Region Preview: San Tan
The San Tan region returns the vast majority of its talent from last year. In fact, the top two teams from last season are the easy favorites due to having the luxury of having most of their key pieces back. Although Mesquite, Williams Field, and Queen Creek challenged each other in region, none of the teams were able to win in the state tournament. I expect this region to have a better overall showing in 5A.
Region Preview: 5A San Tan
1. Mesquite
Despite losing one of the best freshmen in the state to Chaparral, Mesquite brings back two of their leading scorers from last years team that won this region. In addition, they received a talented transfer in Kingdom Artis. Between Artis, Jaden Lee and last year’s region MVP, David Exline, Mesquite should be in a position to win this region yet again. Further, they have the athleticism and skill set to potential win the state title. Despite losing their coach from last year, who has taken the head coaching job of Red Mountain, Mesquite should keep rolling and have plenty of success.
2. Williams Field
Williams Field took 2nd in this region last year as well. Much like Mesquite, they bring back the majority of their team. Although this group had ambitions of doing more than they did last year, they accomplished quite a bit despite being so youthful. They should expect to be even more competitive this year with a year of varsity experience under their belts and an off-season to improve. Some of the key names to look out for in regards to Williams Field are Duan Tate, Trent Worden, Nick Cupp-Allen, and Jaeden Bailey. Tate and Worden will be the most likely leaders for this team as they bring back the most experience and success at the varsity level.
3. Queen Creek
Although Queen Creek loses some key senior leadership, they had some talented 2018 prospects who saw the floor and had success last season. Tyler Fulton and Jacob Botello were two of those players. Both of them were used primarily in role player type situations. However, Queen Creek is notorious for being a selfless team who competes. In addition to Fulton and Botello, Queen Creek had a number of skilled underclassmen on their varsity roster and they had plenty of success in the JV ranks. This group will have the most to prove out of any of the top 3 teams in the San Tan region. However, they are capable of finishing in this spot.
5A San Tan: Other Key Contributors
4. Vista Grande
Key Contributors: Jose Canez and D’Montae Williams
5. Campo Verde
Key Contributors: Matt Hill and Darien Wright