A week after the book was closed on the 2019 season, it’s time to look ahead at what’s to come next spring. Rationally, it’s too early to do so effectively — there are transfers (hello, Chris Gray) still seeking new homes and (unfortunately) injuries still to surface. Nonetheless, it’s an exercise to ponder what’s next in the college game, a good thing since we're eight months out from the first game of 2020.

Up next: Nos. 11-15, all of which rightfully harbor dreams of a deep push into May even if this past spring didn’t work out as well as they would have liked.

Way-Early 2020 Rankings

Division I Men
No. 25-No. 21
No. 20-No. 16
No. 15-No. 11
No. 10-No. 6
No. 5-No. 1

Division I Women
No. 25-No. 21
No. 20-No. 16
No. 15-No. 11
No. 10-No. 6
No. 5-No. 1

Division III Men
No. 10-No. 6
No. 5-No. 1

Division III Women
No. 10-No. 6
No. 5-No. 1

15. TOWSON

2019 record: 11-5 (4-1 Colonial)

Last seen: Becoming the first (but not last) team in this year’s postseason to fall in overtime, dropping a first-round game to Maryland in the program’s first NCAA tournament home game since 2007.

Senior starts lost: 64 of 160 (40 percent)

Senior scoring departing: 164 of 307 points (53.42 percent)

Initial forecast: The senior-related stats above don’t begin to account for the Tigers’ two biggest departures: short stick Zach Goodrich, the USILA’s midfielder of the year, and faceoff maestro Alex Woodall, who won 74.2 percent of his draws and helped control possession about as well as anyone not named TD Ierlan. Attackman Brendan Sunday (49 goals, 25 assists) is among the three 20-goal scorers who exits the CAA champions’ roster as well. Yet this year was a fine illustration of how adaptable Shawn Nadelen’s program really is, evolving into a capable scoring team with the advent of the shot clock (and, admittedly, Woodall’s brand of make it/take it). Not having a short stick who can smother an opponent’s top midfielder and not enjoying the luxury of an established faceoff man remove some of Towson’s advantages from this past season, but it seems foolhardy to underestimate the Tigers after they’ve made the NCAA tournament five times in the last seven years. Towson might not get the nod as the CAA favorite next year with Massachusetts bringing back so much. Then again, the Tigers were picked second in 2019, and we know how things ultimately turned out for them.

14. LOYOLA

2019 record: 12-5 (7-1 Patriot)

Last seen: Getting a monster 11-point effort from Pat Spencer in his final college game, a 21-14 loss to Penn State in the NCAA quarterfinals

Senior starts lost: 88 of 170 (51.76 percent)

Senior scoring departing: 173 of 385 points (44.94 percent)

Initial forecast: Well, this is going to be different. For at least the last three years — and arguably the last four — the Greyhounds have built their offensive identity around Spencer. They’d have been bonkers not to do so, but the price of wisely doing everything possible to accentuate Spencer’s strengths is the need to seriously revamp once he was out of eligibility. That bill comes due this offseason, but the good news for Loyola is there are two tested starting attackmen (Kevin Lindley and Aidan Olmstead, the former coming off a 60-goal season) and strong midfielder in Chase Scanlan (43 goals, 15 assists) who did a stellar job of putting the ball on cage as a freshman. There’s a considerable hole at the other end of the field with the graduation of Jacob Stover, who had a .583 save percentage in 2019 and logged all but about 21 minutes in the cage last season. The gap between Loyola and the rest of the Patriot League will be as narrow as any point since 2015 — the year before Spencer’s arrival — and it’s tough not to think Loyola’s ceiling won’t be quite so high. That could make a loaded nonconference schedule a bit dicey as the Greyhounds find their way in February and early March.

13. MASSACHUSETTS

2019 record: 10-5 (4-1 Colonial)

Last seen: Bowing out of the CAA semifinals in thoroughly unexpected fashion, giving up a season-high 15 goals in a loss to Drexel.

Senior starts lost: 39 of 150 (26 percent)

Senior scoring departing: 25 of 312 points (8.01 percent)

Initial forecast: It was easy to get caught up in the Minutemen’s defensive prowess. Isaac Paparo was an exceptional presence and there’s a good case to be made Sean Sconone was the best goalie in the country over the last two seasons. And Tom Meyers’ emergence as an exceptional faceoff presence (.613) when that position appeared to be a vulnerability in the preseason shouldn’t be undersold. All will be missed, but it would come as no surprise if Massachusetts reinvents itself as an offensive dynamo. The fact it scored 12.73 goals a game and shot nearly 30 percent means the Minutemen were already really good. None of the their five 20-goal scorers were seniors, including Gabriel Procyk (36 goals), Chris Connolly (27 goals, 36 assists) and first team all-CAA pick Jeff Trainor (24 goals, 13 assists). Massachusetts will probably need some time to get its defense to gel, but it will find itself at or near the top of the CAA for the third year in a row.

12. OHIO STATE

2019 record: 8-4 (1-4 Big Ten)

Last seen: Having its hopes of reaching the Big Ten tournament dashed by the School Up North, the first time in eight all-time meetings the Buckeyes have lost to Michigan.

Senior starts lost: 24 of 120 (20 percent)

Senior scoring departing: 34 of 212 points (16.04 percent)

Initial forecast: On March 31, Ohio State was the last undefeated team in Division I. Less than a month later, it had already played its final game of the season. That’s a rough season arc, and yet there’s still a lot to like about the Buckeyes even though defenseman Matt Borges, attackman Jack Jasinski and short stick Logan Maccani are notable losses. The loss to Michigan illustrated just how valuable the injured Tre Leclaire (34 goals) was — and will be — to Ohio State. Justin Inacio (.637 faceoff percentage) will ensure the Buckeyes don’t lack for possession on most days and Ryan Terefenko will remain one of the most well-rounded players in the game. Like most years, you’ll know what you’ll get from the Buckeyes: maybe not the most explosive offense but a technically sound team (Ohio State led the country in clearing percentage in 2019) certain to force nearly everyone it faces to earn what it can get. That’s the recipe for a team to find itself in the postseason conversation in the final month of the season more often than not, including in 2020.

11. CORNELL

2019 record: 10-5 (4-2 Ivy)

Last seen: Dropping a five-goal decision to Yale in the Ivy League semifinals, an exit that left the Big Red just on the outside of the tournament field.

Senior starts lost: 45 of 150 (30 percent)

Senior scoring departing: 120 of 348 points (33.48 percent)

Initial forecast: This will be a hungry bunch. The Big Red, NCAA quarterfinalists in 2018, couldn’t take the next step, but still had their moments. Cornell pummeled Towson and won at Notre Dame, and it had a dynamic star in junior Jeff Teat (34 goals, 36 assists). Teat will be back, as will juniors John Piatelli (45 goals, 19 assists) and Jonathan Donville (20 goals, 14 assists), which means a Big Red offense held to single digits only once (at Syracuse) will be every bit as potent next spring. Chayse Ierlan was capable as a freshman starter in the cage, but the one sore spot was a faceoff unit that won only 38.4 percent of its draws. Cornell’s offense was and should be good, but there is only so much pressure it can alleviate when a defense is forced to play that much. Still, the Big Red wasn’t far off in 2019, and it should be right back in the mix next spring.