1. Mount St. Joseph Last season: 31-4, No. 2 The Gaels are loaded once again, with a quality front row of 6-foot-6 Louis Birdsong, 6-8 Dino Gregory and 6-9 Henry Sims and a bevy of quick, sharp-shooting guards. 2. Towson Catholic Last season: 26-12, ranked No. 7 Few high school teams have an inside-outside combination like Owls juniors Donte' Greene and Malcolm Delaney. First-year coach Josh Pratt has also inherited a strong supporting cast. 3. St. Frances Last season: 19-15, No. 11 Sophomore Sean Mosley, a returning All-Metro swing guard, and 6-7 forward Rashawn Alexander lead a deep Panther squad whose only question is chemistry. 4. McDonogh Last season: 23-6, No. 5 Former assistant coach Donta Evans takes the reins of a potentially powerful Eagles team led by Georgetown-bound Player of the Year DaJuan Summers, Joe Yermal and Brandon Herbert. 5. Walbrook Last season: 26-2, No. 1 The defending Class 4A state champs re- turn three starters in Baltimore City Player of the Year Rodney Spruill, Marc Davis and Eric Pitts, and a developing group of reserves from last season. 6. Southwestern Last season: 22-4, No. 6 All-Metro guard Jamal Barney and second-team All-Metro forward Juawan Rheubottom make the Sabers a City contender and threat to Walbrook in Class 4A. 7. Dunbar Last season: 23-3, No. 3 Graduation hit the defending state 1A champion Poets hard, but senior guard Marcus Taylor is back to lead the never-ending influx of talent at the East Baltimore school. 8. Randallstown Last season: 26-1, No. 4 Coach Kim Rivers, whose team has moved down to Class 2A after he led the Rams to a third 3A state title, is a master at reloading. He will build round second-team All-Metro guard Johnny Higgins. 9. Annapolis Last season: 20-7, No. 10 With the return of 6-5 Kevin Coates, Anne Arundel County's Player of the Year, along with high flying, 6-4 Daishawn Anderson, the Panthers could be in for their best season since 2003 (23-2) and add to their record number of 26 appearances in the state tournament. 10. Calvert Hall Last season: 23-13, No. 13 The rapid development of 6-7, 245-pound junior Braxton Dupree, who orally committed to Maryland, and the rest of the returning cast make the Cardinals a contender in the Baltimore Catholic League and Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference. 11. Arch. Spalding Last season: 21-12, No. 14 Guard Derek Young, 6-7 Danny Quinn and 6-4 Dan Palumbo will make the Cavaliers competitive in the Baltimore Catholic League and MIAA A Conference. 12. Douglass Last season: 19-7, No. 12 The Ducks have three key re- turning starters in seniors Antoine Smithson, Tyrone Flemming and Kendal Alexander, as they chase Randallstown from Class 3A North to 2A North. 13. Old Mill Last season: 23-4, No. 9 Coming off their first Anne Arundel County championship, second appearance in the state semifinals and a school record for wins, the Patriots were hit by graduation, but point guard Andrew Engel and 6-8 Rodney Stokes return to make another run in Class 4A East. 14. Howard Last season: 8-15, unranked Chris Moore, Howard County's Player of the Year at Centennial, transferred transferring to the Lions, bringing his 16 points and 10 rebounds per game with him. 15. Lake Clifton Last season: 9-14, unranked Guards Terrence Jones and Brandon Brown and forward Brandon Davis all started as sophomores last season.