Southwest Ohio Conference (SOC) Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The SOC brings together some of the smaller Division I schools in the Cincinnati area. While the conference has produced some good teams in recent history, no one had any postseason success. This will not be an easy feat to complete even this year with so much talent leaving the various member schools.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Predicted Finish</span></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true} --> <ol><li>1. <strong><em>Ross</em></strong>- The Rams are making the move up to Division I after spending time in Division II the past few years. If you had asked me a few weeks ago, they would have been the overwhelming favorites to win the conference. While I still have them as the favorites, I am not as confident as I once was. 2 of the top 3 are gone as defensive leader David DeSalvo Perez graduates and leading scorer [player_tooltip player_id='1308361' first='Aidan' last='Brown'] has transferred out. Returning is <strong>Kellen Reid</strong> (Sr) who has impressed throughout the AAU scene. Ross has had some of the better finishes the last few years and I believe this season should add to the successes.</li><li>2. <strong><em>Edgewood</em></strong>- Cougars lose 3 of their top 5 from the conference championship team. They do return contributing seniors <strong>Colton Hunt</strong> and <strong>Peyton Smith</strong>, but lack the go-to guy that can take them back-to-back titles. </li><li>3. <strong><em>Talawanda</em></strong>- Braves have the best young offensive player in the conference in <strong>Jay Reynolds</strong> (Jr) returning. Should win the scoring crown and will move this team up a few spots from last year.</li><li>4. <strong><em>Northwest</em></strong>- Returning <strong>Braden Miller</strong> (Sr) from last year and will look to improve from the 6 win season previously.</li><li>5-6. <strong><em>Harrison/Mount Healthy</em></strong>- Coin flip between these two. Harrison loses their two best overall players from a season ago and don't return much production. Mount Healthy is moving down to Division II, but loses their best player (Robbie Cass) from a team that was below .500.</li></ol> <!-- /wp:list -->