The Wabash College  basketball team finished last season with four consecutive home wins, including games against DePauw and eighth-ranked Wooster, en route to a conference playoff berth. Copious amounts of talent and experience return to give the program an optimistic outlook entering this season. The North Coast Athletic Conference coaches picked the team to finish fifth in the annual preseason poll.
 
"That was very important at the end of the season," Carpenter said. "We started finally getting healthy and the freshman were playing some good basketball. It was great momentum beating Wooster and DePauw  and that, I think, showed good things are to come."
 
Numerous freshmen made significant contributions last season. Ross Sponsler, the 2013 NCAC Newcomer of the Year, highlights the returners from last year's freshman class.
 
"It's nice your freshman year because a lot of people don't know a whole lot about you," Sponsler said. "This year I'm expecting some tougher and different defenses to be thrown at me, but now we have the depth so teams won't be able to focus in on one or two guys — they'll have to guard all five of us."
 
The shooting guard led the team in scoring with 12.7 points-per-game.
 
Sponsler and fellow sophomore Daniel Purvlicis will serve as two of the team's three captains. Purvlicis averaged 11.1 points and pulled down 6.7 rebounds-per-game.
 
"There's a pressure on you to make sure the day-to-day stuff is going well," Sponsler said about his captain duties. "If practice is looking down, we need to bring the energy back up. But we have three guys who have garnered a lot of respect."
 
Center Pete Nicksic will serve as the third team captain. He will be the team's only senior until swingman Andy Walsh returns from football.
 
"For the entire off season and a portion of the regular season, I'm the only one in a senior leadership role," Nicksic said. "Even if you're not a captain, you're still looked up to as a senior. It's kind of funky, but the sophomores are willing to accept so much responsibility and make it their team as well."
 
Nicksic hauled in 5.7 rebounds-per-game and scored at an 8.3 points-per-game clip.
 
Point guard Houston Hodges will also return to the team at the end of the football season. Kasey Oetting and Marcus Kammrath round out the players returning with significant playing time last season.
 
"I know we have the same group of core guys, but we're really a different team," Sponsler said. "Although we want that momentum from last year to carry over, we don't want to compare the two years."
 
One of the differences will be Wabash's improved athleticism. Several players focused on getting lighter and quicker in the offseason to improve their defense.
 
"We can defend almost anyone now," Nicksic said. "The rotations don't matter as much because we have so many athletes. That really helps you play faster and not think as much on defense."
 
It is likely freshmen will play significant roles for the second straight year. The 2017 class has generated a lot of excitement in the program.
 
"The energy surround the program is great — guys are really excited to come to practice every day," Sponsler said. "They're putting in a lot of extra work, something I think we missed last year."
 
Sponsler listed guards Kyle Aiton and Gary Ulrich, and center Daniel Scofield as freshmen that may see the floor early. Sponsler added that the depth and talent of this freshmen class also means several will called upon to contribute immediately.
 
The team's first test will be Friday against Franklin College. Tipoff will be 7:30 p.m. in Chadwick Court.