Archbishop Williams moving to Div. 2 after winning the Div. 3 state title last year leaves a void that many are looking to fill.

A good place to start is perennial contender St. Mary’s (Lynn). J.J. Martinez and Jake Fortier comprise one of the better backcourts around, while 6-foot-5 Donel Mutombo provides an interior presence. Down the road a bit from St. Mary’s, Lynn Classical might be ready to make some noise as the solid backcourt of Marvin Avery Jr. and Almina Gerado are back.

A team capable of making some serious noise is Hugh Coleman’s Charlestown squad. A semifinalist in Div. 2 last year, the Townies have to be considered one of the favorites as Jaylen Hunter-Coleman and Jaylin Williams-Crawford return along with forward Trevari Andrews.

Old Rochester will lean on players such as forwards Robert Spenard, John Butler and Chase Besancon. All-South Coast Conference center Nathan Levesque is back for Apponequet along with guard Will Levreault.

Standout forward Brian Olson is the top returning player for Dover-Sherborn, though he is currently out with an injury.

Pembroke opened some eyes with a season-opening win over highly-touted Whitman-Hanson behind the play of Matthew Delcore, Gerald Ellison and Thomas Halloran.

Newburyport is another team which could benefit from dropping down a division. The Clippers return a solid nucleus keyed by a pair of returning all-Cape Ann League forwards in Finn Brennan and Carson Gretz.

Norwell won 16 games a year ago and return a pair of solid guards in Ronan Coffey and Ryan Luccarelli. Senior center Connor Pease is back for Abington along with guard Tyler Staiti, who excelled down the stretch last season. Randolph will look to forward Jordan Nash and center Cam Rainford.

There’s no question who enters the 2023-24 season as the favorite in Div. 4. Wareham won all five of its postseason contests by at least 20 points on the way to the title and return the nucleus off that 22-win squad.

All-Scholastic Ajay Lopes averaged more than 16 points and eight assists for the Vikings. Antoine Crosson was a walking double-double machine, while Diego Mello poured in more than 12 points a game. Aaron Cote, Jayce Travers and Jaron Pittman have that championship pedigree coaches love.

The toughest competitor could be Burke. New coach Joe Chatman takes over and he has a trio of guards back in Jasaad Fenton, Jaeden Roberts and Jaeshawn Rogers to go along with big man Gerald Banks.

Blue Hills has a nice nucleus back in guards Jiai Gonzales and Tyler Anderson as well as forwards Elijah Dumornay and Dominic Capaccioli.

Manchester-Essex has two big time returnees in guard Cade Furse and big man Eddie Chareas. Lynn Tech won 17 games and have forwards Erdick Gonzalez and Jayden Welch back with guard Giovanni Jean.

Tyler Lennox, Josiah Grimes and Charlie Condon are returning South Shore League All-Stars for Carver. Mashpee has one of the more dominant big men in Div. 4 in 6-foot-7 Dantae Clark.

Bourne should be among the top teams in the South Coast Conference as all-league forwards Nate Reynolds and Michael Dankert return along with guard Leo Andrade.

Among the local contenders in Div. 5, New Mission is a team to watch. Malcolm Smith’s squad might not have the gaudy win-loss record at the end of the day, but that’s due in large part to the challenging schedule they play annually. Guard Joseph Jackson and forward Lawrence Davis will be the leaders for New Mission.

Holbrook returns one of the better guards in the Mayflower Athletic Conference in Armani Perkins.

PLAYERS TO WATCH IN DIV. 3-5

C: Eddie Chareas (Manchester-Essex), Dantae Clark (Mashpee), Antoione Crosson (Wareham), Corey Grimes (Salem), Nathan Levesque (Apponequet), Connor Pease (Abington), Cam Rainford (Randolph), Damin Tavares (Upper Cape)

F: Matt Breen (Shawsheen), Finn Brennan (Georgetown), Max Chesley (Ipswich), Michael Dankert (Bourne), Max Finney (Old Colony), Jayquan Francis (Nantucket), Carson Gretz (Newburyport), Nate Holmes (Falmouth Academy), Dylan Kaplinger (East Bridgewater), Luke Lisciandra (Medfield), Matthew Naiwoichik (Upper Cape), Jordan Nash (Randolph), Brian Olson (Dover-Sherborn), Caden Reisman (Medway), Nate Reynolds (Bourne), Cole Rodgers (Sandwich), Christian Sanders (East Boston), Dimitri Sine (Lowell Catholic), Robert Spenard (Old Rochester), Keegan Walker (Tri-County)

G: Marvin Avery Jr. (Lynn Classical), Landon Cayton (Case), Ronan Coffey (Norwell), Jack Cullinan (Cohasset), Matthew Delcore (Pembroke), Jasaad Fenton (Burke), Cade Furse (Manchester-Essex), Almina Gerado (Lynn Classical), Jiai Gonzales (Blue Hills), Tiago Gomez (Wilmington), Jaylen Hunter-Coleman (Charlestown), Finn Hyora (Monomoy), Joseph Jackson (New Mission), A.B. Labell (Hamilton-Wenham), Jackson Lasquade (Georgetown), Tyler Lennox (Carver), Ajay Lopes (Wareham), Ryan Luccarelli (Norton), Ben Marvin (Wilmington), Connor McCall (Nashoba Tech), Diego Mello (Wareham), Franck Moron (Shawsheen), J.J. Martinez (St. Mary’s Lynn), James Meklis (Bishop Fenwick), Trey McPherson (Dennis-Yarmouth), Trosky Pena (KIPP), Armani Perkins (Holbrook), Ross Priscella (Bellingham), Jaeden Roberts (Burke), Jaeshawn Rogers (Burke), Jariel Ruiz (Cristo Rey), Tyler Staiti (Abington), Brauli Quezada Timeo (Chelsea), Tamaar Washington (Monomoy), Josiah Whitley, Jaylin Williams-Crawford (Charlestown)