Menlo, SHP polo class of CCS?

The two SHP teams, along with the Menlo boys, then joined four other CCS teams in the Northern California regional tournament, with the Atherton schools all coming home with Nor Cal crowns.

Menlo’s regional title was the program’s first championship since winning the Division II CCS crown in 2010 and it looks like the Knights are ready to challenge their West Catholic Athletic League and CCS championship droughts in 2025.

Last year’s team finished 16-8 and featured three freshmen starters — Hunter Jackson, Adam Afar and Lincoln Bott. The Knights have nearly every key piece returning for 2025, with the only significant loss being the graduation of Jackson Coleman.

“Typically teams are starting two or three seniors. So it’s rare (to lose only one starter to graduation),” said Menlo head coach Jack Bowen, who enters his 26th season with the Knights. “You would have to imagine we should be pretty good again.”

But it’s not just the Big Three for Menlo. Rising senior Alex Stoffel was an honorable mention for the All-CCS team and goalie Connor Burks, another incoming senior who was pivotal in the Knights’ playoff run, was named third team All-CCS.

But Bowen, more than any other coach, does not buy into any kind of preseason rankings, scouting reports or what is happening around the CCS and Northern California.

His assistant, Eddie Simonin, does all that, but Bowen is simply focused on the process of preparing his team to be the best it can when it hits the pool for a match.

But the summer results indicate that Menlo may just be ready to make a run at a Sacred Heart Prep squad that finished ranked No. 1 in the state by MaxPreps.com and No. 5 in the nation last season after the Gators won their 12th straight CCS crown and fourth straight Nor Cal title.

But Bowen already saw tremendous growth from his team during a pair of summer tournaments. The Knights lost by eight goals to Campolindo in a tournament semifinal game in early June. Six weeks later, Menlo beat the Cougars by three in a semifinal match of the California State Tournament before falling to Foothill-Orange County in the title game — one that needed 13 penalty shots to decide.

After putting up one of the best single-season performances in CCS history, even more will be expected of Hunter Coleman this season. Bowen said as a freshman, Hunter Coleman scored the fifth-most goals in Menlo history.

“That says a lot for a freshman,” Bowen said. “He’s been training in Europe with the national team. … So you should expect a lot (from him).”

Bowen also said his all his starters should be expecting a lot — of playing time, that is. Depth will be thin for the Knights this season, so Bowen will have to find a way to keep his guys fresh throughout the season.

And he’ll have to find a way to further close the gap with Sacred Heart Prep. The Gators beat Menlo in their two meetings last season, 16-8 in the West Catholic Athletic League opener and 13-9 in a CCS Open Division semifinal match.

But the Gators graduated nine seniors, including second-team All-CCS selections, Nelson Harris and Luke Kirincich.

But SHP doesn’t rebuild. The Gators reload and are stacked again this season, starting with the return of three key seniors: Oliver Marcin was the 2024 CCS Player of the Year and is committed to Princeton; goalie Murdoch Baker-Matsuoka was a first-team All-CCS selection, as was 6-5 southpaw Clay Carrington, who will attend Harvard next year.

Gates Gamble returns as a junior after making the All-CCS third team as a sophomore last season.

“This will be one of the biggest, strongest teams we have had,” said SHP head coach Brian Kreutzkamp in a text message. “We should be top-5 in the state.”

To prepare for SHP and the rigors of the WCAL, which is the toughest league in the CCS, Bowen has, once again, gone out and put together as strong a schedule as he can and won’t worry about a team until the Knights have to play them.

“If you look at our schedule, I’m truly trying to find the best teams to play. If you’re not playing the best teams, then you’re just not being your best,” Bowen said. “But the week before playing [an opponent], I will scout them diligently.”

Can Serra maintain success?

The Padres had one of their best seasons in years in 2024, but if you looked at their record, you might wonder: how?

Serra won just one game in WCAL play, but still made the CCS playoffs with a winning overall record and then proved that records don’t mean anything once the playoffs start.

Led by second-year head coach Tim Kates, the Padres finished 18-12 on the season and advanced to their first CCS championship game in 30 years. They fell to top-seeded Los Altos in overtime in the Division I final. A match that saw the Eagles tie the game at 6-all with 46 seconds left in regulation.

The Padres will have to a number of replacements if they are to seek similar fortunes in 2025. Serra graduated the bulk of its scoring from last year. Six seniors, led by Sean Coffin, combined for 220 of the Padres’ 330 goals last season.

Serra does have a nice starting piece in Colin Wright, who was second on the team in goals scored with 78 last season as a sophomore. Henry Graham, who enters his senior season, finished with 16 goals and 25 assists last season.

The Padres also return goalie Rhys Salma, a rising senior who split time with graduated Gabe Hilliard.