MileHigh Prep Report Class 1A Boys Basketball Preseason Rankings
Note: I am just going to quickly give the rankings and a quick breakdown of what they are returning. I will be doing my District/League Predictions for Class 1A thru 3A next week along with full Season Previews soon. Games kickoff for Basketball December 1st.
Class 1A
| Rank | Team | Notes |
| #1 | McClave Defending State Champions | McClave is your defending State Champions for Class 1A basketball. McClave returns tons of talent from last year’s team including 4 of their top 5 scorers. Tuff Kelley (17.3 ppg) & Mason Barr (10.4 ppg) both return to anchor a very talented team. |
| #2 | Stratton Made State Tournament (Went 2-1, 3rd Place) | Stratton finished in 3rd Place last year going 2-1 in the State Tournament. Stratton will be brining back a loaded roster for this season including 4 of their top 4 scorers. Von Isenbart (19.7 ppg) and Ricky Schillig (11.9 ppg) both return as the top scorers from last season. |
| #3 | Cheyenne Wells Made State Tournament (Went 1-2, 4th Place) | Cheyenne Wells made the State Tournament last year going 1-2 and finishing in 4th Place. Cheyenne Wells will return two key pieces from last year in Corey Hill (23.0 ppg) and Trey Scheler (5.7 ppg) but will be looking for new players to step up along side these two. |
| #4 | Elbert Made State Tournament (Went 2-1, 5th Place) | Elbert made the State Tournament last year going 2-1 and winning the Consolation Title. Elbert will bring back the talent for a deep run this year but will have to replace 2 of their top 5 scorers. Elbert will return Ethan Tesman (15.8 ppg) & Eli Cornell (11.1 ppg) who must lead the way this season. |
| #5 | De Beque Lost at Regionals to McClave | De Beque did not make it to the State Tournament a year ago falling in the Regional Finals to McClave. De Beque will return plenty of talent to push for a State Tournament berth. De Beque returns their top 5 scorers from last year including Burke Largent (22.7 ppg) and Jace Graham (19.8 ppg). |
| #6 | Peetz Lost at Regionals to Cheraw | Peetz did not make it to the State Tournament last season being upset in the first round by Cheraw. Peetz returns more than enough talent to make a deep playoff push this season but can it all come together this season. Peetz returns their top 5 scorers from last season including Connor Schumacher (17.1 ppg) and Rhyder Bayne (16.7 ppg). |
| #7 | Sierra Grande Lost at Regionals to Elbert | Sierra Grande did not make it to the State Tournament last year, being upset in the Regional Finals. Sierra Grande will look to make that deep run this season and return two key pieces in Jadyn Martienz (18.9 ppg) and Rolando Najera (10.6 ppg). The main concern for Sierra Grande is who else step up for the Panthers this season. |
| #8 | Otis Made State Tournament (Went 1-2) | Otis made the State Tournament last year going 1-2 and falling in the Consolation Finals. Otis will have plenty of pieces back to make another deep push but will have to replace their top scorer from last year. Grady Bechtle (11.1 ppg) and Mitchell Stivers (7.0 ppg) will look to lead this season. |
| #9 | Flatirons Academy Made State Tournament (Went 2-1, Runner Up) | Flatirons Academy was your runner up last season falling in the State Championship to McClave. Flatirons Academy lose some key pieces from last season including their top two scorers. Jackson Schulz (8.8 ppg) and Caleb Doughty (6.9 ppg) will look to step into leadership roles this season. |
| #10 | Denver Waldorf Lost at Regionals to Arickaree | Denver Waldorf did not make it to the State Tournament last season falling at regionals to Arickaree. Denver Waldorf will look to make a deeper run this year and will have the top talent back. Denver Waldorf returns 3 of their top 5 scorers including Henry Lottridge (20.6 ppg) & Cayden Quinn (15.7 ppg). |
| #11 | Nucla Lost at Regionals to Evangelical Christian | Nucla did not make it to the State Tournament last season falling at Regionals to ECA. Nucla does lose their #2 scorer and top rebounder from last season but return more than enough to make a push for the State Tournament. Nucla will look to Brycen Rummel (16.6 ppg) and Holten McCluer (8.9 ppg) to lead this season. |
| #12 | Ouray Lost at Regionals to Cheyenne Wells | Ouray did not make it to the State Tournament falling to Cheyenne Wells at Regionals. Ouray was a junior led team last season and return their top 5 scorers from last season. Ouray will look for Cavan Pasek (17.3 ppg) and Conner Hill (9.7 ppg) to take a huge step forward their senior year. |
| #13 | Idalia Lost at Regionals to Stratton | Idalia did not make it to the State Tournament last year falling to Stratton at Regionals. Idalia was a young team a year ago and took advantage of the experience gained. Idalia returns 4 of their top 5 scorers including their top 4. Idalia will look for Kolby Morris (10.3 ppg) and Broderick Kite (9.2 ppg) to continue to improve. |
| #14 | Caliche Lost at Regionals to Flatirons Academy | Caliche did not make it to the State Tournament last year falling to Flatirons Academy. Caliche was led by a young core last season and lose just 1 senior from last years team. Caliche returns their top 3 scorers from a year ago and will look for Avery Bell (13.2 ppg) and Mason Hernandez (12.2 ppg) to take a big step forward this year. |
| #15 | Prairie Lost at Regionals to Kim/Branson | Prairie did not make the State Tournament last year falling in the Regional Finals to Kim/Branson. Prairie had one of the bigger upsets in the First Round and will look to build off that momentum. Prairie does lose 2 of their top 5 scorers but will turn to Hunter Johnson (11.6 ppg) and Tyler Troudt (6.3 ppg) to step up this year. |
| #16 | Arickaree/Woodlin Lost at Regionals to Otis | Arickaree/Woodlin did not make the State Tournament last year falling to Otis in the Regional Finals. Arickaree/Woodlin will have a key piece back in their leading scorer Austin Wright (11.6 ppg) but other players must step up around him. Jorge Ramos (5.8 ppg) could be one of those players. |
| Teams to Watch for: | Primero, Cheraw, Granada, Sangre De Cristo, Kit Carson, Eads, Denver Jewish Day, Flagler, Fleming, Wiley, Kim/Branson |
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