BERKELEY – Just a few minutes after watching his team complete its first official practice of the 2018 season, Cal head coach Kirk Everist couldn't help but crack a slight smile when evaluating the logistical side of the year's maiden training session.

"It was nice to have subs today," he joked.

After a spring and summer in which a quality returning core of players worked to take a step forward, Everist and the Bears welcomed some new blood Wednesday as a large and promising group of freshmen joined the fray to kick off a new season on an overcast morning at Spieker Aquatics Complex.

They did so in the context of a team that, at this point in the calendar year, is certainly used to making adjustments. In recent seasons, that meant devising creative ways to balance rest time and practice time for a player in Luca Cupido who was also busy establishing himself as one of the top options for the United States national team.

This time around, the Bears started training camp without one of the most prolific scorers in school history, senior Johnny Hooper. Fresh off a summer campaign with Team USA and with more international play lined up in the coming weeks, Cal's star attacker and 2018 co-captain paid close attention from the stands as the Bears got to work.

Even without Hooper in the pool though, there wasn't a shortage of proven talent to lead the way. Fifth-year senior and co-captain Vassilis Tzavaras and senior Odysseas Masmanidis both bring impressive credentials and quality leadership skills to the table as the Bears look to provide the foundation from which their young players can grow.

"Through all five years, I've been able to take in something each year," Tzavaras said. "Now, during my final year, I'm ready to integrate the new freshmen into our system so when everyone steps onto the pool deck, we know what we have to do to be successful."

Priority No. 1 will be figuring out the various ways in which to account for the absence of Cupido, who finished his Cal career by winning the Peter J. Cutino Award as the nation's top male player. Both in training camp and once matches roll around, that task will fall to the group rather than one individual in particular.

"There were things we could do as a team that he could lead from the water and we're not going to be able to do (without him)," Everist said. "But, just like any great player, you're not replacing Ivan Rackov or Mike Sharf or Ody or Hooper next year. You just find different ways. The team finds a way. Certain guys get more looks than they did before and they step up. It's going to be a collective effort."

Cupido isn't the only significant contributor the Bears, who were picked third in the preseason Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) coaches poll, will need to find a replacement for. 2017 co-captain Pedro Stellet graduated, as did Team USA member Nicholas Carniglia and key contributors Conor Neumann and Connor Reid. Another decision will come in the cage as the departure of 2017 All-American Kevin Le Vine leaves Cal looking to find a starting goalkeeper for the second year in a row.

Returners Spencer Tagg and Bernardo Carelli each bring a measure of experience in their bid for the starting job while incoming freshmen Anthony Rethans and Sam Murphy will also vie for time. Tagg served as the primary backup in 2017 and Carelli made his biggest mark as a true freshman backup in 2016.

Rethans and Murphy are two members of a seven-person incoming class that Everist says will get its chance to contribute right away. How quickly that group adjusts and adapts alongside a team that won a NCAA title in 2016 and has reached the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three seasons could go a long way towards determining where the Bears stand come late November.

"We had our first weight session today and they followed all the rules," Tzavaras said of his new teammates. "They come from diverse backgrounds, so we're going to have experience internationally and nationally, which will help our team develop. I'm pretty sure that once we integrate them into our team, they are players that fit into the system we want to play and that's definitely going to help."

Cal opens the season on Sept. 1-2 at the Triton Invitational hosted by UC San Diego. The Bears will take on Air Force and Concordia to start the season before playing two more matches on the second day of competition. Action returns to Northern California on Sept. 6 at UC Davis and Sept. 8 at Pacific. The 2018 home opener is set for Sept. 14 at 6 p.m. against Long Beach State.