Lots of talent in the 1st Region this year!  I think the cream of the crop is Murray and McCracken, but at least three or four teams behind them have a shot at a regional title this year.  Here are my rankings:

1. Murray (26-7) - I had trouble deciding between Murray or McCracken for the 1st Region favorite, but the Tigers are the defending champion, and return my favorite to be Region 1 Player of the Year in Grant Whitaker (17.5 PPG).  The senior is a Bellarmine commit and can score from pretty much anywhere.  The Tigers did lose some key players from last year (Bogess & Gill) but still return plenty of production in Lincoln English (8.2 ppg & 6.6 rpg) along with Zavion Carman.

2. McCracken County (26-4) - Coach Dustin Roberts becomes the second ever coach for McCracken County after the retirement of Coach Brower.  Coach Roberts is a longtime assistant at McCracken and I assume the transition will be very smooth.  The Mustangs will not be lacking in size this season!  Jack McCune is 6-5 and is the returning scorer and Ian Hart averaged 14 PPG last year before a foot injury midway through the year.  Also, lots of hype for 6-6 Freshman Jackson Klope.  The Mustangs also return sharpshooter Carson Purvis who averaged 7.3 PPG.  It will be interesting to see who takes over the point guard duties, but the Mustangs have plenty of options there.

3. Paducah Tilghman (20-9) - In my opinion the Tornado returns the top guard tandem in the region with Jayvion Powell (16.5 ppg) and Mian Shaw (14.2 ppg).  Powell is more of a slasher whereas Shaw is more of a shooter, but they can both score the basketball.  Otherwise there is not a lot of returning production for the Tornado.  Look for them to run a lot of four-guard offense as they do not have a lot of experienced size.  Guard Jamie Harris is a player to watch along with 6-4 Center Omari Williams.  One other name to watch is Freshman guard Myles Woodfork.  He was a standout at the middle school level, and it will be interesting to see if he's ready to contribute this season.

4. Mayfield (17-8) - Coach Croft basically returns his entire team that made it to the semifinals of the 1st Region tourney last year.  They had a very balanced scoring attack and look for Nolan Fulton and Sam Stone to lead the way.

5. Calloway County (17-14) - This is most definitely a sleeper team to win the region with two sophomores leading the way - Eli Finley (16.2 ppg) and Jonah Butler (9.3 ppg).  These sophomores are getting better and better and that's why this team has a lot of buzz this year.  The Lakers shoot a ton of threes and when they are falling - good luck beating them.  Looking forward to the 4th district matchups with Murray this year.

6. St. Mary (15-15) - Coach Chase Denson returns four of his top five scorers and I look for them to improve on their even record from last year.  The leader is PG Luke Sims who averaged 12.7 ppg last year, and is a very good shooter.  

 7. Graves County (15-15) - the Eagles have a new coach in Jason Holland, who came from South Warren.  Lukas Pigg is a sharpshooter who most likely will lead the way for the Eagles. The 3rd District is wide open and look forward for these Eagles to challenge Mayfield for that title.

8. Marshall County (17-12) - former coach Terry Birdsong had a late retirement and the Marshals brought in longtime assistant Sawyer Donohoo.  Not a lot of production returning here so that's why I have them at 8th in my preseason rankings.  However, this is a big school with a lot of basketball history.  Senior Wade Moore (9 ppg) should lead the way for the Marshals.

9. Ballard Memorial (10-17) - Jace Birney scored 17 ppg last year as a Freshman and should improve upon that this year.  All five starters return and the Bombers should make a leap from last year's 10-win season.

10. Carlisle County (15-12) - This will be a young team for Coach Brian O'Neil but he is most definitely one of the top coaches in the 1st Region.  This team is once again the favorite in the 1st District.

11. Community Chirstian Academy (15-14)

12. Hickman Co. (11-15) 

13. Christian Fellowship (12-18)

14. Fulton County (12-13)

15. Fulton City (2-25)

D Wolf's Top 10 Players:

1. Grant Whitaker - Murray

2. Jack McCune - McCracken

3. Jayvion Powell - Tilghman

4. Ian Hart - McCracken

5. Eli Finley - Calloway

6. Mian Shaw - Tilghman

7. Luke Sims  - St. Mary

8. Jace Birney - Ballard

9. Lincoln English - Murray

10. Carson Purvis - McCracken

Bump.