We’re now 2 days away from the ITA National Indoor Kickoff Weekend Draft and so far we’ve seen 7 schools take a pass with many probably planning on playing other matches that weekend.
The 7 that have taken a pass on the draft are #35 Princeton, #42 Dartmouth, #48 Cornell, #55 Penn State, #56 Texas A&M Corpus Christi, #64 Washington, and #66 Clemson.
Many of these schools will likely schedule matches for that same weekend but instead of being a decent sized underdog at a National Indoor Regional they can probably bring someone in or go somewhere to play a team on a more level playing field.
Last year Dartmouth and Cornell played Denver and Indiana during the Kickoff Weekend and then participated in the ECAC Championships in Cambridge the weekend of the ITA National Indoors.
Princeton had a scrimmage with Penn during the Kickoff Weekend then they also played in the ECAC Championships and picked up wins over Cornell and Brown.
I’d be a little surprised if UC Davis and UC Irvine didn’t end up passing as well because by the time they come up in the draft the only options are going to be to head east and play as a #4 seed against the likes of Georgia or Ohio State. They’d probably be better off staying home and playing each other or trying to go to Arizona again like Irvine did last year.
If you want to make the NCAA Tournament the name of the game is picking up ranked wins so beating #50 and #60 is a lot better than losing to #3 and #25. I think that’s ultimately why we’re seeing so many teams pass.
So based off what we know here is my revised predictions on where I think everyone is headed.
| # | School | Possible Choice |
| 17 | Ole Miss | #9 Texas |
| 18 | Virginia Tech | #14 Columbia |
| 19 | Texas Tech | #4 TCU |
| 20 | Stanford | #16 South Florida |
| 21 | Minnesota | #10 Duke |
| 22 | San Diego | #5 Texas A&M |
| 23 | Mississippi State | #15 UCLA |
| 24 | Vanderbilt | #10 Duke |
| 25 | Florida | #4 TCU |
| 26 | California | #3 Baylor |
| 27 | Northwestern | #9 Texas |
| 28 | Tulsa | #14 Columbia |
| 29 | Oklahoma State | #6 Illinois |
| 30 | LSU | #4 TCU |
| 31 | Florida State | #5 Texas A&M |
| 32 | Drake | #6 Illinois |
| 33 | Louisville | #12 Ohio State |
| 34 | Harvard | #14 Columbia |
| 35 | Princeton | Pass |
| 36 | Pepperdine | #15 UCLA |
| 37 | Notre Dame | #11 North Carolina |
| 38 | San Diego State | #7 USC |
| 39 | North Carolina State | #13 Wake Forest |
| 40 | New Mexico | #2 Oklahoma |
| 41 | Tulane | #3 Baylor |
| 42 | Dartmouth | Pass |
| 43 | Tennessee | #10 Duke |
| 44 | Georgia Tech | #8 Georgia |
| 45 | Memphis | #12 Ohio State |
| 46 | Indiana | #8 Georgia |
| 47 | SMU | #2 Oklahoma |
| 48 | Cornell | Pass |
| 49 | Oregon | #13 Wake Forest |
| 50 | South Carolina | #11 North Carolina |
| 51 | San Francisco | #7 USC |
| 52 | Cal Poly | #15 UCLA |
| 53 | Denver | #9 Texas |
| 54 | UC Santa Barbara | #7 USC |
| 55 | Penn State | Pass |
| 56 | Texas A&M-Corpus Christi | Pass |
| 57 | Old Dominion | #13 Wake Forest |
| 58 | UC Davis | Pass |
| 59 | Boise State | #6 Illinois |
| 60 | Rice | #3 Baylor |
| 61 | Auburn | #16 South Florida |
| 62 | Texas at San Antonio | #5 Texas A&M |
| 63 | Troy | #16 South Florida |
| 64 | Washington | Pass |
| 65 | Fresno State | #2 Oklahoma |
| 66 | Clemson | Pass |
| 67 | UC Irvine | Pass |
| 68 | Utah State | #11 North Carolina |
| 69 | Wichita State | #12 Ohio State |
| 70 | South Alabama | #8 Georgia |
| 1. Oklahoma | 1. Baylor | 1. TCU |
| 2. New Mexico | 2. California | 2. Texas Tech |
| 3. SMU | 3. Tulane | 3. Florida |
| 4. Fresno State | 4. Rice | 4. LSU |
| 1. Texas A&M | 1. Illinois | 1. USC |
| 2. San Diego | 2. Oklahoma St | 2. San Diego St |
| 3. Florida State | 3. Drake | 3. San Francisco |
| 4. UTSA | 4. Boise State | 4. UCSB |
| 1. Georgia | 1. Texas | 1. Duke |
| 2. Georgia Tech | 2. Ole Miss | 2. Minnesota |
| 3. Indiana | 3. Northwestern | 3. Vanderbilt |
| 4. South Alabama | 4. Denver | 4. Tennessee |
| 1. North Carolina | 1. Ohio State | 1. Wake Forest |
| 2. Notre Dame | 2. Louisville | 2. NC State |
| 3. South Carolina | 3. Memphis | 3. Oregon |
| 4. Utah State | 4. Wichita State | 4. Old Dominion |
| 1. Columbia | 1. UCLA | 1. South Florida |
| 2. Virginia Tech | 2. Mississippi St | 2. Stanford |
| 3. Tulsa | 3. Pepperdine | 3. Auburn |
| 4. Harvard | 4. Cal Poly | 4. Troy |
I think Stefan was a great #2, but not sure he is a good fit for #1, Hansson has a bigger game and if he is right mentally he could be a #1, but in reality Ole Miss needs a stud #1 to come by January, also need Babic, Jorge, and Gowda to step it up.
Hard to replace a guy like Scholtz, but Stefan Lindmark went undefeated in the SEC at No. 2. He should step up to the No. 1 spot fine. Depending on who they bring in to replace the seniors, they should at least be as good as they were this year.
If that proves correct, I do not see Ole Miss even winning their first match, they have no one to replace Scholtz yet and that #1 position is huge