The Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference has produced the Class B boys basketball state champion four of the last five years, with Winslow winning last March and Camden Hills of Rockport the best in 1999, 2001 and 2002.

This year, the league figures to be even stronger.

“It’s as good as it’s been in a while,” said veteran Camden Hills coach Jeff Hart. “I think in other years there’s been good parity, but this year there’s parity and great talent. So many teams have their best players coming back, but I just think from a fan’s point of view it’s going to be a great, great season to come watch KVAC Class B basketball, and from a coach’s point of view, I’d much rather play games like that.”

One preseason favorite out of the KVAC B ranks is Erskine Academy of South China. Coach Tim Bonsant’s club returns conference player of the year Matt Donar and 6-4 junior Josh Jones, who emerged as an inside force during the Eagles’ run to the regional final.

Winslow graduated Eastern B tournament MVP Micah Grant to Husson College, but the Black Raiders have a veteran cast back that includes 6-4 senior Adam Haskell, senior point guard Josh LaPointe and junior swingman Eric Lopez.

Maranacook of Readfield boasts a strong senior guard tandem in 5-8 Charlie Calligan and 5-10 Matt St. John and a quality forward in 6-3 senior Kaleb Violette as it seeks a return trip to Bangor.

Mount View of Thorndike graduated just two seniors off last year’s tournament entry. Seniors Roy Goodale and Anthony Greenlaw provide the Mustangs a strong frontcourt tandem.

Rockland has a new coach and a solid tandem of its own in forward Wade Oliver and guard Greg Crupi, a transfer from Camden Hills.

Then there is Camden Hills, which went 16-2 during the 2002-03 regular season before being ousted by Winslow in the regional semifinals. The Windjammers rely on relentless defensive pressure founded in quality depth. Camden Hills is led by 6-3 junior forward Tim Stammen, one of Eastern Maine’s most versatile players, and 6-2 junior point guard Jamey Davis, but 10 players are expected to see considerable action.

“Last year we had three or four sophomores playing most of the time,” Hart said. “So now we’ve got a lot of juniors who are experienced, and a pretty good group of seniors; we’re a pretty experienced club.

“We’re better than last year. I know some people look at us and say they’ve got a lot of juniors, but we’ve got two or three who have been playing since they were freshmen.”

Two Big East Conference teams expected to challenge the KVAC’s supremacy atop the Class B ranks are Presque Isle and Foxcroft Academy.

Presque Isle is a Class B newcomer after generations as a contender in Eastern A.

“Obviously I have mixed feelings after 18 years in the same conference with the same team,” said Presque Isle coach Tim Prescott, who earned his 200th coaching win last winter. “That’s a lot of tradition to say goodbye to. But it’s the beginning of a new era, and something we’ve known was going to happen for a while, and now the time has come to join a new league.”

The Wildcats, which finished 11-9 and reached the regional quarterfinals in their final year in Class A, have just one senior this season and expect to start three juniors and two sophomores.

Greg Whitaker, a 6-foot-4 sophomore forward, figures to be one of the team’s top performers after stepping into the starting lineup late last winter with strong performances in a preliminary-round win against Mt. Blue of Farmington and an Eastern A quarterfinal loss to Brunswick.

“I think that was a springboard for Greg,” Prescott said. “He’s one of our most versatile players.”

Other key players for the Wildcats are 6-3 junior forward Kyle Rideout, one of the top rebounders in the Big East A ranks last season; 6-6 junior Matt Fowler, who’s coming off a broken wrist suffered during preseason; and guards Chris Carlin and Matt McGlinn.

Foxcroft went 18-2 last season and was the only non-KVAC team to reach the Eastern B semifinals before falling to Erskine Academy. This year’s club, consisting mostly of players off the school’s state championship football team, features veteran guards in seniors Josh Withee and Lincoln Robinson and a pair of talented juniors in 6-3 Matt Carey and 6-0 Bobby Gilbert.

The Ponies don’t have a lot of height, in part because 6-7 senior center Brandon Hall is recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered during the first week of football season. Foxcroft coach Dave Carey hopes Hall can return to the lineup by mid-January.

“We have a lot of kids who don’t like to lose,” said Carey. “But we need to stay healthy, and we’re already a man down.”

Among other Big East B teams, Ellsworth boasts a young but strong perimeter attack featuring senior point guard Joey DeWitt and 6-4 sophomore Andy Tracy. The Eagles also will benefit from a pair of talented freshmen, Demetrios Katsiaficas and Corey DeWitt.

“This is the most athletic team I’ve had here,” said eighth-year Ellsworth coach Dan Clifford. “I’ve got some kids who like to fly up and down the court as much as they can, some good shooters and some kids who like to play defense.”

Mount Desert Island graduated seven seniors from its 2003 tourney team, but coach Wilton Jones will utilize an influx of talent from a junior varsity team that lost just twice last winter.

Hermon will start five seniors, a contingent including guards Adam Gould and Jesse Keith and 6-3 center Adam Duplisea.

“We don’t have a lot of height,” said Hawks’ coach Alan Tweedie, whose club opened its season with a victory against Presque Isle. “But this is an intelligent team. I think this is probably the smartest team I’ve ever coached.”