The Parkland boys basketball will have a different look this season. The Trojans graduated four starters and two key role players from the 2015-16 team that won the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and District 11 4A titles, while also falling just short in the PIAA quarterfinals to eventual state champion Roman Catholic.

Head coach Andy Stephens graduated two former league most valuable players in Devante Cross (2014) and Kyle Stout (2015), along with classmates Kenny Yeboah and Jack Dreisbach. All four had started and played significant minutes for the team for two straight seasons.

“Those guys did a lot for our program,” said Stephens, the ninth year head coach. “It’s going to be hard to make up for their contributions. So it is going to have to be a complete team effort. We have the guys that can do that.”

The main cog back in the lineup for Stephens and his Trojans team is senior Sam Iorio. Iorio was co-MVP with Cross in 2015, and was an EPC first-team member, and a part of the All-State team last year. He recently committed to play on the collegiate level at American University, and will be counted on for a large part of the Parkland scoring.

Other players returning that had meaningful minutes a year ago include seniors Michael Zeky and Zach Bross, and junior Jake Bartholomew.

Some of the newcomers that will see playing time and be needed to contribute are seniors Tyler German, Matt Persichetti, Gabe Burgos and Justin Lessel, junior Michael Ruisch and sophomore Logan Rindock.

“We have a lot of new faces this year, and a lot of inexperience,” said Stephens. “But we have some very good leadership with some of the older guys back. We had a great summer as a team. They just need a little bit more experience in varsity level games.”

Parkland reached Sunday of SportsFest and qualified for the postseason of the summer league. The Trojans’ goals for the season are the same.

“We want to be competitive and be a top team by the end of the year,” Stephens said. “We’re looking to compete for championships.”