Seth Boles, Eli Gunter and Gavin Gunter are also missing from the 26-7 team that lost to Central A&M last March at the Carbondale Supersectional.

Four seniors and a pair of juniors lead the way in 2019-20.

Six-foot-one senior Peyton Bates and 5-foot-11 senior Logan Kirk both started on the sectional championship team.

Six-foot-one senior Tanner Eubanks and 5-foot-8 senior Ryker Kiselewski were part of the mix while Garrett Gunter, a 6-foot-1 junior, started some also.

Six-foot-one junior Jake Newbury is back also while 6-foot-1 sophomore Gavin Woodland is injured and won't be back until after Christmas, according to Coach Shane Garner.

Garner enters his seventh season at the helm of Sesser-Valier with a record of 121-75.

In the previous six seasons, the Red Devils have snagged four regional titles, two sectional crowns and a fourth place trophy (2014).

“We return five guys (Bates, Eubanks, Kirk, Gunter, Woodland) who played in the supersectional last season. We're looking forward to adding to our depth and seeing who steps up to fill some roles,” said Coach Garner. “We have a very good group of young men to aren't scared to work hard and play as a team. This is a great opportunity for our younger guys to step up and earn some experience early on in the season with Gavin being out.”

OUTLOOK – Despite the deep graduation losses, don't expect this team to fall off of the map. This program will be just fine and they will be a postseason threat. They will defend, rebound and they will also find ways of scoring. By February they will be ready for their normal postseason run.