After posting the Ohio State preview, it's only fair to do a rundown of the entire conference so we can contextualize what the Buckeyes are facing this season. With what will most likely be a conference-only schedule on the docket, Ohio State is going to be facing an absolute murderer's row of talent every week.
And it will certainly be a challenge to reach the 6 wins needed to get to the conference tournament. Especially since so much talent has coalesced at the top of the conference.
Each team will be previewed in projected order of finish during the regular season. That projection is supplied by me, because these are free posts on a free website and nobody could afford a better writer during COVID. Them's the breaks.
Maryland
As always, Maryland tops the list in the Big Ten. Also as per usual, the reasons are simple: superior talent and good coaching.
Maryland made out of Covid-19's ravaging the 2020 season like a bandit. The Terps added some unbelievable talent through the portal and in their signing class for 2020. Maryland may boast the best attack unit in the Big Ten this year.
In addition to retaining the services of Jared Bernhardt, a front-runner for the Tewaaraton, Maryland added Eric Holden and Griffin Brown, two players who put up huge numbers at smaller schools (Hobart and Colgate). The Terps also return Daniel Maltz, who was a leading scorer last year as a true freshman.
Logan Wisnauskas returns at middie to headline that group, which also features senior Bubba Fairman and some really solid young talent. The defense got better with the addition of BJ Burlace, a transfer from Yale, at pole and Chris Brandau, a goalie from Georgetown. Overall, Maryland will be disappointed if they don't make it to Final Four. At least.
Final Record: 8-2
Penn State
It's tempting to downgrade Penn State for the loss of Grant Ament, but the Nittany Lions have a ton of good pieces still in place. Ament stings badly, but a top-25 player in Canyon Birch redshirted 2020 and will be shooting to be an instant impact player this year at attack. Birch is similar in a lot of ways to Ament, but isn't nearly the passer.
Elsewhere, Penn State still has Mac O'Keefe, the best American shooter in college lacrosse. Biggest question is whether the other middies can replicate the challenge of defending Ament now that he is gone. My bet is not quite.
Defensively, Penn State is recruiting better but the loss of Sabia in 2020 was stark. They'll be counting on 5th-year Gerard Arceri to keep the ball away from opponents using standing neutral grip. We will see if he can keep the same dominance.
Final record: 7-3
Johns Hopkins
Talent counts for a lot in any sport, and Hopkins has a lot of it. Joey Epstein, a former number 1 overall recruit, is still there, and will be a third-year player at attack. Cole Williams returns at attack, too. Added to the rotation is former Buckeye commit, and top-5 freshman, Brendan Grimes. They'll make a formidable trio, if Grimes wins the starting job on the left.
At middie, Hopkins is loaded. They're returning nearly all of their impact players, plus adding top-50 middie Johnathan Peshko. Peshko is a tremendous Canadian who has a Mark Matthews-like build (6'4", 200) and a cannon right-handed shot. Peshko is going to end up a Tewaaraton candidate under new OC John Grant, Jr. Watch him.
Final record: 6-4
Ohio State
The bottom three in the league could realistically end up in any order, but I believe that the Buckeyes will top the heap due to the most-talented midfield corps they have had since 2017. Will they get the results? Time will tell. For a much more detailed breakdown, check out the already posted Buckeye preview.
Final record: 6-4
Rutgers
Much like Maryland, Rutgers brought in a ton of transfer talent. Unlike Maryland, however, none of the players coming in was a stud on their original college team. These were a lot of guys looking for a fresh start after being passed over at their previous destination. Not sure if any will make an impact, but it's usually not a great sign when you bring in untested/unremarkable talent that washed out elsewhere.
Connor Kirst is one exception to this rule, as he comes to Rutgers with his brother. Connor is an All-American candidate as an O-middie, and will give Rutgers much more bite offensively for a year.
At attack, Adam Charalambides is back for year seven at Rutgers, and will be as dangerous as ever. The Scarlet Knights also have Kieran Mullins, who helped Charalambides dice apart Ohio State in 2019.
Defensively, Rutgers will be poor to middling, but their offensive prowess will be a huge threat for the Buckeyes to watch in 2021.
Final record: 5-5
TTUN
Bringing up the rear, in my opinion, will be the Wolverines. The entire program is a conundrum. Coach Kevin Conry recruits with the big programs. He plucked a 5-star attackman out of Ohio in Michael Boehm, who will almost certainly start twice against Ohio State.
Justin Zawada is a Tewaaraton candidate at attack. TTUN pulls players out of the biggest name schools on the East Coast, and from Canada. Their hockey program certainly has to help with that. Alex Buckanavage will headline a decent midfield group in 2021.
Weirdly, the Wolverines regressed hard in 2020 before the season ended abruptly. After beating Ohio State pretty easy in 2019 (Leclaire was out hurt), TTUN lost to first-year program Merrimack, who had a roster made up of mostly DII players. Granted, Merrimack was a title-winning program at DII, but still. It's a big jump.
Defensively, TTUN is a mess. They're getting some better players, but there was no reason for the team to look as bad as they did defensively. Maybe they turn it around. But I highly doubt it. Defense takes much longer to improve over time than offense.
Final record: 3-7
There you have it. For the skimmers out there, I am predicting the Big Ten finishes like this: Maryland, Penn State, Hopkins, Ohio State, Rutgers, TTUN. The tournament is anybody's guess. I feel that Ohio State can beat Maryland on a given day, especially playing them 3 times. Can they beat Maryland AND Penn State in the same weekend? Unlikely.
Still, a conference and national tournament berth would be a tremendous accomplishment with a conference-only schedule.
Go Bucks!
