There will be plenty of fresh faces looking to make their mark on the local prep boys basketball scene this season.

No roster will get more of a makeover this year than that of Warsaw.

The Tigers, who open practice on Monday as does every prep squad statewide, lost a total of nine players from last year’s team that went 18-10 and won its second straight Class 4-A sectional championship.

“Our players and coaches are looking forward to this season,” said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle as he prepares to start his 16th year as head coach. “We’re starting over in a lot of ways, but that does not necessarily mean that we will not be good again.”

Warsaw graduated eight seniors, including star guard Kyle Mangas. The do-it-all clutch performer led the Tigers to a 61-17 mark the past three seasons, including a 21-0 run in the Northern Lakes Conference for the first time in league history. Mangas, who is now playing at Indiana Wesleyan University, earned Indiana All-Star honors last year and finished fourth in program history with 1,450 career points.

The Tigers graduated their top five scorers from last season, including Asher Blum. Blum moved to Fort Wayne.

The trio of Nolan Groninger, Jack Rhoades and Zach Riley are expected to be among the key returnees for the Tigers from a year ago.

“We have a lot of players who have put in a lot of time and who have gotten better since last year,” said Ogle, who is 236-111 at WCHS. “I like our players. It will take us a while to sort out the pecking order. We just need to be patient as we move forward. But I expect us to play well and compete well.”

Warsaw opens at Tippecanoe Valley on Nov. 22.

Speaking of Tippecanoe Valley.

The Vikings have a new, yet familiar, face in charge of their program. Chad Patrick takes over for father and Hall of Famer Bill to guide the Valley fortunes. Chad, who had been an assistant to his father for the past 19 years, inherits a young team. Bill, who ranked second in state history with 765 wins in 48 seasons, will now be an assistant coach for the Vikings.

Valley graduated its top three scorers from last year among a class of five seniors. The Vikings went 10-14 overall and 4-5 in the TRC a year ago. Tanner Trippiedi, Wes Melanson and Cameron Parker are expected to be among the top returnees for Valley.

Wawasee will look to improve in the second year under the direction of Jon Everingham. The Warriors were 6-18 overall last season and finished 0-7 in the NLC for the sixth straight year. Wawasee lost three seniors, but the trio of Trevon Coleman, Jairus Boyer and Jacob Hand are expected to be keys for the Warriors.

Triton will have plenty of new faces as they lost six seniors from a year ago. The duo of Zac Pitney and Grant Johnson were two key cogs gone from an 18-6 team that lost to Oregon-Davis in the sectional final. Jason Groves is 224-72 entering his 13th season in charge of the Trojans. Beau Hepler and Dylan Hensley should be among the top returnees for the Trojans this season.

NorthWood lost a trio of standouts from its 21-3 team that was upset by Fairfield in a sectional semifinal game to see its sectional tile streak stopped at three in a row. The Panthers look to replace Vinny Miranda, who finished his prep career third all-time in school history with 1,305 points and is now at Taylor University. Also gone are Luke Zurcher and Trey Bilinski. The cupboard is not bare as Caleb Lung, Caleb Glick and Brad Delio are expected to be key players back for NorthWood. Aaron Wolfe sports a 166-71 mark entering his 11th season in Nappanee.

Lakeland Christian Academy had no seniors a year ago in an 8-16 season. The trio of Josh McDaniel,  Landon Twombly and Jake Harmon, the top three scorers last season, are expected to lead the group of returnees for the Cougars. Chris Hohm is 13-58 as he begins his fourth season running the LCA program.

Wawasee opens its season at Fairfield and LCA hosts Caston Nov. 21. Valley hosts Warsaw, while Triton entertains Oregon-Davis and NorthWood hosts Lakeland in openers Nov. 22.

Individual team previews on each squad will be included in the coming weeks on Ink Free News.