Boys water polo: Scouting Lake County

LIBERTYVILLE

Coach: Kara Bosman (second season)

Last season: 17-11-3, lost to Mundelein in Deerfield sectional semifinals

Returning players: Jack Otto (Sr.), Carl Michelotti (Sr.), Danny Ohara (Sr.), Ben Sutter (Sr.), Max Kratcoski (Sr.), Nick Harrington (Sr.), Aaron Chen (Sr.), Richie Rush (Jr.)

Newcomers: James Davies (Jr.), Will Bertaud (Sr.), Adam Sparks (Sr.), Jack Czajka (Sr.), Sean Coughlin (Sr.), Colin Miller (Sr.)

Outlook: The Wildcats are coming off a 17-win season and have an experienced team that has been playing together for years. "The team has positive energy, a competitive spirit and the talent to stay with any competitor," coach Kara Bosman said. "Throughout the season, we are expecting to improve our individual skills, focus on team goals and surprise a few teams in the process. We will be looking to our captains Jack Otto (goalie), Carl Michelotti (hole-D) and Danny Ohara for their passion and perseverance. ... Our team has a strong fundamental skill set and knowledge of the game. They are willing to take risks when appropriate and support each other in and out of the pool."

MUNDELEIN

Coach: Russ Gates (fifth season)

Last season: 17-14-2, lost to Stevenson in Deerfield sectional final

Returning players: Shane Stanley (Sr.), Eubin Kim (Sr.), Jake Gonzalez (Sr.), Jake Garcia (Jr.), Ryan Zentz (Jr.), Hunter Magee (Jr.)

Newcomers: Matt Allore (Jr.), Ben Ford (Jr.), Danny Oleinik (Fr.)

Outlook: It starts with defense for the Mustangs, who graduated second-team all-state selection Nick Oleinik but boast returning goalkeeper Shane Stanley. "This year, my hope is that we embrace defense as a team and use that as one of our strengths with our Shane Stanley as the backbone," coach Russ Gates said. "With returning several starters and role players from last year, we have several guys that are capable of making an impact both offensively and defensively. On both sides of the ball, we will look for a balance from a multitude of players and truly playing together as a team."

STEVENSON

Coach: Sean Wimer (12th season)

Last season: 36-0, won Deerfield sectional, won state championship

Returning players: Charlie Day (goalie, Sr.), Justin Ginsberg (utility, Sr.), Collin Kapecki (utility, Sr.), Eric Osuch (utility, Sr.), Filip Mihajlovic (defender, Jr.), Sam Shokodko (attacker, Jr.), Nik Ebeling (attacker, Jr.), Spencer Guercio (attacker, Sr.), Jonah Benthusen (attacker, Jr.), Dan Maraldo (attacker, Jr.), Beno Maya (attacker, Jr.), AJ Carollo (attacker, So.), Phoom Lertsingsongserm (attacker, Jr.)

Newcomers: Dima Kobets (attacker, Fr.), Nate Pedigo (defender, Fr.), Drew Wangard (utility, Fr.), Mark Holzer (attacker, So.)

Outlook: After state runner-up finishes in 2013, 2015 and 2016, the Patriots made school history last spring by capturing their first state championship thanks to a 10-9, overtime win over New Trier. Gone are All-Americans and first-team all-staters Andrew Shashin (Navy, 138 goals, 60 assists last season) and Dan Maleski (92 goals, 27 assists), but there's still plenty of talent in the pool. Senior Collin Kapecki (79 goals, 70 assists) was named second-team all-state last year, and senior Justin Ginsberg (61 goals, 62 assists) earned second-team honors. The other returning starters are senior goalie Charlie Day and senior utility player Eric Osuch (56 goals, 46 assists). Junior defender Filip Mihajlovic was the Patriots' first guy off bench. "I think we can be as good, if not better than last year's state championship team," said Sean Wimer, who was named coach of the year in Illinois last season. "The expectation for our program is that we're competing for the state championship year in and year out. We've played in four title games the last five years, including three straight. We finally won it last year, and getting over that hump was a big confidence booster for everyone involved in the program. The area we'll struggle with early on is that boys have to realize that we're not the same team as last year. They'll have to develop their own identity. We have a lot of returning experience from last year's team and our freshman class is outstanding. A couple of the freshmen will be instant impact players for us. We're not as physically imposing as last year, losing our two 6-foot-5-plus All-Americans, but we're still pretty big and we're definitely faster than last year's team. So the style of play will have to be a little different and that'll be the reason for an adjustment period early on. The staple and strength of our team has and always will be defense, and these boys excel at it. It should be a fun year."

VERNON HILLS

Coach: Adam Lueken (fifth season)

Last season: lost to Buffalo Grove in Deerfield sectional play-in

Returning players: Andrew Gehrett (Jr.), Steven Hart (So.), Ruslan Khamdulaev (So.), Alex Kouvelas (So.), Preston Lis (So.), Aaron Solens (Jr.), Ben Zartler (So.)

Newcomers: Dylan Madhani (So.), Josh Kramer (Fr.)

Outlook: The Cougars had a young squad in the pool last season, and they're still young. "With a majority of our team freshmen last year, we are have a lot more experience coming into the beginning of this season," coach Adam Lueken said. "Every day these guys are bringing a lot of intensity into their training, and we are looking forward to a great season."

WARREN

Coach: Brian Esposito (second season)

Last season: lost to Deerfield in Deerfield sectional play-in

Returning players: Justin Elkington (Sr.), Jomil Duka (So.), Sam Aiello (Jr.), Wes Gari (Jr.), Santiago Currea (Jr.), Diego Benitez (Jr.), Jeremy Gunter (Jr.), Shane Mundt (So.), Gustavo Kolicheski (Jr.), Austin Cortes (Sr.)

Newcomers: Peter Mikolitis (So.), Shawn Coffell (Jr.), Riley Nebel (So. goalie)

Outlook: The Blue Devils won eight games in their inaugural season last year and already have a victory this season. Enthusiasm is high, as the program's numbers have increased. "The main goal is to never get shut out or blown out," coach Brian Esposito said. "Our gauge for now is how well we do in tournaments."