Jeff Larsen welcomes back two starters from last year's Madison Bulldogs basketball team that reached the State A Tournament under his guidance for the second straight season.

Larsen is beginning his third year as Madison's head boys basketball coach. Larsen guided the Bulldogs to a seventh-place finish in the 2019 State A Tournament; the team was unable to play in the 2020 tournament due to COVID-19.

Seniors Carter Bergheim and Connor Hively are the only two starters returning to the lineup. Both will be forwards this season.

There are 26 players vying for a spot on the varsity team -- three seniors, nine juniors, three sophomores, 11 freshmen and one eighth-grader.

Seven letter-winners return for the Bulldogs: seniors Bergheim, Hively and Logan Allbee, and juniors Aspen Dahl, Nate Ricke, Trey Smith and Mickale Dohrer.

Other players out for the team are Allbee (guard/forward); juniors Dahl (guard), Ricke (forward), Dohrer (guard/forward), Dillon Bickett, Smith, Peyton Wolf, Mike Peters, Cody Klein and Elijah Olson; sophomores Adam Roemen, Aiden Jensen and Joe Gors; and eighth-grader Ben Brooks.

"We are very excited to get things started this upcoming weekend," Larsen said. "We have a great group of boys who are pushing to make themselves and their teammates better every day in practice."

Madison plays in one of the best conferences in the state, the Dakota XII Conference, which again is loaded with talent. Larsen believes some of the top teams are Sioux Falls Christian, Dakota Valley, Tea Area, Vermillion and Dell Rapids.

"They all return a lot of varsity players from last season," he said.

The Bulldogs finished last season with a 17-5 overall record and lost six players to graduation: Tyler Tappe (All-State), Cody Brown, Keaton Nighbert, Mason Avery, Carson Hunsley and Seth Christiansen.

Assisting Larsen this year are Chad White and Jarret Janke.

Madison opens the 2020-21 season on Saturday at Elk Point. The Bulldogs will face Elk Point-Jefferson 5 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the girls.

"We will continue to improve every day and will be looking to play our best basketball by season's end," Larsen said.