The chase of Volcano Vista is officially underway in Class 5A boys basketball

Two pursuits will characterize the Class 5A boys basketball season in New Mexico.

Volcano Vista’s pursuit of another blue trophy.

Everyone else’s pursuit of Volcano Vista.

“They’re the carrot,” Cleveland coach Zack Cole said. “Everybody’s chasing them.”

The Hawks already are the three-time defending state champions, and enter the 2024-25 season as a significant favorite to make it four in a row come March. The last team to accomplish a four-peat was Russ Gilmore’s Hobbs Eagles (1999-2002) The Eagles, in fact, are the only team in the last half century to do this in the largest classification.

“We’ve had guys that have had success, but we also have the maturity of the guys that are returning to know why we’ve had success,” Hawks coach Greg Brown said as he contemplated the challenge ahead. “We have the character to take nothing for granted.”

Two of the five best players in New Mexico return for Volcano Vista: Gatorade Player of the Year, 6-foot-7 senior forward Kenyon Aguino (who committed to Montana), and 6-4 super sophomore David Lunn III. The Hawks have four starters back, including guards Rian Gonzales (6-2) and Hudson Brown (5-8).

“I think Volcano could win every game by 20-plus points,” Rio Rancho coach Wally Salata said.

Volcano Vista opens Tuesday night at Albuquerque High, which was one of the other 5A semifinalists last March.

“I will tell you this. They are on their own pedestal,” said Sandia coach Danny Brown, talking about his brother’s program. “The rest of us, we’re trying to get to that game and have a chance to play them in the state final.”

There is a general consensus that if one team exists that could take down the Hawks, it is Sandia, which returns all its starters.

“The way they shoot, they have five guys who can all get hot from 3 at the same time, so they’re hard to guard,” Greg Brown said.

The Matadors return eight of their top 10 from a state quarterfinal team.

That includes their leading scorer, 6-3 senior Thomas Adams (15.9 ppg), plus freshman shooting guard Isaiah Brown, who set a school record in made 3-pointers last season. Sandia has size, too, which is mandatory with Volcano Vista having two extremely good power forwards.

“We feel like we can get to that last Saturday,” Danny Brown said. His team, he said, averaged over 30 shots per game last season from beyond the arc and will do the same this season.

Albuquerque High appears poised to make another strong postseason run in March.

“Really excited about them,” Bulldogs coach Leroy Barela said. “They have earned the right to be recognized as a formidable opponent.”

Top AHS talent includes 5-11 senior guard Kasyn Perez, 5-10 senior point guard Johnny Sanchez and 6-3 senior Ali Mireles, a gifted scorer, Barela said, who can finish in multiple ways.

Beyond those three, the metro area is filled with 5A programs with various pluses and minuses.

Mainstays Cleveland and La Cueva are two teams facing uncertainty, as both the Storm and the Bears lost the large majority of their core group; in La Cueva’s case, Cam Dyer is graduating early to get to Arizona State to play football, and big guard Daniel Lovato left the Bears for ABC Prep.

Senior combo guard Tre Cowles, among La Cueva’s top seven, is the only returner, as the Bears will be young and inexperienced, a guard-heavy group with great upside, coach Eric Orell said. Hunter Butler, a 6-2 forward, should be the team’s top player, he added.

With District 2, after Sandia, there doesn’t appear to be a clear best second choice among Eldorado, Santa Fe, Manzano, La Cueva and Capital. Manzano is retooling; Eldorado’s Malachi Green, a 6-2 senior shooter, is possibly the Eagles’ top returner. Eldorado had a good summer, veteran coach Roy Sanchez said, and this team should, Sanchez added, shoot the ball well in an up-tempo approach.

“I think we can challenge,” Sanchez said. He is nearing the 500-win plateau as the Eagles’ head coach.

At Cleveland, junior guard Remy Albrecht is one of 5A’s best sharpshooters, but the Storm has a “whole new group,” coach Zack Cole said. “We have a bunch of guys who are ready to prove themselves. They waited patiently to pay their dues and now is their time.”

A handful of 5A teams open with new head coaches, most prominently Los Lunas and Organ Mountain.

The Knights, who lost to Volcano Vista in last season’s 5A state final, not only have a new head coach but graduated their top two players from last season. The Tigers’ hugely successful coach, Travis Julian, stepped down, and combo guard Jalin Holland, the state’s best player, left New Mexico for a prep school in Phoenix where he will finish his high school career before playing for the University of Colorado.

Leo Ural, a longtime assistant to Shonn Schroer at West Mesa, was promoted in the offseason when Schroer vacated his coaching position. Former Valley High standout Ish Loya has taken over at Rio Grande.

District 5-5A is led this year by AHS. Although Holland is gone at Los Lunas, that does not mean the district won’t have a superstar. It will, in the form of 5-7 senior guard Latavious Morris from Atrisco Heritage, who is possibly the most explosive and versatile scorer in New Mexico, regardless of class. He averaged 25 points a game last season.

The Jaguars will rely on some promising youth to fill in some of the gaps, as Atrisco has just three seniors.

“We’ll go as far as Tay takes us, everyone knows that,” Atrisco Heritage coach Steve Heredia said.

West Mesa’s Estevan Espinoza, a southpaw shooting guard, is perhaps the top returner for the Mustangs, who are coming off a couple of very good seasons. Ural expects a fast, athletic group.

Although District 1 saw Atrisco Heritage leave for another league, this district still has produced eight of the last nine 5A state champions. Greg Brown and Salata both believe it remains the toughest district in the state. Farmington, coming off a solid season, has joined District 1, as has Piedra Vista.

And Cibola, which has been off the radar for several years, is a team most everyone expects to be hugely improved, and very competitive, in the 2024-25 season. Coach Gabe Martinez said the Cougars have a “good mixture of young talent and experienced upper classmen.” Cibola has a big front line, and 5-10 guard Elijah Martinez, the coach’s son, led the team in scoring last season.

Rio Rancho opens the season a little dinged up, with top returners Kayden Decker, a 6-4 guard/forward, and 6-foot junior guard Chris Lucero both injured. But Rio Rancho has a deep roster, Salata said, which will help sustain its up-tempo style.

From outside the metro area, Hobbs and Roswell are two names on many coaches’ lips if you’re looking for teams that could get to the Pit and make noise.

CLASS 4A: Highland is the defending state champion; the Hornets edged Valley in overtime in the state title game in March. Artesia is widely expected to make a strong bid for a blue trophy and challenge Highland.

“Highland and Artesia are more talented than anybody else,” Valley coach EZ Panas said, adding, “There’s a lot of parity in 4A this year.”

The Hornets return nearly everyone from last season, although their dynamic leading scorer, 3-point specialist Jesus Licon (29 ppg last season), suffered a serious knee injury in April, had surgery, and is not expected back until the start of district play in the latter part of January.

Among Highland’s 10 returners are 6-2 senior guard Isai Herrera and 5-9 senior guard Sebastian Hernandez. The Hornets open Tuesday against Sandia.

“This is honestly the deepest team that I’ve had,” Hive coach Justin Woody said. He is in his eighth season. Filling in for the points missing from Licon will fall to multiple players, he said.

Highland and St. Pius, which lost in the state semifinals to the Hornets, were very closely matched last season, and the Sartans hope to push the Hornets again in District 5.

Three three-year standouts are back for the Sartans in 5-7 senior point guard Carson McConnell, 6-2 senior podcast Mason Montoya and 5-5 junior shooting guard Kenneth Zamora.

St. Pius opens Tuesday against Valley.

“We’re gonna have a good blend of experience and youth,” St. Pius coach Ryan Myers said. “And we should be heavily experienced at the guard position, which is always nice to have.”

Valencia, Belen and Grants – the Pirates, who were a state quarterfinalist in March, could be someone to keep an eye on – all have a decent number of returners back as they hope to contend in that district.

“You could see all five teams from our district fighting for a state berth,” Myers said.

In District 6, Valley has only one starter back in point guard Luciano Mondragon, but the Vikings, who graduated nine seniors, do return a couple of key role players and their junior varsity was excellent.

This district seems relatively wide open. Albuquerque Academy has a new coach in Alvin Broussard (most recently Sandia’s head coach), but the Chargers graduated what were arguably their best three players, two of them terrific scorers.

“We have a lot of growth to do,” Broussard said.

Del Norte was extremely young last season (just one senior) and certainly should be improved. “A lot improved,” coach Jeron McIntosh said, also mentioning some transfer help. For the Knights, watch for junior 6-1 combo guard Francois Satchivi. “We’re super deep and we’re senior loaded,” McIntosh said. “I think we can make a good run.”

Bernalillo has a new coach in Bryan Gonzales, who’’ll be working in tandem with athletic director Ira Harge to lead the Spartans.

Hope Christian and its legendary coach, Jim Murphy, who is starting his 43rd year, were hit hard by graduation, especially at the guard position coming off a state semifinal appearance where it lost to Valley. But there is some size on this roster in 6-5 junior forward Brayden Giron.

The Huskies as always have a very demanding non-district schedule, which Murphy hopes will prime them for February and March..

In addition to Artesia, which is balanced, and aforementioned Grants, Pojoaque Valley is a team with solid buzz starting the season from outside the metro area.

CLASS 3A: Navajo Prep won state in March, defeating Robertson in the final, and those teams (more so the Cardinals than the Eagles) are expected to very much be part of the next March playoffs.

Bosque School was a quarterfinal team last season, but the Bobcats lost their two top players. Among the players to watch are 6-5 senior Oliver Tumolo, whose role will expand greatly, coach Clifton Davidson said. Josiah Wilson, a 6-1 sophomore point guard, also has a crucial role. And Bosque has one of the biggest rosters in all of 3A.

The Bobcats should be favored in their district, which also includes Sandia Prep, Cuba, East Mountain and Cottonwood Classical Prep. The Sundevils qualified for state as a 15 seed, and coach Damian Segura played quite a few freshmen. So this is still a young team, but more seasoned, led at both ends of the floor by 6-3 senior Miles Manzanares.

Both CCP and Cuba start the season with new coaches.

A new wrinkle of note: Last season’s 2A state champion, the Academy for Technology and the Classics out of Santa Fe, is now a member of Class 3A.

CLASS 2A: Legacy Academy on Albuquerque’s West Side was a 7 seed in the Class 1A bracket in March, but the Silverbacks are now a 2A program and join a district that also includes Menaul, the 11 seed at state.

Legacy won 24 games last season, and 6-3 junior Bryant Scales is the team’s top returner.

Menaul just hired Santiago Maestas last week as its new head coach. The Panthers’ top three scorers last season were all juniors.

CLASS 1A: Fort Sumner/House is the defending state champion, and with Legacy’s jump, there are no 1A teams in the metro area.