Note: This is something I tried out before last season, looking to identify places where college soccer has untapped potential. The results were interesting enough to be worth repeating because in the meantime, last year's #1 lifeless program (Seton Hall) and #1 lost-its-spark (Stanford) have both hired new coaches. 2012's Lifeless Programs 1. Virginia Tech 2. Pitt 3. Syracuse 4. San Francisco 5. Harvard Virginia Tech's sustained flatline has pushed it to the top of this list, where it is followed by two programs who'll soon join them in the ACC. San Francisco's history of greatness is fading ever deeper into history, while Harvard has fallen to pieces since Jamie Clark left. Soon to Join the Lifeless? 1. Cal State Fullerton 2. Yale 3. Evansville 4. Princeton 5. Gonzaga Fullerton and Yale each had an uptick last season, but probably just dead fish bounces. For a while, Evansville seemed to be on course to revive its old traditions, but more recently, it has fallen flat, as has Princeton, whose head coach Jim Barlow is no longer involved with US youth national teams. Then there's Gonzaga, which appears to be falling adrift in the west. Programs That Have Lost Their Spark 1. SMU 2. Santa Clara 3. Notre Dame 4. Indiana 5. Portland High-profile transfers are rarely a good sign, and SMU just lost a couple of big ones (Derschang to Akron, Barnes to Creighton). Santa Clara has a recent history of losing transfers, too, although this year holds more promise for them than other recent ones. Speaking of promise, Notre Dame's recent teams looked like national title contenders on paper but didn't come through. Downstate from them, Indiana needs to re-establish itself as a giant of the Big Ten, while out west, Portland now seems like primarily a women's soccer school. Programs Looking to Recover from a Bad 2011 1. Tulsa 2. Cal 3. Virginia 4. Wake Forest 5. Denver Following their colossal bellyflops in 2011, Tulsa and Cal will be eager to right the ship, while Virginia and Wake Forest were more mediocre than bad last fall. Then there's Denver, which has brought in another highly rated recruiting class but doesn't seem to have much to show for its name recruits. Overhauls in progress Year one 1. Stanford 2. Michigan 3. Kentucky 4. Florida International 5. Seton Hall Good set of schools to keep an eye on here. Year two 1. Washington 2. NC State 3. Stony Brook 4. Hartford 5. Butler Less prominent turnover in this crop; Butler isn't really an overhaul but an interesting situation nonetheless. Year three 1. Clemson 2. Wisconsin 3. Rutgers 4. Penn St 5. St Louis For these schools' coaches, the time for a verdict is approaching. The top three programs on this list have all begun to show some upside, while Penn State and St Louis could use better seasons this fall.
Nicely organized. While I could nit-pit on a school or 2, I think you're pretty much on the mark. Especially given that you named 35 schools, I wouldn't be shocked if there was a surprise in this list.
Thanks. I'm sure you could take me to task on a few of them, and as you're aware, part of the fun is if someone like Notre Dame or IU turns around and has a great year. Well, I already listed more than half of the WCC. Maybe I should just make the conference a separate category? (Which isn't to say that I really disagree.)