Howard County boys basketball season returns with all 12 teams looking to take the next step in the postseason and capture the ultimate prize. There are three new head coaches in the county with Kyle Harmon taking over at Oakland Mills for longtime coach Jon Browne, Al Holley leading the way at Hammond and Tyrone Lawson moving into the head coach role at Wilde Lake.

The coaches say parity is expected throughout the league with several programs including River Hill, Long Reach and Wilde Lake fielding strong returners.

The Howard County teams are spread between three classes. Reservoir is the county’s lone team in 4A South Region I, while Glenelg, Howard, Marriott Ridge and Mt. Hebron are each part of 3A South Region I. Atholton, Long Reach, Oakland Mills, River Hill and Centennial make up 3A South Region II, while Hammond and Wilde Lake are in 2A West Region II.

Here is a look at each of the county teams. (Note: Not all teams responded to requests for information)

Atholton

Coach: Jared Albert, 12th season

Last season: 11-13

Top returners: Seniors Amir Shaheed, Camden Thibeault, Eli Appelbaum and Juan Macatangay.

Newcomers to watch: Senior Deion Dent, junior Ian Pope.

On the court: Shaheed, Thibeault, Appelbaum and Macatangay give the Raiders a wealth of experience. Both Thibeault and Appelbaum gained valuable playing time as juniors and are expected to play larger roles than last season.

Coach’s outlook: “We will play a very difficult county and out of county schedule this season. However, the blend of experience, leadership and talent on this year’s roster will allow us to take on that challenge and help prepare us for postseason play.”

Centennial

Coach: Rob Slopek, third season

Last season: 12-12, Class 3A quarterfinalist

Top returners: Seniors Adrien Nyom and Charlie Crabtree; junior Josh Frazier.

Newcomers to watch: Sophomores Ryan Doody and Julian Ashe.

On the court: Frazier, a second team All-County selection as a sophomore, headlines the backcourt with his dynamic athleticism. Both Nyom and Crabtree provide added versatility and experience in the frontcourt, with other young players expected to step into increased roles.

Coach’s outlook: “I think we will be very competitive this season. I think winning the region last year helped our underclassmen realize how hard they have to work to keep up with the other teams in the area. I think we will be a team that will defend everyone well and use our speed and depth a lot this season.”

Chapelgate Christian

Coach: Frick Frierson, 20th season

Last season: 24-11, IAAM B Conference runner-up

Top Returner: Senior Julian Sabbat.

Newcomers to watch: Juniors Justin Bishop, Landen Custis, Zawadi Smith, Bryson Milledge, Mason Plater and Damien Little; sophomore Justin Davis.

On the court: The Yellow Jackets are a young team led by the varsity experience of Sabbat, who has developed into a multi-level scorer and strong defender. Bishop, a transfer from River Hill, brings added varsity experience. Chapelgate will rely on several players that were on junior varsity last season to step into important roles.

Coach’s outlook: “We had a historic run to our first ever MIAA B championship last season, but lost 11 seniors to graduation, four of whom are now playing in college. Senior Julian Sabbat will be the only returning player with significant minutes played from last year’s team. Our JV team also made their first appearance in the MIAA B JV championship last season, and nearly that entire team will move up and hope to have similar success on Varsity. While we will be young in age, we are confident in this group of guys, and excited to see where they can go.”

Glenelg

Coach: Alex Blazek, fifth season

Last season: 8-15

Top returners: Seniors Christian Chen, Paul Piwowarski, Will Piwowarski, Mike Tolle and Zach LaFountain; junior Ty Jenkins.

Newcomers to watch: Sophomore Siyi Jolayemi.

On the court: Returning five seniors, the Gladiators are one of Howard County’s more experienced teams. They’ll miss Matt Dalton, last year’s leading scorer who moved out of state, and will turn to the seniors to take on more of the scoring load. Jenkins, who played substantial minutes as a sophomore is expected to take a leap in his junior season and provide an added leadership role.

Coach’s outlook: “We have high expectations for this season. Moving up to 3A is new for us but we are excited for the challenge.”

Howard

Coach: Mike Twardowicz, third season

Last season: 10-11

Top returners: Seniors Isaiah Omole, Joseph Asubunten, Marshall Edmond, Luke Noblemann and Cam Demma; junior Griffin Garner.

Newcomers to watch: Juniors Jamie Del Rosso-Freeman; Alex Reeb; Malachi Jennings; Izeyeh Cotto and Josh Ademiju.

On the court: Garner, one of Howard County’s most prolific 3-point shooters, is back after finishing third in the county in points per game last season. The Lions have added varsity experience throughout the floor with Omole expected to step into an increased two-way role.

Coach’s outlook: “This team made a real commitment to playing both individually and as a team in a number of leagues and camps over the past year. Their dedication to getting better was impressive.”

Long Reach

Coach: Andrew Lazzor, eighth season

Last season: 21-3, 3A East Region II finalist

Top returners: Seniors RJ Barnes (F) and Jayden Saunders (G).

Newcomers to watch: N/A

On the court: Barnes, a first team All-County performer as a junior, was a force on both ends of the floor for the Lightning. Saunders brings valued backcourt experience as Long Reach will lean on both players after graduating seven seniors. Markus Alston, Dillon McKinney, Junior Nunez and Mo Sama will be stepping into major roles this season to make up for the losses due to graduation.

Coach’s outlook: “We should be competitive with all teams. If we accept our roles and continue to be on the hardest working teams, we can have success. Still very early to tell with so many guys in new roles.”

Marriotts Ridge

Coach: Seth Willingham, third season

Last season: 5-15

Top Returners: Seniors Brendon Kim, Aidan Houck, Jack Bonner; juniors Restia Whitaker and Rahul Jampan.

Newcomer to watch: Senior Devin Bender

On the court: The Mustangs are looking to bounce back in the 2023-24 campaign with several players that have varsity experience. Bonner, Marriotts Ridge’s leading scorer from last season returns and is expected to lead the offense. Meanwhile, Bender is back fully healthy after missing all of last season with a knee injury.

Coach’s outlook: “Maybe one of the closest-knit teams I have coached in 23 years. They practice hard and work well together. They’re a very coachable group.”

Mt. Hebron

Coach: Malik Gilmore, third season

Last season: 5-18

Top Returners: Senior Andrew Oak; juniors Kenny Akinslosotu, Tai Akinlosotu and Cole Willey.

Newcomers to watch: Senior Donnell Jones; juniors Julian Kelly, Ezra Yaguer and Malachi Crenshaw-Montgomery.

On the court: Kenny and Tai Akinlosotu, as well as Oak and Willey, are all expected to take leaps with another year of varsity experience under their belt. Meanwhile, Kelly enters his first year on varsity after leading the junior varsity team to second in the county and is expected to play a key role right away.

Coach’s outlook: “I think we will finish fifth in the county and possibly first or second in our region.”

Oakland Mills

Coach: Kyle Harmon, first season

Last season: 10-13

Top Returners: Senior Nick Smith; junior Xavier Vereen

Newcomers to watch: Junior Jayden Gore; sophomores Hayes Bishop and Travis Jones

On the court: The Scorpions are one of the county’s youngest teams, with an infusion of youth throughout the floor. They’ll rely on both Smith and Vereen to bring experience, while sophomore transfer Isaiah Wright is expected to play a key role.

Coach’s outlook: “This team has a bunch of new players to the program. It graduated seven seniors last year. We are excited to build on the success this program has sustained for many years. My staff and I love being able to build the culture and improve each and every time we are in the gym. We pride ourselves on being a disciplined and tough-minded group of men. We want to be known for our defense, athleticism, and ability to make all those around us better on and off the court. We are excited to work with all the new faces to the varsity program and look forward to seeing how they match up with the other teams in the county. With only two seniors on the team, we know the future is bright at OMHS, but we feel like we are ready to compete this season.”

Reservoir

Coach: Justin McCoy, second season

Last season: 16-6, 4A East Region I Finalist

Top returners: Senior Marvin Allmond (PG) and junior Phoenix Eggleston (F).

Newcomers to watch: Senior Jaylen Burley (SG); junior Lukas Trellis (F); sophomore Josh Jones (PG).

On the Court: Eggelston is one of the county’s tallest players at 6-foot-8, emerging as a strong rebounder and shot blocker in his sophomore year. Allmond will be taking over as the starting point guard after Zach Chin, a prolific three-level scorer graduated.

Coach’s outlook: “Losing nine seniors this past season, we have almost an entirely new team. We have had some great practices. The guys have been working hard to get on the same page offensively and defensively. Two of our seniors last season made up for more than half of our scoring output. Zach Chin and Irby Hunter. This season, the scoring responsibility is more evenly distributed.”

River Hill

Coach: Matt Graves, 20th season

Last season: 15-8

Top returners: Seniors Aiden Igwebe, Braden Sauritch and OJ Ndu.

On the court: Igwebe returns as a second-team All-County selection last year, averaging 11.5 points a game, also a force on defense with two steals and 1.7 blocks per game. Sauritch is back as River Hill’s point guard, leading the team with 11.6 and 3.6 assists per game last season. Ndu is back fully healthy after missing most of last season with an ACL injury, giving River Hill added depth and versatility.

Coach’s outlook: “We should be competitive. Put on your seatbelts, I have a bunch of athletes on the roster and it should be a FUN team to watch. Our goal will be to control the tempo of the game and defend the rim on defense.”

Coming next Sunday: High school girls basketball preview