Midwest Athletic Conference (MAC) Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The MAC is known for it's dominance on the football field, but last year showed success on the court with Marion Local and Versailles both challenging for District titles. The upcoming season should be another tight one with the top 4-5 teams all having strong cases to compete within the conference. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true} --> <ol><li><strong><em>Marion Local</em></strong>- The Flyers were in the Regional Semifinals last year and were in a 3-way tie for 1st in the conference. They return almost everyone from that team and will again be a heavy favorite in the conference and District. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1404789' first='Jack' last='Knapke']</strong> (Jr) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1432036' first='Austin' last='Niekamp']</strong> (So) played well in the offseason and bring size to Marion Local, and will have experience around them in <strong>Tate Hess</strong> (Sr) and <strong>Jadyn Mescher</strong> (Sr). The Flyers are going to be a problem throughout the year.</li><li><strong><em>New Bremen</em></strong>- The Cardinals were in a tie for 1st last year and will try to again be a dangerous team in NW Ohio. <strong>David Homan</strong> (Sr) and <strong>Aaron Thieman</strong> (Jr) both will be back and bring athleticism for the Cardinals as they will compete in the always tough MAC. Losing Reece Busse and his production won't be easy to replace but there is enough talent to continue being a tough opponent.</li><li><strong><em>Delphos St. John's</em></strong>- The Blue Jays were below .500 but still had an impressive season. The new year brings optimism as both <strong>Landen Grothaus</strong> (Sr) and <strong>Nolan Schwinnen</strong> (Sr) are back after being the leaders a year ago. The senior leadership can give St. John's an edge, but they will need more to emerge if they want to knock off New Bremen or Marion Local at the top of the conference.</li><li><strong><em>Versailles</em></strong>- Last year's 3rd team in the 3-way tie, the Tigers were District Runner Ups a year ago. This team will look slightly different as they lose 2 great guards in the backcourt with one (Jaydon Litten) being an All-District performer. The Tigers do return <strong>Connor Stonebraker</strong> (Sr) who is a Hillsdale commit in their frontcourt. The addition of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2856512' first='Drake' last='Ahrens']</strong> (Fr) will give the Tigers another talented piece to contribute right away.</li><li><strong><em>Fort Recovery</em></strong>- The Indians will be returning a major piece in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1456985' first='Cale' last='Rammel']</strong> (Sr) from last year. His scoring potential was on display during AAU and will be leaned on this upcoming year as well. Depth beyond Rammel will be what holds back the Indians and could keep them in the #5 spot.</li><li><strong><em>Minster</em></strong>- The Tigers will miss post player Johnny Nixon from a young team that won 5 games last season. The team will still be young, but should be much improved in 2023. <strong>Brogan Stephey</strong> (So) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1429557' first='Cole' last='Albers']</strong> (Fr) will be leaned on most. Minster has the best chance to fluctuate with their finishing rank depending on how well that youth clicks early.</li><li><strong><em>Parkway</em></strong>- The Panthers were under .500 and will be losing a solid senior class. Even with the struggles during the year, Parkway was competitive at times and will try to channel this yet again. <strong>Fletcher Smith</strong> (Jr) will be looked to increase his role if Parkway is to move forward.</li><li><strong><em>St. Henry</em></strong>- Strong senior class graduates leaving questions on how this team will look in 2023.</li><li><strong><em>Coldwater</em></strong>- Struggled a lot last year and graduate most of their production from a 4 win team.</li><li><strong><em>New Knoxville</em></strong>- Only won 1 game last season and now without the top scorer from that team.</li></ol> <!-- /wp:list -->