Seems pretty fair to me. Given what occurred in the abbreviated 2020 season we clearly don't warrant a preseason top 10, but I think outside the top 20 would be an overcorrection given the presumably healthy return of Joey Epstein (among other things, like the incoming transfers, the promising freshman class, and the new staff who have been responsible for lots of very recent success on both sides of the ball). Anywhere between like 12-18 is defensible IMO.nyjay wrote: ↑Wed Sep 16, 2020 10:03 am US Lax Mag has the Jays at 15 in their way ahead of preseason rankings. Here's their blurb, none of which is unfair.
Maybe a new voice will immediately revitalize Hopkins, which found itself overwhelmed against high-end competition before the season was halted. The Blue Jays’ first new coach in two decades is Peter Milliman, who did fine work at Cornell but is tasked with energizing a team that frankly was subpar at just about everything other than faceoffs (17th nationally) and man-up offense (33rd) in 2020. Milliman inherits an excellent offensive centerpiece in Joey Epstein, who dealt with injuries last year after a brilliant freshman season. There are a lot of places Hopkins needs to get better, but the defensive end again was a glaring issue. Little wonder Milliman’s early moves on the transfer wire addressed that end of the field. The addition of long pole Jared Fernandez (Syracuse) and goalie Josh Kirson (Ohio State) figure to make the Blue Jays more competitive, but it’s probably premature to expect an instant return to contending for Memorial Day weekend trips.
IF there is a season, I am very, very curious to see how freshmen across the country do having not finished their senior years of high school and now not getting a real fall ball program. Might be unwise to expect much of an impact from them in 2021, though sometimes talent wins out.