For a team that was chosen as the preseason favorite two years in a row and has recorded six straight 20-plus win seasons, Vermont’s prospects in 2014-15 are relatively bleak.

The 2013-14 America East regular season champs lost four starters and six seniors. Their roster features just one athlete who has played for the program more than a single season. They will have to rely on their seven-man freshman class to fill gaping holes left by guys like forward Clancy Rugg and 2014 AE Defensive Player of the Year Brian Voelkel, who dominated the floor in their time.

But head coach John Becker, who was 2014’s AE Coach of the Year, takes that challenge in stride.

“I love change,” Becker said emphatically. “We’ve had a lot of it this year, but it’s been fun. It’s rejuvenated me.”

Aside from rejuvenating much of his staff, he’s obviously rejuvenated his lineup as well. Graduating Rugg — who averaged 13 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 27.9 minutes per contest — and Voelkel — who led the conference in assists (5.8 per game) and took second in rebounding (8.1 per game) — the Catamounts will need some big contributions from largely unproven players.

Primarily, Becker will look to junior Ethan O’Day — the only returning starter from last year’s squad. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 7.4 points and 3.8 rebounds in 20.4 minutes per contest, making him the most experienced of the group. But O’Day has big shoes to fill without Rugg and Sandro Carissimo, who combined for 25.5 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.

“Ethan O’Day has made a nice jump,” Becker said. “He’s a guy that started for us so we all know what he can do. We haven’t had to depend on him like we will this year. But he’s gotten a little bit bigger, looks a little bit taller, and he’s added some things to his repertoire, so I think he’s going to have a great year.”

With such a young group, Becker will also rely on his two senior forwards to lead the squad vocally and by example. Both Hector Harold, who averaged five points and two rebounds per game in 15.4 minutes per contest, and Ryan Pierson, who sat out the season with a broken ankle, expressed excitement about stepping into the leadership role.

“Those guys are really going to be key to the success we have this year,” Becker said. “I’ve challenged them publicly, privately that they’re going to have to consistently give us production and we’ve got to be able to count on them, day in and day out, game in and game out.”

Becker isn’t actually worried about his offense. The fourth-year head coach mentioned point guard Ernie Duncan as one freshman who will make an immediate impact. The Indiana native became Evansville Harrison High School’s all-time leading point scorer — over former NBA players Calbert Cheaney and Walter McCarty — after averaging 20 points, six assists and four rebounds per game his senior season.

“I think the thing that I really have to find out is just how we’re going to rebound the ball,” Becker said. “Obviously we graduated the school’s all-time leading rebounder [in Voelkel] but guys like Clancy Rugg and Luke Apfeld also brought a lot of that night in and night out. We really won the war down in the paint. And that’s where we’re going to have to find out if we can continue to do that with our current group of guys.”

Replacing Voelkel is not a one-man job. Voelkel’s stats were strong, but his intangibles are what set him apart. He was tireless, and unafraid to play dirty. He led Vermont to one of its best defensive seasons — the team ranked 13th in the nation in points allowed (60.6 per game). To replace that impact, Becker will need a full-team effort.

With all its loss, Becker was unsurprised that Vermont was picked to finish fourth in the conference in the preseason coaches’ poll. That could also be positive: Guys wouldn’t have to worry about having a target painted on their backs. It would allow them to develop more easily.

But the fact that others expect less means nothing to Becker.

“Externally our expectations are lower,” Becker said. “In the locker room, they’re exactly the same.”