NEW GLARUS — The Glarner Knights have won the last four conference titles and return the Capitol South player of the year in forward Mason Martinson.

“I anticipate him playing more minutes on the wing this year,” New Glarus coach Travis Sysko said. “With our size we will look to get the ball in the paint.”

Martinson, who stands at 6-4, averaged 15.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game last year. He enters the season with 731 points, within striking distance of the 1,000-point career milestone. Martinson would need to play in at least 17 games to reach the mark if he repeated his scoring average from 2019-20.

Also returning to the starting lineup this season will be seniors Nathan Streiff (11.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg) and Darris Schuett (8.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg).

Other letterwinners back from last year include seniors Devon Vasquez, Breckin Faber and Dominic Tollakson, as well as junior Carter Siegenthaler. All four combined to average just under 10 points per game last season. Newcomers to varsity include five juniors, including 6-7 post player Dain Walter and sophomore guard AC Strok.

“This team will look differently than teams of past in New Glarus,” Sysko said. “We are going to have size that we typically don’t see. I think we should be able to defend the paint (and) I see our experience being a plus for us.”

While the team’s strengths lie in the post, it’s perimeter play that has Sysko concerned. 

“Perimeter shooting could be a weakness for us this season, and perimeter defense could also be a concern,” Sysko said. “We need to find a lock down defender that can guard the opposing team’s best players.”

Siegenthaler, Schuett and Streiff can all hit shots from the outside, as well as Martinson, but the struggle will come from finding consistency from deep.

“I think we are still the favorites until someone knocks us off,” Sysko said. “Belleville and Marshall both return solid squads with plenty of talent on both rosters to compete for a conference title. I see Wisconsin Heights as a dark horse. I think our league will be very competitive this year.”

However, Dane County regulations on group gatherings leave both Belleville and Marshall with the question of even getting onto the court for practice, let alone playing games. Wisconsin Heights finished 4-6 in league play last season, but senior De’Shawn Barsness was a first-team all-conference pick and averaged 15.8 points per game last year, and teammate Devin Brabender was an honorable mention pick last year as a sophomore.