I was curious what was coming back after the 3CL for division 1 so I did some digging on all star lists and club rosters (I only went down to 16s teams).
I'll be honest, this was a bit of a rabbit hole I went down. haha
Loveland (4 seed):
Was regional finalist, lost to Moe
Lost: S Miller (now at TMC), OH Batsch, and MBs Land and Carrigan
Return: Niven (CVA 18-1) who was out last year I think, Johnson (CVA 17-1) and Miller-Bross (CVA 16-1)
Summary: Lost a lot, were very senior heavy, but Niven is solid. Do they have people to put around him?
Milford (5 seed):
Lost to Elder
Lost: MB Kroeger
Return: 3 players on CVA 18-2, Wehrman (TMC commit), Cambron and Pearson, Hornsby (CVA 17-1), and Heywood (Attack 16-3)
Summary: They have some solid pieces with club experience coming back, probably a step up on Loveland, early candidate for that 4 seed?
Oak Hills (6):
Lost to Loveland
Lost: S Meyer and MB Boehringer
Return: Solid libero in Essen
Summary: Don't see any club players. Lost a starting setter and go-to MB but they're usually solid in the GMC, though.
Mason (7):
Lost to St X
Lost: OH Lasala
Return: OH Beyke (CVA 18-2), Bommaritto (CVA 18-1), 4 players on CVA 17-2 (Habra, Jeffers, Rose, Thomas)
Summary: That's a slew of dudes playing club. I'd say they could be top of the GMC after Lakota East. Beyke and Bommaritto are pretty good.
Walnut Hills (8):
Lost to Loveland
Lost: MB Clark
Return: OH Hagerty (CVA 18-1), S Vogelpohl (Attack 16-1), Rentz McCoy (Attack 18-3), Britt (Attack 16-2)
Summary: Hagerty is a solid player. Similar to Loveland, are there enough players around him? 3 other dudes playing club is a plus.
Fairfield (9):
Lost to Moe
Lost: Siebert, Wotring, and Summerour
Return: S Quedens (Attack 18-1)
Summary: Lost several players from an already down squad compared to recent Fairfield teams. Middle of the GMC pack again, I'd say. They do have 3 levels at HS, so I'm sure they have some kids developing. And a returning setter ALWAYS helps.
Princeton (10):
Lost to Fairfield
Lost: Harris and Meyer
Return: ?
Summary: Don't know much about them, but they usually have some good athletes that allow them to hang around in GMC play even though you don;t see club players and whatnot.
West Clermont (11):
Lost to Mason
Lost: S/OH Arnold
Return: ?
Summary: It's a big school - I'd expect that over time WC will get better just by the numbers game if nothing else. But I would think that they will be behind Loveland, Milford and Walnut again in the ECC.
Colerain (12):
Lost to Milford
Lost:?
Return:?
Summary: They're not even listed on the GMC website, but Lakota West (who otherwise was winless in the GMC) beat them bad. I think it's another rough year for the Cards.
Sycamore (13): The Dark Horse
Sycamore was the bottom seed in the tournament, but they were pretty dang good in the GMC, only losing to Lakota East. They lost to Elder in the first round.
Lost: Lorenzana
Return: Tulabaev and Kress, Sakemiller (CVA 17-2)
Summary: Honestly don't know, but looks like they only lost one senior of note, so Sycamore could be fighting hard with Mason for the 2 spot in the GMC and for that 4 seed come tourney time.
Way too early D1 South Rankings:
1- St X
2- Elder
3- Moeller
4- Sycamore
5- Milford
6- Mason
7- Loveland
8- Walnut Hills
9- Oak Hills
10- Fairfield
11- Princeton
12- West Clermont
13- Colerain
Maybe I'll do D2 South next with 2 new teams in 2019 (Taylor and Royalmont Academy)
Thank you for coming to my TED talk.