PUTNAM — Last year was the first year that Putnam Science Academy featured a boys’ varsity team. The varsity team was highly successful as they went 27-8 under the guidance of former Mustang player, Travis Godley. The team featured multiple division 2 and 3 players. With most of the team gone due to graduation, the need to restock was extremely necessary.

This year’s team will have a lot different look, from last year, as last yea’rs team was primarily made up of postgraduates and this year’s team will have more of a balance between postgraduates and underclassmen.

The lone returnee from last year’s varsity team is Stephan Jean, a postgraduate forward from New York. Jean returns for his second year after transferring in to Putnam Science Academy last year. Jean is known for his rebounding, constant energy and will be looked upon to lead his younger teammates.

At the guard position, one of the primary scoring options will be Danny Ampofo, a post grad from New Haven. The Mustangs have had great success recruiting from the state of Connecticut and hope Ampofo will continue that trend.

Continuing the trend of recruiting Connecticut the Mustangs roster will also feature Seth Thomas a true senior from Norwich. The 6-foot, 4-inch multidimensional player will be featured on the wing and play the forward spot at times.

The third Connecticut player featured on the roster is a 6-5 bruising forward in the class of 2019, Luc Bretton. Bretton is considered one of the hardest workers in the program because of his willingness to mix it up and rebound on both ends. His lunch pail attitude will be a welcome addition to the Mustangs.

Teaming up with Stephan Jean and Luc Bretton, in the front court, is Ibrahim Sylla a 6-8 postgrad from Philadelphia. Sylla has the ability to play both forward positions and score the ball in a variety of ways. He can play on the inside and has also shown the ability to step out to the three-point line. He looks to continue the trend of successes from the Philadelphia area as last year’s team featured Lapri McCray-Pace who is a current freshman at Morgan State.

Once again this year, the roster will feature a student/athlete from Rhode Island as Madison McCall from Rogers High School will be doing a post grad year. McCall, a 6-0 combo guard will give the Mustangs another option in the backcourt. His versatility will allow the coach to play him at both positions this year.

Also in the backcourt with Ampofo will be a couple of youngsters as the Mustangs secured commitments from Jaiden Rivera and Alpha Diallo. Rivera, a southpaw from California, is known for his smooth shooting stroke while Diallo the younger brother of former PSA star Hamidou Diallo, is known for his ability to run the point guard position and make his teammates better. Both Rivera and Diallo are sophomores and will be relied on heavily to immediately contribute.

The Mustangs roster will also have an international flair to the roster as it features Cobie Holman from France and Sergi Estany from Spain. Both Holman and Estany will be counted on in the backcourt this upcoming season. Holman is known for his ability to score while Estany is a pure point guard who has a flair like Ricky Rubio of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

This year’s team will be looking to build off the foundation set by last year’s team. Coach Godley understands this will be more of a learning process due to the inexperience, but is extremely excited to get to work.