Here is a synopsis of what to expect in each district involving Northern teams for the 2023-24 season:

CLASS 2A District 2-2A

What was the case last year will repeat itself this year: Academy for Technology and the Classics and Albuquerque Menaul will duke it out for district supremacy. The Phoenix will be the favorite in the district — and in 2A — thanks to six seniors on the roster. The trio of forwards Julian “JuJu” Bernardino and Rocky Miller plus guard Jordan Apodaca will be a force to reckon with.

Monte del Sol suffered a double whammy in the offseason. After losing its two leading scorers in Kevin Enriguez and Xandro Zubia, it also saw incoming freshman Bryan Enriquez leave the program. The Dragons are leaning on senior Gursangnat Bhadal and junior Juanito Coughlin to shoulder the scoring load as a young team rounds into shape.

Tierra Encantada, which only had six players and barely made it through the 2022-23 season, has senior Sidney Ntoko returning.

District 5-2A

Early returns suggest Escalante and Mesa Vista will again challenge each other for the district title, but this district always has a surprise team or two. The Lobos have a senior-dominant lineup, led by guard Luka Torrez and 6-foot-2 post Greysen Horan. The Trojans have 6-3 sophomore forward Jordan Gallegos ready to fill the shoes left by the graduation of Jordan Cervantes, but also field a deep roster that will allow them to pressure from one end of the court to the other.

The two wild cards in 5-2A are the McCurdy Bobcats and the Mora Rangers. McCurdy lost only one player from last year’s squad, with senior guard Ryan Montoya being the key returning piece. Mora lost only two players to graduation, and it already showed how much it progressed in a 67-63 loss to defending 2A champion Pecos.

Questa has won 17 games over the past six seasons, but already has half as many wins as last year after beating Coronado to open the season. Seniors Antonio Romero and Martin Rivera are key returners.

District 6-2A

Anyone who thinks the Pecos Panthers are in a rebuilding mode should think twice. Even with the graduation of 10 seniors from last year’s state title team, the Panthers will still run, press and shoot — albeit not as efficiently to start. Only Joshua Gonzales and Lawrence Ragland saw significant playing time last year, but expect the players coming up from the junior varsity to fill key spots.

CLASS 1A District 7-1A

New Mexico School for the Deaf introduces a new coach, Fran Lopez, after Leonardo Gutierrez left after four seasons. Six-footer Adrien Ercolino gives the Roadrunners some size in the paint, while junior Alex Lopez-Gonzalez is an experienced returning guard. Coronado is looking to bounce back from a disappointing 7-17 season, and will rely on junior wing Michael Suskey to get the Leopards back to the 1A state tournament.