23. OHIO STATE
2023 record: 5-9 (1-4 Big Ten)
Last seen: Dropping five in a row to end the season, including back-to-back losses at Michigan to finish it off.
Initial forecast: Let’s start with a brief history lesson. The Buckeyes haven’t made back-to-back NCAA tournaments since 2003-04. They also haven’t had consecutive losing seasons since 1994-96. What that says is obvious: Ohio State doesn’t have much of a history of stringing together elite seasons, but it also generally regroups from its down years in short order. Go ahead and pin some of that on a feistiness that is in the program’s DNA, and it will be necessary to recover from last year’s forgettable run that included a lot of struggles away from Columbus. Nick Myers and his staff were especially active in the portal, landing (among others) Vermont faceoff man Tommy Burke, Binghamton midfielder Thomas Greenblatt (the America East’s offensive player of the year), Cleveland State’s Gannon Matthews (the Atlantic Sun’s midfielder of the year) and Wagner teammates Danny Brady (goalie) and Eli Fisher (defensive midfielder). How it all fits together remains to be seen, but here’s guessing the Buckeyes will find their way back to at least .500 this season.
22. LOYOLA
2023 record: 9-8 (4-4 Patriot)
Last seen: Dropping a 10-8 decision to Army in the Patriot League final to seal a second consecutive season without an NCAA tournament berth.
Starts lost: 33 of 170 (19.4 percent)
Scoring departing: 15 of 300 points (5.0 percent)
Initial forecast: Here’s a conundrum: Loyola brings back most of its key pieces from last year and pretty much its entire offense. Its most notable loss is ace short stick Payton Rezanka, and defensemen Matt Hughes and Cam Wyers are also out of eligibility. So should the Greyhounds — who will have all sorts of experience on the offensive end, with a trio of 30-goal scorers back in Adam Poitras (34 G, 15 A), Matthew Minicus (33 G, 16 A) and Evan James (31 G, 10 A) — be expected to be any better than the bunch that hovered around .500 last season and effectively peaked with victories over Maryland and Johns Hopkins to open the season? Faceoffs (65th nationally at 40.1 percent) and man-down defense (67th nationally at 53.7 percent) are obvious issues, but it would also be foolish to completely overlook Charley Toomey’s team. Still, after the last few seasons, Loyola finds itself in prove-it territory.
21. UTAH
2023 record: 12-5 (9-0 Atlantic Sun)
Last seen: Dropping their NCAA tournament debut at eventual champion Notre Dame, a 20-7 setback that snapped an 11-game winning streak.
Starts lost: 17 of 170 (10 percent)
Scoring departing: 50 of 418 points (12.0 percent)
Initial forecast: One of the feel-good stories of May was Utah advancing to the postseason for the first time in its five-year history. Now here’s something that won’t make the rest of the Atlantic Sun feel all that great: The Utes bring back the bulk of the core of that explosive team. Much of Utah’s strength will reside in a senior class that includes attackmen Jordan Hyde (49 G, 8 A) and Tyler Bradbury (33 G, 23 A) and defenseman Joey Boylston, and the Utes figure to be every bit as dangerous as the team that averaged 16.1 goals (second nationally to Virginia). The graduation of Samuel Cambere takes away one of the A-Sun’s best defensemen, while A-Sun tournament MVP Cole Brams (.577 faceoff percentage) might leave the biggest vacancy in the lineup. The Utes won their 11 games against league opponents by an average of 8.5 goals, and with so much back, they should be the clear-cut ASUN favorites in 2024.