5A Preseason Team Rankings for the 2021/2022 Season
NMPreps way-too-early team rankings for the 2021/2022 New Mexico high school basketball season. #nmpres
(25) CENTENNIAL HAWKS
2021 Record: 3-9 overall, 3-9 district
Scoop: The goods news moving forward with the Centennial Hawks is that the team will have 11 returning players from last season. Third year head coach Johnathan Martinez should see an improvement this season but will battle again in a tough district. Jeven Beltran (2022) will be three year player.
(26) GADSDEN PANTHERS
2021 Record: 2-8 overall, 2-8 district
Scoop: The Panthers experienced 15-wins and finished above .500 in 2019/2020 but those years are far and few. It could be a few more years until we see another Panther team in the inside the top 20 of the classification. Anthony Lara (2022) was a player that contributed to the Panthers as a sophomore during the 15-win season and will be a go-to player again this season. Along with Lara Ivan Apodaca (2022) played a big role for the Panthers last season and will team up with the 6-foot-2 Lara to get the Panthers back on the winning side. Look for three-year letterman Damian Barreras to also contribute to the Panthers squad this year.
(27) RIO GRANDE RAVENS
2021 Record: 0-10 overall, 0-10 district
Scoop: It has been several years since the Ravens were out of the cellar of the classification. They have also been out of the Top-20 (overall in the state) rankings for a few years now. The road ahead doesn't look much brighter as they are coming off an 0-10 season; The last time they had a winning season was 2015--2016 under former head coach Sean Jimenez (now at Cleveland) since then this is the trend - 6-19 (2017), 6-19 (2018), 8-17 (2019), 3-23 (2020) and as mentioned 0-10 in 2021. It is not all doom and gloom though and not to be lost in the shuffle is 6-foot-2 prospect Jonah Lopez (2023) who could be among the best of them in 2023. Hopefully, we get more information on him moving forward as the Ravens will look to him to take them back into the winning ways.
(28) PIEDRA VISTA PANTHERS
2021 Record: 0-11 overall, 0-9 in district
Scoop: The Panthers struggled last season and fell to 0-11 on the short season. The Panthers are 14-41 as they enter year four under head coach Brady Rivers. The Panthers are one of the smaller basketball enrollment schools and it has been a battle on the court with a strong district. The alignment for hoops doesn't help many schools and it shows here with the Panthers. Things could continue in the cellar for the Panthers as they graduate 8-players from last season. John Dekay (2022) and Nathan Heidke (2022) look to carry them forward this season as three-year lettermen.
NMPreps way-too-early team rankings for the 2021/2022 New Mexico high school basketball season. #nmpres
(25) CENTENNIAL HAWKS
2021 Record: 3-9 overall, 3-9 district
Scoop: The goods news moving forward with the Centennial Hawks is that the team will have 11 returning players from last season. Third year head coach Johnathan Martinez should see an improvement this season but will battle again in a tough district. Jeven Beltran (2022) will be three year player.
(26) GADSDEN PANTHERS
2021 Record: 2-8 overall, 2-8 district
Scoop: The Panthers experienced 15-wins and finished above .500 in 2019/2020 but those years are far and few. It could be a few more years until we see another Panther team in the inside the top 20 of the classification. Anthony Lara (2022) was a player that contributed to the Panthers as a sophomore during the 15-win season and will be a go-to player again this season. Along with Lara Ivan Apodaca (2022) played a big role for the Panthers last season and will team up with the 6-foot-2 Lara to get the Panthers back on the winning side. Look for three-year letterman Damian Barreras to also contribute to the Panthers squad this year.
(27) RIO GRANDE RAVENS
2021 Record: 0-10 overall, 0-10 district
Scoop: It has been several years since the Ravens were out of the cellar of the classification. They have also been out of the Top-20 (overall in the state) rankings for a few years now. The road ahead doesn't look much brighter as they are coming off an 0-10 season; The last time they had a winning season was 2015--2016 under former head coach Sean Jimenez (now at Cleveland) since then this is the trend - 6-19 (2017), 6-19 (2018), 8-17 (2019), 3-23 (2020) and as mentioned 0-10 in 2021. It is not all doom and gloom though and not to be lost in the shuffle is 6-foot-2 prospect Jonah Lopez (2023) who could be among the best of them in 2023. Hopefully, we get more information on him moving forward as the Ravens will look to him to take them back into the winning ways.
(28) PIEDRA VISTA PANTHERS
2021 Record: 0-11 overall, 0-9 in district
Scoop: The Panthers struggled last season and fell to 0-11 on the short season. The Panthers are 14-41 as they enter year four under head coach Brady Rivers. The Panthers are one of the smaller basketball enrollment schools and it has been a battle on the court with a strong district. The alignment for hoops doesn't help many schools and it shows here with the Panthers. Things could continue in the cellar for the Panthers as they graduate 8-players from last season. John Dekay (2022) and Nathan Heidke (2022) look to carry them forward this season as three-year lettermen.
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