Teams to Watch: 1A Div. I

Olpe has torn up this classification lately. Can they climb the hill with a largely new group?

Here are some teams to watch in 1A Div. I:

Returners:

Macksville – The Mustangs have arguably the best group of returners in the 1A classification. They finished third at state last year with just one senior. They will have lots of experience and playmakers. They return good size in 6-foot-6 Ryan Kuckelman Ryan Kuckelman 6'6" | PF Macksville | 2023 State KS , 6-foot-2 Alexis Barron Alexis Barron 6'1" | SF Macksville | 2023 State KS and 6-foot-1 Lance Lickiss. They have some young, dynamic guards in Diego Esparza Diego Esparza 5'8" | PG Macksville | 2025 State KS and Hector Gomez.

Troy – Like Macksville, the Trojans return most of their state tournament team. If they make a big improvement on their 16-8 season, they will need some young players to step up in support of big man Jerrit Norris Jerrit Norris 6'4" | PF Troy | 2023 State KS .

Little River – The Redskins graduated just one senior from a pretty good team a year ago. Their leader, Braxton Lafferty Braxton Lafferty 5'11" | CG Little River | 2023 State KS , is back. He’s a senior who brings experience from those top-ranked teams a couple of years ago. He’s got some great company in 6-foot-3 junior Andrew Smith and seniors Dalton Mantz and Rylan Konen. Logan Renken is a sophomore to watch.

Challengers:

Wichita Classical – The Saints have a group of seniors who have played a lot already and could be ready for a big season. They’re led by veteran guards Jordy Dolloff Jordy Dolloff 5'10" | PG Wichita Classical | 2023 State KS and Brett Buckingham. They have size in 6-foot-4 Carter Sinclair. The Saints beat some good teams and gave some others all they could handle last year en route to a 16-6 mark. Look for even more this season.

Unknown:

Olpe – The back-to-back champs lost a lot of star power to graduation. But they have a few experienced returners back, led by senior Truman Bailey. He’ll provide leadership while the rest of the Eagles figure things out. It will be a rebuilding job, but this is a program that can do it.

South Gray – The Rebels are in a similar boat as Olpe. They have even more players back from their state runner-up club, but they lost three studs. They have a few returners who were big in the playoff run, led by Jorge Lupercio. He’ll be joined by Carter Jantz and Joseph Dyck. Will that be enough to get back to the tournament? We’ll see.