45, Monday night at Trenton’s Sun National Bank Center. In the matchup between Kentucky-bound Isaiah Briscoe and Moustapha Diagne, who will be a future teammate of TCA’s Malachai Richardson at Syracuse, Briscoe showed why he caught the eye of John Calipari. He led Roselle with 27 points on the final night of his high school career."
^Mattura, Greg. "Don Bosco again falls in final of Boys Basketball Tournament of Champions", The Record, March 18, 2018. Accessed November 27, 2020. "The Ironmen lost to bigger, stronger, faster and top-seeded Roselle Catholic, 61-54, in Sunday night’s finals of the 30th annual Boys Basketball Tournament of Champions. A career-high 33 points by senior swingman Ronald Harper Jr. was not enough at CURE Insurance Arena, one season after Don Bosco lost here in the finals to bigger, stronger, faster and top-seeded Patrick School.... Unbeaten against Garden State foes, Roselle Catholic (29-4) was more than a handful."
^Ditota, Donna. "Syracuse basketball program targets more Roselle Catholic players", The Post-Standard, September 11, 2013. Accessed March 1, 2016. "Boff said Briscoe transferred from St. Benedict's for two reasons: Roselle is located two miles from his home in Union, N.J., and Briscoe 'wanted more of a traditional high school experience for his last two years.' (St. Benedict's is an all-boys prep school.)"
^Staff. "'Ryan's Hope' actor had varied career", Ottawa Citizen, July 21, 1979. Accessed July 19, 2018. "Dan grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey, attended Roselle Catholic High School and took an immediate interest in theatrical productions the school offered."
^Roselle Catholic High School Alumni Directory 1993. Bernard C. Harris Publishing Company, Inc. White Plains, NY. 1993. p. 26.
^Roselle Catholic High School Alumni Directory 1993. Bernard C. Harris Publishing Company, Inc. White Plains, NY. 1993. p. 27.
^Sigel, Ben. "Louis King enrolls at Hudson Catholic", 247Sports, February 9, 2016. Accessed September 8, 2018. "Today, Schneider is reporting that King has enrolled at Hudson Catholic (NJ), but will sit out the remainder of the 2015-16 season.... He spent his freshman year at Roselle Catholic before transferring to Pope John for his sophomore season. King is going on his third school in as many years."
^"Duke commit Mackenzie Mgbako transfers to N.J. powerhouse Roselle Catholic", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, August 1, 2022. Accessed May 15, 2023. "Mackenzie Mgbako is on the move. The 6-foot-8 forward who verbally committed to Duke in the Class of 2023 will transfer to New Jersey powerhouse Roselle Catholic from Gill St. Bernard’s for his senior season."
^"Astros World Series Team Has a Rutgers Alumnus in the Bullpen", Rutgers University. Accessed November 9, 2022. "A native of Cranford, New Jersey, Murphy was a standout shortstop and relief pitcher at Roselle Catholic High School before signing a national letter of intent to attend Rutgers and play baseball for Hall of Fame Head Coach Fred 'Moose' Hill."
^Paternoster, Marissa. "Marissa Paternoster of Screaming Females", Impose Magazine, August 3, 2010. Accessed December 13, 2015. "At the tail end of eighth grade, I had made the decision to drop out of the Elizabeth Public School system in New Jersey and start attending a private parochial school – Roselle Catholic, my father's alma mater."
^Roselle Catholic High School Alumni Directory 1993. Bernard C. Harris Publishing Company, Inc. White Plains, NY. 1993. p. 42.
^Edelson, Stephen. "Asbury Park's Nazreon Reid makes the most of his experiences", Asbury Park Press, June 2, 2015. Accessed July 18, 2018. "It's been a heck of a ride over the past year for Nazreon Reid, the 6-8 Asbury Park native who has had intriguing college coaches since he was in middle school.... When high school began, Reid started making the daily trek up to Roselle Catholic, where the freshman would play for the state's latest powerhouse program."
^Schneider, Jeremy. "Boys Basketball: Malachi Richardson leaves Roselle Catholic, returns to Trenton Catholic", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, August 1, 2013. Accessed November 4, 2017. "When Roselle Catholic begins its Tournament of Champions title defense this winter, it will do it without Malachi Richardson. The junior guard will play for Trenton Catholic, which was confirmed when he played for the TCA summer team in the Moody Park tournament in recent days. Richardson spent his freshman season at Trenton Catholic before transferring to Roselle Catholic for his sophomore season."
^Ditota, Donna. "Roselle Catholic's Tyler Roberson picks Syracuse over Villanova and Kansas", The Post-Standard, November 16, 2012. Accessed July 18, 2018. "Tyler Roberson, the 6-foot-9 forward from Union, N.J. selected Syracuse over Kansas and Villanova tonight on ESPNU's basketball signing day show.... Roberson's coach at Roselle Catholic High School said Thursday that he believed Roberson's best basketball awaits him."
^Roselle Catholic High School Alumni Directory 1993. Bernard C. Harris Publishing Company, Inc. White Plains, NY. 1993. p. 49.
^Roselle Catholic High School Alumni Directory 1993. Bernard C. Harris Publishing Company, Inc. White Plains, NY. 1993. p. 53.
^Staff. "Favorite Son: Kurt Sutter grew up dreaming beyond Jersey", Inside Jersey, February 3, 2011. Accessed August 3, 2015. "After graduating from Roselle Catholic High School in 1982, Sutter enrolled at Livingston College, where the journalism department of Rutgers University was located."
^Roselle Catholic High School Alumni Directory 1993. Bernard C. Harris Publishing Company, Inc. White Plains, NY. 1993.
^Staff. "Roselle Catholic H.S. is best for college prep", Suburban News, February 21, 2014. Accessed July 18, 2018. "RC feels a special connection to the Keurig coffee maker, as it was invented by Keurig's co-founder and Vice-President for Manufacturing, Richard Sweeney, RC Class of 1966, and a loyal RC alumnus."
^Staff. "Former Roselle Catholic basketball standout Warney gets a taste of the NBA", Union News Daily, April 9, 2018. Accessed July 19, 2018. "Jameel Warney’s historic journey from Lion to Maverick included a stop at the World’s Most Famous Arena. Warney is believed to have become the first Roselle Catholic High School graduate to play in an NBA game when he scored five points for the Dallas Mavericks in the Mavs’ 105-82 loss to the Houston Rockets on March 11, the day he signed a 10-day contract with the NBA organization."
