Several freshmen significantly contributed to McDaniel's 2014 season, and coach Matt Hatton is hoping those first-year players, now sophomores, will continue their development this spring.
Defensemen Will Kroppe (35 ground balls and 18 caused turnovers) and Alex Hanna (16 GB, 6 CT) started 12 and 11 games, respectively, and Kroppe marked opponents' top attackman. Attackman Timothy McNichol had 20 goals and seven assists as a reserve, midfielder Troy Becker added eight goals and three assists, and faceoff specialist Zach Bicho won 54.5 percent of his draws and collected 95 ground balls.
Hatton said last year's experience should be a foundation for the players to build on as they head into their sophomore seasons.
"I'm a pretty firm believer that a lot of times, the biggest jump you see in college athletes is between their freshman and sophomore years," he said. "Clearly, you'd like to see a nice progression there, and a lot of the guys that we played last year have shown that. … I do believe that guys have to have that baptism by fire. If they're good enough to play as freshmen and they're good enough to instill confidence in the coaching staff and be contributors, then we expect them to take the next step as sophomores. I use the term 'battle-tested' regularly. I think they're a little more battle-tested. I think we'll have a good mix of some young guys and some older guys that have been doing it for two or three years."
Hatton said there are several freshmen who could make a similar impact this spring, but with just two players graduating from last year's squad, playing time could be scarce.
"I think it's going to be a little bit of a tough nut to crack the starting lineup as a freshman," he said. "I think we have a couple guys that will be jockeying for time, and because of the depth, we as a coaching staff have to get a little creative with how we can get certain individuals at certain positions minutes on the field."