Despite losing some high-end talent to graduation and transfers, Charlestown High School should remain among the top contenders in Division 3 boys basketball.

The Townies went 23-2 and won the state title last winter. The team did see some notable players depart, including stars Jaylin Williams Crawford and Jaylen Hunter-Coleman, who moved on to Cats Academy and Northfield Mount-Herman, respectively.

Still, head coach Hugh Coleman said a group of underclassmen transfers as well as some rising upperclassmen have picked up the slack and kept the positive momentum going.

“I’m very excited to see that they’ve all shown a lot of maturity thus far,” Coleman said. “It has given myself and the coaching staff a lot of confidence that we’re going to have a chance to do pretty well this year.”

Charlestown has some marquee matchups, including a game against defending Division 4 champion Wareham and one against two-time defending Division 1 champion Worcester North. Some players who could stand out for the defending champs are Jeremiah Brown, Jules McGee, Kamari Day, Francis Nelson and Lenyn Ramos-Pena.

Several programs will be looking to unseat Charlestown at the top of Division 3, including Newburyport. The Clippers fell to Charlestown in the quarterfinals a season ago but return most of their core and also will get senior Ben Corneau, who missed last season with a knee injury, back alongside stars Carson Gretz and Sam Craig.

“Our nucleus is back with several key players off the bench last year returning as well,” coach Mark Elmendorf said. “Last year was a great experience, and we’re certainly going to try to build upon that.”

Other teams to watch in Division 3 are Old Rochester, St. Mary’s, Watertown, Apponequet, Medfield, Lynn Classical and Swampscott.

In Division 4, Wareham will look to win a third consecutive title. The Vikings went 23-3 en route to last year’s championship and went 22-3 the prior season. Head coach Stephen Faniel credited a challenging independent schedule as something that prepares his team for deep postseason runs.

“The great thing about being independent is you get to go out and schedule teams that are going to challenge you in every facet,” Faniel said. “We don’t have a conference where we have to play teams, every team that we play we pick to play. It’s a very challenging schedule for the kids and I think it just makes us battle tested for when the tournament comes.”

Wareham lost several key contributors last season, but Faniel said his team will lean on junior Aaron Cote and sophomore Amare Rose to lead the team. Other programs to monitor in Division 4 are Bourne, Burke, Monomoy, Manchester-Essex and Blue Hills.

The Division 5 title was won by a senior-heavy New Mission squad. While he sees promise for the future, head coach Malcolm Smith said this season should be a rebuilding year for his team and that a future core is developing with the underclassmen.

“We’re gonna take some lumps,” Smith said. “But I like this group. I think in two years we’ll be right back.”

With a potential opening at the top of the division, Westport is a team looking to pounce. The Wildcats only won five games last season but much of this was due to a season-ending injury to 1,000-point scorer Owen Boudria. With him back and the addition of senior transfer Alex Krynicki, head coach Scot Boudria sees potential for his team to make a significant jump.

“Number one is obvious, stay healthy,” Boudria said. ”Number two, The key is going to be when limiting shots when we are defense because we are small. We’re quick, but we’re still small. It’s going to be interesting to see.”

Other teams to monitor in Division 5 are Old Colony, Holbrook, Hoosac Valley and Pioneer Valley.

Div. 3 Players to Watch

C: Matt Breen (Shawsheen), William Carty (Watertown), Josh Vieira (Fairhaven)

F: Charles Amero (Gloucester), Krem Amparo (Latin Academy), Alex Fleming (Lynnfield), Carson Gretz (Newburyport), Ryan Mutschler (Hanover), Cole Rodgers (Sandwich), Sam Stoermer (Falmouth), Gabe Tripp (Swampscott), Hansen Zhao (Fairhaven)

G: Elian Alvarez (Greater Lawrence), Rolky Brea Arias (Lynn Classical), Cal Atherton (Newburyport), Demetrios Baptiste (Greater New Bedford), Jason Berry (North Reading), Connor Chiarello (Swampscott), Shawn Clary (Norton), Sam Craig (Newburyport), Randiel Jiminez Fernandez (Latin Academy), Liam Friis (Triton), Jake Fortier (St. Mary’s), Will Horton (Apponequet), Will Levrault (Apponequet), Danny Luna (Greater Lowell), Brady Lynde (Lowell Catholic), Aiden Marando (Dighton-Rehoboth), Gavin Martin (Old Rochester), JJ Martinez (St. Mary’s), Kingston Maxwell (Abington), Franck Moron (Shawsheen), Matt Myette (North Reading), Will Olinto (Latin Academy), Moe Osman (Chelsea), Johnny Payne (Seekonk), Daryll Reynolds (Lynn Classical), Elian Rodriguez (Salem), Dylan Scott (Pentucket), Tyler Staiti (Abington), Rowan Tracey (Medfield), Tyler Vincent (Hanover), D’Mani Williams (Weston)

Div. 4-5 Players to Watch

C: Gerald Banks (Holland), Isaac Pacheco (Bristol Aggie), Nate Reynolds (Bourne)

Bourne’s Nate Reynolds, left, and Wareham’s Antoine Crosson battle during the Div. 4 state title game last March. (Photo by Reba Saldanha/Boston Herald)

F: Jack Carter (Millis), Pat Correia (Fenway), Tim Cronin (St. John Paul), Wilton Fernandes (Fenway), Max Finney (Old Colony), Nick Fringuellie (Old Colony), Kamron Gordon (Holland), Lamari Holmes (Brighton), Finn Hyora (Monomoy), David Julius (Brighton), Joe Vader (Minuteman)

G: Yassine Amghhar (Holland), Hector Arroyo (Snowden), Cole Boudria (Westport), Owen Boudria (Westport), Allen Brown Jr. (Holbrook), Tyler Carini (South Shore), Rigo Challinger (Notre Dame Tyngsboro), Gabe Codjoe (St. John Paul), Greg Codjoe (St. John Paul), Aaron Cote (Wareham), Jack Cullinan (Cohasset), Carl Damas (Mystic Valley), Michael Dankert (Bourne), Justin Dube (Amesbury), Thomas Edwards (Avon), Jackson Farrington (O’Bryant), Jasaad Fenton (Holland), Isaiah Ferguson (Notre Dame Tyngsboro), Max Gallant (Westport), Jag Garces (West Bridgewater), Aneudy Belle Garcia. (Madison Park), Isaiah Green (Hull), Giovanni Jean (Lynn Tech), Sasha Kaplenko (Falmouth Academy), Dalton Kinnon (Mystic Valley), AB Labell (Hamilton-Wenham), Cordell McGee (Brighton), Nyisah Miranda (Avon), Quinn Moriarty (Bourne), Rey Mpagi (Minuteman), Faloan O’Donnell (Sturgis West), Trosky Pena (KIPP), Jackson Rocco (Momonoy), Amare Rose (Wareham), Chase Wheat (Rockport), Josiah Whitley (Rockport), Keyshon Wright (O’Bryant), Milo Zeltzer (Manchester-Essex)