Coming off its first state championship since 2017, Medfield is poised to make another run at the Div. 2 state title under coach Mark Nickerson.

“It isn’t going to be easy,” Nickerson said about the competitive field in the Tri-Valley League as well as the rest of the statewide field.

Sophomore Naya Annigeri – one year removed from being named TVL co-MVP — will return with starters in junior Tess Baacke and junior Izzy Kittredge. Senior Jailen Annigeri and freshman Abby Broderick will make up the rest of the starting lineup.

Out of the Catholic Conference, Notre Dame of Hingham returns senior Ava Orlando (20 ppg), sophomore Elle Orlando (16 ppg) and Effie Giannopoulos (12 ppg) after falling in the quarterfinals a season ago.

In the Hockomock League, Oliver Ames fell to Medfield in the semifinals, but is returning two-time Hockomock League All Star Avery Gamble along with Meave Horsman to make another run. Mari Rhodes, Zoey Swanson and Hannah Dupill also looking to make more contributions this season.

In the Patriot League, Whitman-Hanson also made it to the quarterfinals and with the likes of sophomore Maliah Pierre, junior Dylan Hurley and two-time Patriot League All Star Taryn Leonard back, this team is poised to make some noise in the postseason while trying to win its fourth straight Patriot League Keenan title.

With seniors Natalie Kerstein and Jessica Perry, and junior Hailey Iwanski, Middleboro will be a hard out from the South Shore League.

In the Merrimack Valley Conference, third-year starter and senior Kendra Marino will be a handful from Billerica on both ends of the floor. Central Catholic returns seniors Kerri Finneran and Aniela Kwo. Andover will look to also cause some headaches with coach Al Hibino at the helm.

Out of Dartmouth, senior Kat Cheeseboro (406 points from breaking the program’s scoring record before the season started), junior Kaelyn Zuber and sophomore Olivia Faria should be key contributors in what could be a surprising season.

After graduating five seniors, Bishop Fenwick will be led by juniors Caitlin Boyle and Celia Nelson with several key role players returning from last year’s squad from the Catholic Central League.

In Div. 1, Bishop Feehan is set for a chance to defend its state title out of the Catholic Central League. Led by senior captains CCL Offensive MVP and Tufts commit Maddy Steel, Brown commit Charlotte Adams-Lopez and Sam Carlson, the Shamrocks also have senior captain Lily Singer and junior Mollie Mullen to try and make another run.

After making it to the state semifinals, Woburn returns a ton of depth in Middlesex League All-Stars and seniors Mckenna Morrison and Shannon McCarthy as well as senior co-captains Brooke Tuzzolo and Jayelyn Cuniff. The Tanners also return juniors Kayleigh McCarthy and Ryley McCarthy with sophomore Alina Ayanian as an excellent defensive player.

Also in the Middlesex League, Lexington has senior captains Stella Criniti, Gloria Doyle and Sam Fortier hopeful to make a run after their state quarterfinals appearance.

In one of the deepest leagues, the Bay State Conference has Framingham, Wellesley and Needham all competing for the top spot.

The Flyers have seven returners with three of those being BSC All Stars. Senior Allie Regan is less than 150 points away from 1,000 career points while junior captain Grace Hanna is a force in the paint and sophomore Stephie Regan brings length and a physical presence on defense.

For Wellesley, senior captains Laura Girouard and Avery Moore aided by sophomores Maria Gianarikas and Lily Andrews will be players to watch. Needham will also be a tough out come the playoffs.

From the Dual County League, Concord-Carlisle returns DCL All-Stars in seniors Addie Shen (Div. 1 commit to NJIT) and Jill Brennan. Also from the DCL, Lincoln-Sudbury has league All-Stars in senior Evie Schwartz and juniors Sarah Poland and Alice Wallerstein with senior Alani Hoilett looking to take on a larger role.

In the Southeast Conference, Bridgewater-Raynham looks to return to form with six seniors, one junior and four sophomores. Seniors Brenna Woodbury, Olivia Roy, Libby Cronin and Jenna Micciantuono (a Worcester Academy transfer from B-R) and junior Camden Strandberg are players to watch.

Out of the Patriot League, the main players to watch from Quincy are seniors Alyssa Hopps and Niamh Gendron.

Div. 1 Players to Watch

C: Eva Andrews (Neeedham), Sophia Coburn (Peabody), Yeira Davila (Lawrence), Amanda Fowke (Malden), Belma Velic (Revere)

F: Zariah Anderson (New Bedford), Jillian Doherty (Taunton), Kerri Finneran (Central Catholic), Niamh Gendron (Quincy), Laura Girouard (Wellesley), Grace Hanna (Framingham), Ruhamah Henok (Cambridge), Alyssa Hopps (Quincy), Jane Jensen (Waltham), Clara Kostro (Beverly), Anelia Kwo (Central Catholic), Hannah Levine (Needham), Haley Magenheim (Andover), Lena Malymina (Franklin), Shannob McCarthy (Woburn), Mariya Antonetta Neykova (Chelmsford), Kaitlyn Pepin (Westford Academy), Stephie Regan (Framingham), Olivia Roy (Bridgewater-Raynham), Addie Shen (Concord-Carlisle), Frankie Spadorcia (Braintree), Camden Strandberg (Bridgewater-Raynham), Alice Wallerstein (Lincoln-Sudbury)

G: Charlotte Adams-Lopez (Bishop Feehan), Olivia Bayterian (Acton-Boxboro), Jill Brennan (Concord-Carlisle), Devon Burke (Newton North), Annie Camozzi (Needham), Stella Criniti (Lexington), Libby Cronin (Bridgewater-Raynham), Allie Danis (Newton North), Chloe Fales (Franklin), Alaysha Sylvia Figueroa (New Bedford), Anna Finger-Bittincourt (Acton-Boxboro), Amara Flores (Lynn English), Molly Gleason (Barnstable), Maddie Hargraves (Durfee), Avery James (Attleboro), Jada Kimbro (Brookline), Elizabeth LaRovere (Andover), Ava Lavoie (Medford), Avery Leeman (Waltham), Emilia Maria-Babcock (Everett), Callie McCarthy (Needham), Sophia McClendon (Belmont), McKenna Morrison (Woburn), Louise Mueller (Arlington), Chloe O’Brien (Malden Catholic), Jessi Persky (King Philip), Sarah Poland (Lincoln-Sudbury), Nikki Rao (Newton North), Allie Regan (Framingham), Maeve Ring (Boston Latin), Sydney Rogers (North Andover), Evie Schwartz (Lincoln-Sudbury), Maddy Steel (Bishop Feehan), Kimberly Tropnas (Malden), Brenna Woodbury (Bridgewater-Raynham)

Div. 2 Players to Watch

C/F: Riley Bovardi (Masconomet), Caitlin Boyle (Bishop Fenwick), Brooklyn Calder (Wakefield), Skye Cerow (Duxbury), Mary Ellen Charette (North Attleboro), Katherine Cheesebro (Dartmouth), Effie Giannopoulos (Notre Dame Hingham), Hailey Iwanski (Middleboro), Izzy Kittredge (Medfield), Kelsi Lanza (Silver Lake), Taryn Leonard (Whitman-Hanson), Lillie MacKinnon (Whitman-Hanson), Sara MacLeod (Billerica), Kendra Marino (Billerica), Quinn McDonald (Lowell), Jenna Mishou (Archbishop Williams), Emerson Webb (Lowell)

G: Naya Annigeri (Medfield), Madison Azzara (Bishop Stang), Tess Baacke (Medfield), Bella Bingham (Walpole), Kayda Brown (Danvers), Cassidy Conroy (Silver Lake), Sophie DeRochea (Pembroke), Allie Dwyer (Pembroke), Avery Gamble (Oliver Ames), Dylan Hurley (Whitman-Hanson), Natalia Kerstein (Middleboro), Kaylee Maier (Dracut), Alissa Marcella (Pembroke), Kirsten McKay (Stoughton), Celia Neilson (Bishop Fenwick), Ava Orlando (Notre Dame Hingham), Elle Orlando (Notre Dame Hingham), Ella Palanza (Mansfield), Jessica Perry (Middleboro), Lyla Peters (Duxbury), Emily Picher (Tewksbury), Maeve Powers (North Quincy), Savanna Scali (Burlington), Megan Simpson (Holliston), Shea Suntken (Wakefield), Sam Sweeney (North Attleboro), Raina Tat (Stoughton), Molly Trahan (Reading), Katelyn Troilo (Mansfield), Kaelyn Zuber (Dartmouth)