It’s not that Winthrop coach Todd MacArthur disagrees with preseason prognostications that have his Ramblers to be the last team standing in Class C South come late February. It’s that he doesn’t want his team looking that far ahead.

“We’ve got some talent and potential with high expectations. But just like every year, we’re just focused on getting better every day,” MacArthur said.

The same may be said by the other teams expected to contend in the region, including defending champion Waynflete, Hall-Dale, Wiscasset, Boothbay, Madison and Dirigo. But the Ramblers already have the foundation of four returning starters, led by preseason Mountain Valley Conference player of the year favorite Jacob Hickey.

Hickey averaged 22.5 points per game last year and is one of the best shooters in Class C. But MacArthur expects more support in the scoring column for his senior guard. The candidates include senior forward Garrett Tsouprake, senior guard Spencer Steele and senior point guard Bennett Brooks.

The bench should be bolstered by the expected return of Nate Scott from a broken leg suffered during the final game of the football season and several other seniors, plus some promising underclassmen.

“We’ve got more depth this year,” MacArthur said. “We’ve got a good sophomore class we’ll try to blend in with the seniors and figure out the rotation.”

Dirigo graduated last year’s MVC player of the year and two other starters and have zero seniors on the roster. But the Cougars can’t be written off from contention completely with juniors Cooper Chiasson and Luke Lueders returning and a talented sophomore class that has already made big strides.

“We’re going to be young, but I really like our team,” Dirigo coach Travis Magnusson said. “They work really, really hard and they’re going to be a different team at the end of the year than they are now.”

The Cougars start the season against Madison, Hall-Dale, Boothbay, Class B playoff contender Lisbon and Winthrop, so they will have to improve quickly.

While Dirigo undergoes a youth movement, Monmouth is hoping senior leadership can propel it back to the Augusta Civic Center under new coach Wade Morrill.

Morrill, who is also Monmouth’s athletic director, played and coached at Valley of Bingham and brings that program’s traditional intensity to the Mustangs. He’ll have a strong senior nucleus to help him introduce a new philosophy, led by all-MVC selection Hunter Richardson, a senior forward.

Fellow seniors Mat Foulke, Travis Hartford and Avery Amero figure prominently into Morrill’s plans to run a motion offense and increase defensive pressure. But the Mustangs, like the younger Cougars, could look very different in a few months.

“We haven’t settled on a rotation,” Morrill said. “We’re just trying to mix and match those non-seniors with the seniors and get everyone on the same page.”

Buckfield also has a new coach, Kyle Rines, hoping to lead it back to the Augusta Civic Center for the first time since 2012, when it was in Class D.

Rines has a small but strong nucleus of returning players led by senior guard Jake Kraske and juniors Ethan Jackson and Zack Grover. He’s also added athleticism by bringing players over from the soccer team he coached in the fall such as senior guards Matt Beaucage and Simon Burch.

“We’re learning to play with composure,” Rines said. “We know there’s going to be a lot of tough competition and we know as a Class C team with a Class D schedule we’re going to have to have a really good record in order to get a home prelim game.”

Seniors Trevor Chaput, Trevor Howard and Dan Luce will try to lead Mt. Abram to a prelim berth. Depth will be first-year coach Richard Hawkes’ primary concern.

St. Dom’s has five seniors to help it transition back to the Western Maine Conference, including Sam Rines and Camden Jalbert. But this season will be about taking another step in the rebuilding process and vie for post-season play in the future.

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