Bethany Academy Eagles (2016-17 season 15-11, 3-8 Conference, 10th)
After the departure of the head coach to New Life, many of the players followed him. So Bethany will not have a team this season. Whether those kids will be eligible at New Life this year is still to be determined.
Heritage Christian Academy Eagles (2016-17 season 23-6, 11-0 Conference, 1st)
Heritage holds a 26 game regular season conference winning streak going back to 2014-15. That will be hard to uphold this year. CJ Woda and Zach Johansen both averaged over 20 PPG and have to replaced. Starting center Jack Vander Top also graduated. Seth Halvorsen and guard Ben Allen are experienced returnees.
Legacy Christian Academy Lions (2016-17 season 15-13, 5-6 Conference, Tie 6th)
Assistant Josh Olson takes over as the 3rd head coach in 3 years at Legacy. The backcourt duo of Lucas Nelson and Cole Bertsch was worth over 31 PPG last year and needs to be replaced. Overall the top 4 scorers depart. Junior Josh Hinrichs is the top returnee at 4.1 PPG. Junior Justin Demars and Luke Chaika return to the lineup.
Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity Bulldogs (2016-17 season 12-15, 5-6 Conference, Tie 6th)
Junior guard Michael Ziermann is the top returnee with 13.3 PPG. Expect that number to go up significantly this year. Big man Rees Schutte and 18.9 PPG needs to be replaced inside. He's one of 2 6'8" centers that graduate for the now smaller Bulldogs. Guards Leighton Burr and Tyler Scheevel return to the lineup.
Maranatha Christian Academy Mustangs (2016-17 season 13-14, 6-5 Conference, 5th)
Rob Ware comes over from Totino-Grace to take the head job. Transfers Beijan Newbern (Cooper) and Quinn Smith (Armstrong) provide a major boost to the roster. That will ease the pain of losing 2 of their top 3 scorers. That includes 14.5 PPG from guard Elisha Coleman. Soph Hakim Daniels returns to the front line after averaging just under 10 PPG last season. Juniors Julian Cavin and Jeff Ekiyor and Justin Mason provide experienced depth.
New Life Academy Eagles (2016-17 season 24-4, 9-2 Conference, 2nd)
Longtime head coach Doug Linton has moved up to D3 University of Northwestern-St. Paul. 2010 graduate Kory Kiekhofer comes home from Bethany to replace him. 8 seniors have to be replaced including all of their top perimeter play. Kyle Kaemingk (17.5 PPG), Chris Ketema (13.1 PPG) and PG Adam Busch (8.6 PPG) are all major pieces that graduated there. Size won't be a problem as senior forwards Drew Wynia (9 PPG) and Zach Thor return. Tate Hullett should be a top option to step into the vacated perimeter roles.
PACT Charter Panthers (2016-17 season 2-25, 0-11 Conference, 12th)
Senior Cade Johnson had another big season with 22.5 PPG last season. The rest of the roster returns along side of him. That includes 8+ PPG from forward Bennett Olson and guard Matt Johnson.
St. Croix Prep Lions (2016-17 season 15-13, 5-6 Conference, Tie 6th)
Leading scorer Matt Kaul and his 17.5 PPG graduated. Point guard Jayton Metcalf and almost 16 PPG returns. 9.3 PPG from Adam Wiering also is back. Size is a question mark.
Southwest Christian Stars (2016-17 season 16-10, 9-2 Conference, 3rd)
This will be the final year for the Stars in the MCAA. They'll move to the Minnesota River Conference next year. 4 major rotation pieces have to be replaced. That includes guard Trey Sandness and his 11.7 PPG. The backcourt as seems is always the case will be their strength. Juniors Max Steensland (14.2 PPG, leading scorer last year) and Jalen Wight will be the main firepower. Senior David Solfelt will provide the size.
Spectrum Sting (2016-17 season 11-15, 5-6 Conference, Tie 6th)
Spectrum returns their top 3 scorers. Junior Cole Elrod tops the list at 16.2 PPG. Junior Matthew Kruse and soph Max Lawrence also averaged double figures last year. Kelton Sundstrom's double figure production needs to be replaced. Fisher Marberg also returns to the rotation.
Trinity Tri-Hawks (2016-17 season 11-16, 6-5 Conference, 4th)
Leading scorer Luke Lodoen and his 10.5 PPG needs to be replaced. But the rest of the rotation returns from a very balanced lineup. The other 4 starters all return and averaged 6.9 to 9.8 PPG. Plus no fewer than 4 bench players return as well. Does somebody step up as a go-to scorer?
West Lutheran Warriors (2016-17 season 9-18, 2-9 Conference, 11th)
3 of the top 4 scorers depart. That includes leading scorer Griffin Ewing and power forward Ben Beise who were their double figure scorers. Junior Brett Volrath is the top returnee at 9.6 PPG. Lefty Josh Englert also returns in the backcourt.
Predicted Order of Finish
- Maranatha
- Trinity
- Southwest Christian
- Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity
- New Life
- Heritage Christian
- St. Croix Prep
- Spectrum
- Legacy
- PACT
- West Lutheran
Maranatha is far and away the favorite, especially with all the top teams coming there except for the long trip to Lester Prairie. Trinity was a pleasant surprise last year. With 8 returnees and major departures from the teams above them, I like them to make a jump. The next group is a major jumble. Very similar to last year where there were about 6 teams behind the top 3, only with 2 of those dropping back to the pack. I see SW Christian, LP/HT and New Life in the next group as they have quality pieces coming back but significant losses. Heritage is similar but the losses are bigger and returnees not at the same level. St. Croix Prep with a healthy Jayton Metcalf and Spectrum with a solid group of returnees also fit into that group. Legacy and West Lutheran have too much to replace and PACT struggled last year so those 3 make up the bottom group.
Conference MVP: Beijan Newbern - Maranatha
Underclassmen to watch:
- TJ Guggenberger - Heritage Christian
- Payton Thomsen - Legacy Christian
- Hakim Daniels - Maranatha
- Ben Kaus - New Life
- Daniel McCarrell - St. Croix Prep
- Max Lawrence - Spectrum
- Troy Kokkinen- West Lutheran
- Trinity at Maranatha - Jan 9th
- Maranatha at Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity - Jan 23rd
- MCAA Tournament Championship - Feb 24th
- Maranatha at Mayer Lutheran - Dec 5th
- Maranatha at Minnetonka - Feb 13th
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