The GCL JV teams were all fairly even. All three Varsity teams lose A LOT of starters.
X graduates 7 seniors including their 2 All State Players and Pung who would have been if he wasn't injured most of the year, returning 2 or 3 starters. (Kastner, Mauch, Thaxton)
Elder graduates 7 seniors including their 2 All State players, returning 2 starters (Hargett, Bernard)
Moeller graduates 6 seniors including their 3 All State Players, returning 3 or 4 starters. (Kiser B., Haas, Fuller, Callahan)
What is your opinion of how the GCL will look next year? I think Elder has more players ready to make the jump to Varsity than either X or Moeller
If the season started tomorrow, here's the likely lineups...
X-
S- L. Kastner (returning starter, Attack 17-1, 2019)
S2- Jack Konrad (JV starter, Attack 16-2, 2020)
M1- Mauch (returning starter, Attack 17-1, 2019)
M2- Thaxton (returning often-starter, Attack 17-1, 2019)
M2- H. Kastner (freshman starter on JV, Attack 15-1, 2021)
M2- Glover (JV starter, Attack 17-3, 2020)
OH1- Connaughton (returning varsity player, Attack 17-1, 2019)
OH2- Basalla (JV starter, Attack 18-3, 2019)
OH2- Rushford (JV starter, Attack 16-3, 2020)
OH2- H. Kastner (above)
RS- Moeller (returning varsity player, Attack 17-2, 2019)
RS- Connaughton (above)
L- Dannemiller (JV starter, Attack 16-2, 2020)
L- Schroeder (JV starter, Attack 15-1, 2021)
L- Rushford (above)
Having 4 kids on Attack's 17-1 team (with Elder/Moeller
combining for only 3) would make you the runaway favorite in the league 9 times out of 10. But they seem to do the least with the most year in and year out and lack a true OH or reliable source of offense against a good defensive team. Wouldn't be surprised to see 2+ sophomores get meaningful playing time.
Moeller
S- Vaughn (returning varsity player, Attack 17-2, 2020)
MH1- Kiser (returning starter, Attack 18-1, 2019)
MH2- Bowles (returning varsity player, No Club team, 2020)
MH2- Boone (JV starter, Attack 15-1, 2021)
OH1- Fuller (returning starter, Attack 16-1, 2020)
OH2- Reynolds (JV starter, Attack 16-1, 2020)
RS- Owens (returning varsity player, No club team, 2019)
RS- Beckelhimer (JV starter, Attack 15-2, 2021)
RS- Shaw (JV starter, Attack 16-2, 2020)
L- Haas (returning starter, Attack 16-1, 2020)
DS- Callahan (returning varsity starter, Attack 17-1, 2019)
DS- Stradley (JV starter, Attack 16-1, 2020)
Moeller's senior class is the weakest they've had in awhile and were carried all last season by Kiser/Devolve/Peed. Callahan being the only one to play on Attack's 17-1 OR 17-2 team speaks volumes. I'd have to think they're looking at their loaded 2020 class and planning for next year. Wouldn't surprise me to see them try Stradley out at setter and run a 6-2 if they're trying to hedge their bets.
Elder
S- Koewles (JV starter, Attack 16-1, 2020)
S2- Wauligman (returning varsity player, Attack 17-2, 2019)
M1- Murphy (returning varsity player, Attack 17-2, 2019)
M2- Sinnard (JV starter, Attack 17-2, 2020)
M2- Eary (returning varsity player, Attack 17-2, 2019)
OH1- Hargett (returning starter, Attack 17-1/17-2, 2019)
OH2- ????
RS- ????
L- Bernard (returning starter, Attack 17-1, 2019)
DS- Shook (JV starter, Attack 16-1, 2020)
DS- Spinney (JV starter, Attack 16-2, 2020)
Probably the weakest of the 3 on paper. Nobody gets more out of less than Elder, but this is a really limited squad on paper. They'll somehow manage to be competitive and Hargett will be the odds-on favorite to lead the league in kills by a country mile, but there's not much else there.
If I had to power rank the 3, I'd go 1- X, 2- Moeller, 3- Elder, but it's definitely a down year across the board. I can't see any of these 3 holding a candle to Darby; I can see Ignatius beating at least 1, probably 2-3 of these 3; and it wouldn't surprise me if Lakota East or another school finishing above 1-2 of the GCL teams. Depending on how the bracket shakes out, there's a non-zero chance that we don't have a GCL team in the final 4 of state for the first time in a long time, if not ever.