GREEN TREE — The Mars boys basketball team was the No. 1 seed in the WPIAL playoffs last season.

With good reason.

The Planets had one of the best players in the league in sophomore Robby Carmody to complement a deep treasure trove of senior talents, led by the likes of John Castello, Alex Gruber, Steve Castello, Aaron Gruber and Christian Schmitt.

Coming into this season, though, only Carmody returned and he was surrounded by a roster of players who had made zero varsity starts and played few varsity minutes.

But the supporting cast of Ben Lewis, Ben Perdziola, Cade Hetzler, Andrew Recchia, Michael Carmody and others took full advantage of their opportunities.

And the Planets are the No. 1 seed again, this time in Class 5A, in the WPIAL playoffs.

“I’m absolutely thrilled,” said Mars coach Rob Carmody. “Coming into this year, it was well documented what kind of team we had and what type of players we lost. We had a whole new group of guys and we were in a whole new section that was a very difficult section. It makes me proud.”

The PIAA expanded from four classes to six this school year. That shook up the sections considerably.

Mars found itself in a section with a gauntlet of good teams. The top three teams in Section 2-5A — the Planets, Moon and Hampton — received the top three seeds in the 5A bracket.

Mars (14-8) will play the winner of Laurel Highlands and Highlands Feb. 24.

The Planets got the No. 1 seed despite eight regular-season losses and three section setbacks. Mars tied with Moon for the section title.

Some of those losses, though, came without Carmody, who missed two weeks with an ankle injury. Some also came against top-ranked teams in the country in a tournament in New York earlier in the season.

Mars has now won at least a share of a section title for five straight seasons.

“What that tells me is we have a program, not just a team,” Rob Carmody said.

Butler coach Matt Clement anticipated a first-round game with Baldwin and the Golden Tornado received exactly that. Butler faces Baldwin at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 22 at North Allegheny.

The winner of that game draws No. 2 seed Latrobe.

On the girls side, Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic is also the No. 1 seed, this time in Class 4A, for the second consecutive year.

“First seed again is amazing and just goes to show that all the hard work our team puts in is recognized,” said North Catholic senior forward Sam Breen. “Everyone on the team is super excited for the playoffs this year and we hope to make a really deep run.”

Last year, neither Mars nor North Catholic won the WPIAL title despite the No. 1 seed. Mars lost in the semifinals to Beaver Falls by a point. North Catholic fell to Vincentian Academy in the finals.

The North Catholic boys team, however, advanced to the WPIAL finals and won.

This year, the Trojans will begin a journey again toward another district title, this time in Class 3A, when they play Burrell at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at North Hills.

The Freeport girls will also open the playoffs Saturday in Class 4A against Elizabeth Forward. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Fox Chapel.

The Butler girls are making their first appearance in the WPIAL playoffs since the 2012-13 season.

The Golden Tornado, though, are limping into the playoffs with seven straight losses.

Butler coach Joe Lewandowski, though, is welcoming the week off. The Tornado don’t play until Tuesday when they face Norwin in a 6A game at 6:30 p.m. at Fox Chapel.

“We have a chance to get healthy,” Lewandowski said. “We’ve been battling injury and sickness.”

Junior guard/forward Jenna Kunst is nursing an elbow injury. Her status for the first round is still up in the air.

Lewandowski also had to play a slew of players who saw limited varsity action in the last two weeks.

“I see it is a positive,” Lewandowski said. “Depth was one of our weaknesses and we got to play a lot of players because of the injuries and serious illnesses we’ve had.”

Norwin won the last two WPIAL crowns in Quad-A, but lost a lot of the key players from those teams. It still went 16-5 this season.

Lewandowski’s point is everyone has the same record now.

“When they throw the ball in the air, you’re 0-0,” Lewandowski said. “It’s a new season. We’re excited.”

Butler County Area

basketball pairings

Boys

Class 6A

Butler vs. Baldwin, 6:30 p.m. Feb. 22 at North Allegheny

Class 5A

Mars, No. 1 seed and first-round bye. Planets play winner of Laurel Highlands vs. Highlands Feb. 24

Class 4A

Freeport vs. South Fayette, 8 p.m. Feb. 22 at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic

Class 3A

Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic vs. Burrell, 1:30 p.m. Saturday at North Hills

Class 2A

Summit Academy vs. Fort Cherry, 8 p.m. Tuesday at West Allegheny

Girls

Class 6A

Butler vs. Norwin, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Fox Chapel

Seneca Valley vs. Peters Township, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at North Allegheny

Class 5A

Mars vs. Montour, 6:30 p.m. Friday at North Hills

Class 4A

Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, No. 1 seed and first-round bye. Trojanettes play winner of Central Valley vs. Mt. Pleasant Feb. 23

Freeport vs. Elizabeth Forward, 3 p.m. Saturday at Fox Chapel