MileHigh Prep Report Class 1A Boys Basketball Preseason Poll
Note: I am just going to quickly give the rankings and a quick breakdown of what they are returning. Next week I will go league by league and breakdown each league!
Class 1A
| Rank | Team | Notes |
| #1 | De Beque
Defending State Champions |
De Beque is your Defending State Champions. De Beque will have some holes to fill losing 4 of their top 6 scorers. De Beque will return player of the year from last year in Wes Ryan. De Beque will look for Jaden Jordan and some other younger players to really step up this year. |
| #2 | Evangelical Christian
Made State Tournament (Went 2-1, Took 5th) |
Evangelical Christian is returning a lot of talent from last years 5th place team. ECA loses just 2 seniors from last years team but one was the #2 scorer. ECA returns leading scorer Jason Holt along with #3 scorer Sam Mote and #4 scorer Jonah Aragon. |
| #3 | Kit Carson
Made State Tournament (Went 1-2, Took 6th) |
Kit Carson had a great run last year to get into the State Tournament and they won a game finishing 6th place. Kit Carson will be a top contender this year losing just 2 seniors from last years team. Kit Carson returns their top 4 scorers from a year ago. Look for Jason Mccombs-Farmer, Sullivan Farmer, Cordell Farmer, and Brayden Bogenhagen to step up as leaders this season. |
| #4 | Sangre De Cristo
Runner-Ups |
Sangre De Cristo was the runner up a year ago. Sangre De Cristo is losing some key pieces from that team with 3 of the top 5 scorers graduating. Sangre De Cristo does return 3 key players from last year in Cole Christensen, Kevin Enriquez, and Mario Enriquez. Sangre De Cristo will need a few players to really step up this season. |
| #5 | Walsh
Made State Tournament (Went 0-2) |
Walsh had a great run a year ago and gained some valuable State Tournament experience. Walsh loses 2 of their top 7 scorers and return a lot of talent. Walsh returns their top 4 scorers Rylan McCall, Dylan Renquist, Brenden Hodges, and Coy McDonald will all be leaders this year for Walsh. |
| #6 | Merino
Made State Tournament (Went 1-2, Took 4th) |
Merino is losing just 1 senior from last year’s team, but he was the leading scorer. Merino will also start the season without Cade Conger who will be out with an injury. Merino has plenty coming back and will need Tanner Hutt, Kayd Goss, Andrew Frank, and Kole Armstrong to really step up early on. |
| #7 | Briggsdale
Did Not Qualify for Regionals |
Briggsdale has a lot of talent coming back from a year ago. Briggsdale loses just 1 senior from a year ago and he was the #4 scorer. Briggsdale returns leading scorer Wyatt Patton along with #2 scorer Braden Krise, and #3 scorer Ty Dill. Briggsdale will use last year as motivation for this season. |
| #8 | Ouray
Lost in Regional Finals to Evangelical Christian |
Ouray will have some holes to fill heading into the season losing 3 of their top 5 scorers. Ouray has a lot of tradition and should be competitive quickly. Ouray returns their #2 scorer Jackson Leo and #3 scorer Channing Green. Some other younger players will have to step up but look for Ouray to improve this season. |
| #9 | Stratton/Liberty
Lost at Regionals to Merino |
Stratton/Liberty will look to build off last season and have the talent to do so. Stratton/Liberty returns 4 of their top 7 scorers including #1 scorer Jaret Lichty, #2 scorer Ashtin Davidson, and #4 scorer Trevor Frank. Stratton/Liberty should improve this season but replacing senior leadership is key. |
| #10 | Caliche
Did not qualify for Regionals
|
Caliche pulled a big upset last year in District and will hope to build off some success last year. Caliche is returning their top 5 scorers from a year ago and should improve this season. Caliche will hope Taylor Breidenbach, Chase Armstrong, and Correy Derr step up this season and help lead Caliche deeper into the post season. |
| #11 | Mile High Academy
Lost at Regionals to Prairie |
Mile High Academy will have some holes to fill losing 3 of their top 6 scorers. Mile High Academy will have the leadership coming back in #1 scorer Blake Essex. Mile High Academy will need someone else to step up this season and I look for Zonlys Vargas and Ryan Folkenberg to do that. |
| #12 | Longmont Christian
Did not qualify for Regionals |
Longmont Christian missed out on regionals losing to Merino at District by 5. Longmont Christian did not have any seniors on last years team and should improve from last year. Longmont Christian will hope #1 scorer Ryan Shellenberger, #2 scorer Nick Holst, and #3 scorer Lee Saunders really step up this season. |
| #13 | Kim/Branson
Lost in Regional Finals to Sangre De Cristo |
Kim/Branson had a lot of success last year and will hope to build on that this season. Kim/Branson losses their #2 scorer from a year ago but have plenty of talent coming back. Look for Elijah Aragon to become the leader of the team with Joe Buhrle and Travis Hamilton also stepping up. |
| #14 | Sierra Grande
Lost at Regionals to Walsh |
Sierra Grande retooled and should have success this season. Coach Matt Lucero plays an up tempo style that always has this team competitive. Isiah Chairez, Caleb Scharsch, and Isreal Martinez must become leaders this seson. Sierra Grande will need some younger players to step up this season as well. |
| #15 | Haxtun
Made State Tournament (Went 2-1, Took 3rd) |
Haxtun took 3rd at state last year but are losing a great senior class taking with them their top 5 scorers. Haxtun showed during football they have some solid upcoming sophomore class and look for them to step up this season. Haxtun could start slow with a lot of younger players. |
| #16 | Cotopaxi
Did not qualify for Regionals |
Cotopaxi is losing 2 of their top 5 scorers from a year ago. Cotopaxi will have plenty coming back and look for this team to improve. Cotopaxi returns top scorer Chance Gulliford, along with #4 scorer Jonah Bertolino, and #5 scorer Frank Ogden. Cotopaxi biggest question mark will be who takes over as the PG. |
| #17 | South Baca
Did not qualify for Regionals |
South Baca loses 2 of their top 5 scorers from a year ago. South Baca does return their #1 scorer Shadow Varnado but he will need some younger kids to really step up this season to help with scoring and rebounding. |
| #18 | Idalia
Did not qualify for Regionals |
Idalia has the talent returning but need to show they can have success before I rank them higher. Idalia returns their top 5 scorers but lose depth with 3 seniors graduating. Idalia return #1 scorer Bru Carreras, #2 scorer Dax Towns, and #3 scorer Caleb Wingfield. Idalia could be a surprise team this season. |
| #19 | Kiowa
Did not qualify for Regionals |
Kiowa had some success last year and should improve this season. Kiowa returns 3 of their top 5 scorers including #1 scorer Dustin Wenz, #3 scorer Colby Webb, and #4 scorer Kolin Brogger. Kiowa needs some players to step up this year but should improve. |
| #20 | Peetz
Lost in Regional Finals to Haxtun |
Peetz has a lot of tradition and some leaders returning that could have this team being competitive this season. Peetz will look for Cooper White Kyle Cox, and Marcus Bernhardt to step up this season. |
| Teams to Watch for: | Genoa-Hugo, Cheraw, Deer Trail, Granada, Primero, Otis, Wiley, Fleming, Cheyenne Wells, Creede, Denver Waldorf, and Springfield |
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