Eastern Mass. boys' lacrosse: Here are 10 players you don't want to miss this season
— The 6-foot-1-inch middie earned
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Luke Kelly, St. John's Prep
— One of 22 seniors on the roster for the four-time defending
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Luke Kelly (right) is one of 22 seniors on the St. John's Prep team this spring.
Ken McGagh for The Boston Globe
Tommy Farrell, North Andover
— Already over 150 points entering his second year as a captain, the Fairfield-bound junior attack leads a prolific offense that is stocked with returning playmakers.
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Nolan Jennings, Burlington
— The senior midfielder is the reigning Middlesex Freedom MVP and he's surrounded with talented attackmen including senior Jason Kane and sophomore Daniel Hanafin.
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Ben Lusby, Medfield
— A long-stick midfielder with a gear shift that can spark Medfield's transition game, Lusby scored 26 goals last season, including three hat tricks in the state tournament, while leading
James Nolan, Wellesley
— The Bay State Conference co-MVP has the potential to shift between midfield and attack. The 6-1 junior led Wellesley with 77 points (46 goals, 31 assists) last season.
James Nolan powers Wellesley's attack, finishing with 77 points last season.
MARK STOCKWELL FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE
Logan Poulin, Nauset
— Not only one of the best middies in the state, the Vermont-bound senior is also elite at the faceoff-X and a proven winner who just helped
Willy Robinson, Scituate
— Showing a penchant for dramatic goals as a junior, the senior middie returns as the leader of a Sailors program that advanced to the Division 3 state final last June.
Nico Smith, Mansfield
— After posting a program-best 19 wins, Mansfield returns most of its key pieces this year, including the reigning Hockomock League MVP, who led his team with 62 goals and 34 assists.
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Mansfield's Nico Smith totaled 96 points last season in earning Hockomock MVP honors.
Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Others to watch
: Nate Burns, Sr. (Hopkinton); Will Carey, Sr. (Masconomet); Tristan Clayton, Jr. (Acton-Boxborough); Carson Eutsay, Sr. (Catholic Memorial); Colin Fuller, Sr. (Newburyport); Brayden Mattera, Sr. (Walpole); Jake McGuirk, Jr. (Norwell); Finn McKeon, Sr. (Westford); John Olenik, Sr. (Medfield) Alex Peck, Sr. (Natick); John Revegno, Sr. (Duxbury); Jack Weissenburg, Sr. (St. John's Prep)
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Returning for the Sailors are hitter Sammy Destler (a Washington commit), setter Olivia Penske (a Georgetown commit), middle Elle Vandeweghe (a Southern Methodist commit) and junior pin hitter Makenna Barnes. Cari Klein coached Marymount to six straight titles (five in Division IVAA and the last in IA) from 2001-06 — still the section record — and three consecutive from 2010-12 (the first two in 1A and the last in 1AA, then the top division). Huntington Beach lost All-CIF libero Olivia Foye (now at Princeton) but outside hitter Addison Williams (a Hawaii commit) and the Oilers will battle for the Sunset League crown with Los Alamitos, which is paced by libero Kaitlyn Herweg. Murrieta Valley and Palos Verdes clashed for the Division 2 title last year but both rosters look significantly different. All-CIF sophomore hitter Summer Tukua returns but the champion Nighthawks graduated eight players, including MVP Miley Thunstrom. Palos Verdes lost three All-CIF players: top hitter and Stanford commit Kaci Demaria, LSU beach commit Molly LeBreche and UCLA beach commit Mallory LaBreche. Under coach Arman Mercado, defending City Section Open Division champion Taft won 40 or more matches in each of the three previous seasons, but the core of that group graduated last spring, including Co-Players of the Year Aleiah Carr and Francine Baltazar-Shine, libero Gianella Tijamo and All-City outside hitter Eva Velarde. Returning are defensive specialist Jasmine Orellana, setter Alexa Barajas and opposite Laila Braimah. Open Division finalist Venice returns All-City first-teamers Gaia Adeseun-Williams and setter Kaya Richards and second-team pick Samantha Lortie. Palisades is hungry for its first title in five years with hitter Tulah Block and libero Lucy Neilson.
