MLB Power Rankings: Who’s No. 1 one month into the season?
We’re just about to the one-month mark of the 2024 MLB season, and while it’s still too early to give too much credence to the standings, there are a number of surprising teams near the top — and bottom.
We’re not even out of April yet, and there’s a long season ahead, but few would have thought the Astros would be at the bottom of their division — a division that includes the A’s. Meanwhile, the Guardians have been one of the best teams in baseball, with a major-league-leading plus-47 run differential.
Both are on the move in our Power Rankings, too, as Cleveland is inching closer to the top five, and Houston has fallen further, all the way down to No. 22.
Can these clubs carry — or change — their momentum going into May?
Our expert panel has combined to rank every team in baseball based on a combination of what we’ve seen so far and what we already knew going into the 162-game marathon that is a full baseball season. We also asked ESPN MLB experts David Schoenfield, Bradford Doolittle, Jesse Rogers, Alden Gonzalez and Jorge Castillo to weigh in with an observation for all 30 teams.
Record: 17-6
Previous ranking: 1
Marcell Ozuna‘s performance this April is in stark contrast to that of last April, when he hit .085 with two RBIs and there was talk of the Braves releasing him. This year, Ozuna is behind just Mike Trout in home runs with nine, ranks first in the majors in RBIs (29) and ranks second to Shohei Ohtani in OPS (1.094). Ozuna is striking out just 15.8% of the time, which would be a career best and a significant drop of almost seven percentage points from last season. There’s no good way to attack him right now: He’s raking against four-seam fastballs, but six of his homers have come against off-speed pitches. — Schoenfield
Record: 16-8
Previous ranking: 4
The talk the past few years in Baltimore has been about the Orioles’ blindingly bright future. Well, that future is here. The Orioles are World Series contenders with a deep, explosive lineup featuring all but one regular in his 20s. Gunnar Henderson (23) is building an MVP case. Adley Rutschman (26) continues showing he is one of the top catchers in the majors. Jordan Westburg (25) and Colton Cowser (24), two under-the-radar prospects, are mashing from the bottom half of the order. Heston Kjerstad (25), the No. 2 draft pick in 2020 and Kiley McDaniel’s 48th-ranked prospect, was just called up. The weakest link in the lineup so far is the most hyped of them all: Jackson Holliday (20). But Holliday, the consensus No. 1 prospect in the sport, will eventually figure it out. When he does, the Orioles will be a nightmare for pitchers. — Castillo
Record: 15-11
Previous ranking: 2
Mookie Betts, a six-time Gold Glove Award winner in right field, went into the 2024 season as the Dodgers’ every-day second baseman. Then Gavin Lux‘s throwing issues resurfaced, and Betts transitioned to shortstop — arguably the most demanding position on the field and one Betts hasn’t played since, well, high school — on a semi-every-day basis. He has been right around average defensively, at least according to outs above average. And on offense, Betts has been on an absolute tear, slashing .365/.468/.625 with six home runs and a major-league-leading 20 walks while hitting in front of Ohtani and Freddie Freeman. Betts is an early favorite for his second MVP. — Gonzalez
Record: 17-8
Previous ranking: 3
Juan Soto, a popular pick to win the American League MVP Award before Opening Day, has proved invaluable for the Yankees a month into the season. He has been the steady presence in an otherwise inconsistent lineup, quickly winning over fans in the Bronx with his swagger and comfort in the spotlight. He is working counts. He is clubbing clutch home runs. He has even played some good defense in right field. The soon-to-be free agent is the every-day stalwart for a club off to a promising start despite Gerrit Cole landing on the injured list and Aaron Judge not producing at his typical level. The Yankees need Cole healthy and Judge raking to reach their titles aspirations, but they’re winning games with Soto leading the charge. — Castillo
Record: 15-10
Previous ranking: 6
OK, while they did come against the lowly White Sox, Spencer Turnbull took a no-hitter into the seventh inning on Friday, and Zack Wheeler took a no-hitter into the eighth the very next night. During the team’s seven-game winning streak, the starters pitched 51⅔ innings and allowed just four earned runs (0.70 ERA). Yes, six of those games came against the Rockies and White Sox, but at least the Phillies are off to the good start that eluded them the past two seasons. Ranger Suarez is 4-0 with a 1.36 ERA and in line for National League Pitcher of the Month honors for April. — Schoenfield
Record: 17-7
Previous ranking: 8
While the bullpen continues to dominate and the rotation received recent good outings from Xzavion Curry and Ben Lively, the surprising aspect of the Guardians’ hot start is an offense that ranks among the best in the AL in runs, on-base percentage and slugging — while also ranking near the top of the majors in batting average with runners in scoring position. Leading the way: Josh Naylor, hitting .306 with six home runs and 20 RBIs. Going back to May 13, 2023, Naylor leads all hitters in batting average, ahead of Freeman and Luis Arraez. — Schoenfield
Record: 15-8
Previous ranking: 9
The Brewers’ resiliency is the story of their first month. Brandon Woodruff and Corbin Burnes aren’t here? No problem. Christian Yelich goes down? We got it covered. Milwaukee is at the top of the NL Central due to an opportunistic offense and a pitching staff that has survived roster turnover. If there is a face to this group, it’s catcher/DH William Contreras. He’s hitting .359 with an OPS of .983, which is among the best in the NL — and now, the traditionally power-weak Brewers rank near the top of the majors in home runs so far. That might be the true story of their first month. — Rogers
Record: 15-9
Previous ranking: 7
Injuries have been a big part of the Cubs’ season to this point; most recently, they lost two middle-of-the order bats. Seiya Suzuki went down with an oblique injury last week, then Cody Bellinger suffered two cracked ribs Tuesday when running into the brick wall at Wrigley Field. Add in Justin Steele‘s Opening Day hamstring strain, Jameson Taillon‘s delayed start due to a back ailment and Kyle Hendricks now appearing on the IL and it seems like this team has had a season full of issues already. But they have survived and are still in the thick of the NL Central race heading into May. — Rogers
Record: 13-12
Previous ranking: 5
Entering the season, the betting markets saw a three-way race for AL Rookie of the Year between Baltimore’s Jackson Holliday and Texas’ Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter. Holliday has really struggled out of the gate under a bright spotlight, but Langford and Carter also have started slowly at the plate. Carter has contributed plenty in the field and on the bases and has drawn 10 walks (tied for the team lead), but he is off to a .215 start at the dish and still has done nothing against lefties. (He’s 1-for-23 in his career against southpaws.) Langford has held his own, but as hard as he hits the ball, he is still looking for his first homer and has just four extra-base hits. As for that awards race, it’s way too early to declare the betting markets were wrong, but May will be big for all of the struggling rookies. — Doolittle
Record: 13-12
Previous ranking: 12
It’s just a month into the season, but Vladimir Guerrero Jr.‘s decline from AL MVP runner-up in 2021 has continued thus far. The three-time All-Star is batting .219 with a .674 OPS, which is down from .788 last season, which was down from .818 in 2022, which was down from 1.002 in 2021. Defensively, the former third baseman cost the Blue Jays a win against the Royals on Tuesday when he dropped a routine throw at first base. Toronto remains over .500 despite a minus-13 run differential, thanks to a stingy starting rotation led by Jose Berrios‘ 0.85 ERA in five starts. Offensively, Justin Turner (.319/.414/.500) and Daulton Varsho (six home runs) have been the stars, but Toronto won’t compete in the AL East if Guerrero doesn’t perform like one. — Castillo
Record: 12-14
Previous ranking: 10
The Diamondbacks made numerous notable improvements to their lineup and their rotation coming off a surprising World Series run, but one area they didn’t really address was the bullpen. And so far, that has backfired. They have blown six saves already this season, trailing only the Pirates, Marlins and Rays. Their 4.09 bullpen ERA ranks 20th, and they’ve suffered a major-league-leading 10 losses when leading after the sixth inning. Closer Paul Sewald, who has been out with a strained oblique, is nearing his return. That should certainly help — but others have to step up. — Gonzalez
Record: 14-10
Previous ranking: 16
Elly De La Cruz has picked up where he left off in 2023, leading the Reds in home runs (seven) and stolen bases (15), and it’s not even close. He has improved all parts of his game, including his strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.38). He could be among the early favorites for NL MVP after producing a 1.400-plus OPS over the past week. He’s the face of a young and exciting team that should be in the NL Central race to the end. — Rogers
Record: 15-10
Previous ranking: 13
While their run prevention has remained consistent, the Royals lost four of five during a recent stretch mostly due to a sputtering offense. Even so, there are signs that the downturn is in part the result of a spate of ill fortune. During a nine-game stretch in which they managed just 3.3 runs per game, Kansas City’s hitters nonetheless ranked ninth in average exit velocity. One culprit of the scoring drought was batting average on balls in play (BABIP): Their .221 mark during that span belied all that hard contact. Chances are if the Royals just keep hitting the ball hard collectively, the scoring will tick back up. — Doolittle
Record: 12-12
Previous ranking: 21
Seattle’s offense has performed at around a league-average rate this season once you factor in ballpark adjustments, which admittedly can skew perspectives early on. But whatever the Mariners’ real offensive level might be, one clear shortfall has emerged. They have mostly platooned full-time at a couple of spots — left field and third base — and feature two every-day switch hitters in Jorge Polanco and Cal Raleigh. There are also three every-day righty hitters: Mitch Haniger, Ty France and Mitch Garver. Despite all of those looks from the right side of the dish, those righties have struggled mightily against left-handed pitching. The righty platooners, Luis Urias and Dylan Moore, also have not performed. If this continues, Seattle will not be shy about shuffling the deck. — Doolittle
Record: 14-11
Previous ranking: 18
Remember all that terrible injury luck the Yankees experienced last season? It looks like they passed that misfortune along to their rivals. The Red Sox are banged up — badly. The latest casualty is up-and-coming star Triston Casas. The first baseman is going to miss significant time due to a fractured rib after mashing six home runs in 22 games.
Boston already has lost Lucas Giolito (elbow) and Trevor Story (shoulder) for the season. Nick Pivetta is out indefinitely with an elbow injury. All-Star Rafael Devers has missed time for two different injuries. Vaughn Grissom is on rehab assignment after starting the season on the IL, while Tyler O’Neill recently came off it. All that before the end of April. The Red Sox are still hanging around behind surprisingly great starting pitching. But it’s early, and the AL East won’t be forgiving. — Castillo
Record: 14-13
Previous ranking: 11
The Padres knew they were going to cut costs over the offseason. They knew they’d begin the year with some holes in their lineup. And they knew some players needed to step up in a big way to fill them. One of those guys has been Jackson Merrill, the 21-year-old lifetime shortstop who transitioned to center field during spring training and already looks like he belongs in the major leagues. Just 27 games into his career, Merrill is slashing .318/.378/.409 and has been worth two outs above average at a demanding position that was foreign to him not too long ago. More importantly, though, he has added some much-needed depth to the Padres’ lineup. — Gonzalez
Record: 13-11
Previous ranking: 20
Catcher Francisco Alvarez is expected to miss about eight weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb, putting his return in late June. He was injured after stumbling around first base at Dodger Stadium last week. Backup Omar Narvaez takes over as the regular starter and projects as an offensive downgrade (although Alvarez had been off to a slow start). Narvaez has hit just .208 with a .591 OPS over the previous two seasons and .188 in his first 11 games of 2024. Tomas Nido is back as the reserve catcher — and he owns a career OPS+ of 55. With Nido, Joey Wendle and Zack Short, the Mets’ bench is pretty thin right now. — Schoenfield
Record: 14-11
Previous ranking: 19
Many saw this as the year when Tarik Skubal would emerge as a legitimate, front-of-the-rotation starter, and so far, that has certainly been the case. The Tigers’ 27-year-old left-hander allowed three singles and nothing else in six shutout innings against the Rays on Monday, lowering his ERA to 1.82 through his first five starts. He has coupled that with 0.74 walks and hits per inning pitched (WHIP) and a 7.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The Tigers look like they might remain competitive within the AL Central all summer, and Skubal is the biggest reason. As Tigers manager AJ Hinch said of Skubal, “The stuff is off-the-charts good.” — Gonzalez
Record: 13-13
Previous ranking: 15
The Rays have innovated their way to the postseason each of the past five years, staying ahead of the curve to challenge the industry’s heavyweights with some of the lowest payrolls in the sport. But too many injuries are an insurmountable problem for even the smartest franchises, and the Rays might have reached that threshold.
They have six pitchers and five position players on the IL, including two-time All-Star starter Shane McClanahan; right-hander Drew Rasmussen, who posted a 2.78 in 36 starts over the past two seasons; left-hander Jeffrey Springs, who has a 2.53 ERA since joining the Rays before the 2021 campaign; bullpen stalwart Pete Fairbanks; and every-day players Josh Lowe and Brandon Lowe. Without them, Tampa is in last place in the AL East, one game under .500 with a minus-24 run differential. It’s early. If any team can dig itself out of the hole, it’s the Rays. But at some point, too many injuries are too much to overcome. — Castillo
Record: 13-12
Previous ranking: 14
Rookie Jared Jones is the story of the Pirates in April. The second-round 2020 draft pick has made five starts, and all have been impressive. Just 22 years old, Jones gave up 20 hits in his first 29 innings while walking only four batters. His ERA is a solid 2.79, and he hasn’t allowed a single stolen base off him. He has been a rock on a team that got off to a fast start and hopes to hang around the playoff race longer than it did last season. If Jones can keep it up, the Pirates might be able to sustain some success, something that has eluded them over the past few years. — Rogers
Record: 12-14
Previous ranking: 25
The Giants changed the dynamic of their offseason in March by signing two high-profile free agents in Matt Chapman and Blake Snell. So far, though, San Francisco has had to absorb their slow starts, a likely byproduct of their limited time to prepare for the regular season. Snell allowed 15 runs in 11⅔ innings through his first three starts and on Wednesday was placed on the IL with an adductor strain. Chapman, meanwhile, has been a below-average hitter, slashing .228/.278/.416 with four home runs in his first 26 games. Needless to say, the Giants need a lot more from them if they hope to overcome a crowded NL West. — Gonzalez
Record: 7-18
Previous ranking: 17
Things are bad in Houston. A loss at the Cubs on Wednesday dropped the Astros to 11 games under .500, depths to which Houston had not sunk since May 2016. Injuries to the rotation are certainly part of the story, as only the woeful Rockies and White Sox have hemorrhaged runs at a more rapid pace this season.
But an offense that has been so consistently elite over the past decade bears blame, as well. Houston has scored well below the league-average rate early on, and some of the individual performances border on alarming, especially that of former MVP Jose Abreu. Over the Astros’ first 19 games, Abreu went a stunning 4-for-62 with one extra-base hit (a double). When he won the MVP award for the White Sox in 2020, his hard-hit rate was 53.3%, according to Baseball Reference. So far in 2024, his hard-hit rate is less than half that. — Doolittle
Record: 10-13
Previous ranking: 23
It was no secret entering the season that the Twins’ three best position players — Carlos Correa, Royce Lewis and Byron Buxton — carried troubling injury histories. One month in, Buxton is the only healthy one of the trio. Lewis didn’t last three innings before suffering a severe quad strain on Opening Day. Two weeks later, Correa joined him on the IL with an intercostal strain. Max Kepler, another key bat, was activated this week after missing 13 games with a knee contusion. Unsurprisingly, the Twins’ offense has faltered. They rank in the bottom five of the majors in runs scored per game, batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. As a result, they’re already 6.5 games behind the surging Guardians in the AL Central. — Castillo
Record: 11-14
Previous ranking: 22
As predicted by, well, just about everyone, the Cardinals are having issues on the mound. It’s the same problem they had last season, and though Lance Lynn has been OK overall, their starting staff isn’t getting it done. They have an ERA in the bottom third in the NL, and only Sonny Gray has looked dominant. Like last season, Miles Mikolas is throwing batting practice, Kyle Gibson is showing his age and Steven Matz is having his own struggles, as his ERA ballooned to 5.55 after giving up 12 runs over his past two starts. That rotation — minus Gray, who has only pitched in three games — has defined St. Louis so far. — Rogers
Record: 10-13
Previous ranking: 26
Welcome to the big leagues, Mitchell Parker. The 24-year-old lefty has allowed just two runs in 12 innings across his first two outings — facing the Dodgers and Astros, no less. Against Houston, he fanned eight in seven innings, recording four of the strikeouts with his splitter, while allowing just three hits. His fastball has averaged 92 mph, so he isn’t overpowering. But he has been throwing strikes, as he hasn’t issued any walks — a problem for him in the minors last year, when he averaged 4.4 walks per nine. Parker isn’t a heralded prospect; he didn’t make McDaniel’s preseason prospect rankings for the Nationals. But a rebuilding team such as Washington needs a player like this to pop up and turn into a valuable contributor. — Schoenfield
Record: 10-15
Previous ranking: 24
Mike Trout is running better than he has in a few years and hitting the ball as hard as ever, leading the majors in home runs with 10. He also is averaging around a half-an-RBI per game. Some of that is the Angels’ lineup, and some of it has been Trout himself. He began the season by going 1-for-14 in high-leverage situations, 2-for-19 with runners in scoring position and 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and two outs. One possible solution? Bat Trout leadoff, as manager Ron Washington had him do on Tuesday. Trout led off that game by homering, the first time he had done that since Sept. 28, 2012. — Doolittle
Record: 9-16
Previous ranking: 27
We can’t write about Mason Miller every week. Sorry, A’s fans. We could write about starter Paul Blackburn, if we wanted to keep things positive. Alas, it can’t be all sunshine and roses about the flailing A’s. The lineup isn’t built to post high batting averages, but what has happened so far is particularly remarkable. Of Oakland’s top 12 hitters in plate appearances, eight of them have hit under .200, including seven who qualify in the percentage categories. The record for most sub-.200 hitters (minimum 300 plate appearances) on one team is three, and the last time that happened was in 1910. We’ve got a long way to go, but there is a real chance here for the A’s to make some history. Even more remarkable: Thanks to the White Sox, Oakland isn’t even last in MLB in batting average. — Doolittle
Record: 6-20
Previous ranking: 28
This sums up the Marlins’ start to 2024: On Monday against Atlanta, they began the game with a single, a single and a double — and failed to score in the inning. Luis Arraez was on second on Jazz Chisholm Jr.‘s double off the wall in right-center field but went back to tag up. With Bryan De La Cruz on his heels, Arraez had to head home and got thrown out by 40 feet. The next two batters failed to get a run in, and the Marlins ended up losing 3-0. They then got shut out again Tuesday. Last year, they found ways to win close games. This year, they’re just losing ugly. — Schoenfield
Record: 6-19
Previous ranking: 29
Kyle Freeland, the Rockies’ Opening Day starter, allowed a whopping 17 runs in his first 5⅔ innings to begin the season. He began to round back into form over his third and fourth start, lowering his ERA from 27.00 to 13.21. On April 15, he was then used as a pinch runner and was shaken up after getting thrown out at home in the ninth inning. Four days later, he was placed on the IL with an elbow strain. The Rockies said the injury was unrelated; it occurred, they added, during a start the day before running the bases. But it was a reminder, perhaps, that it’s going to be another long year in Denver. — Gonzalez
Record: 3-21
Previous ranking: 30
Losing. Lots of losing defined the White Sox in April. Much of it by design, as they turned over all their catchers from last season and every pitcher save one. But no one could have imagined being shutout eight times in their first 22 games. The White Sox rank last in runs scored per game and are tied for second to last in runs given up — behind only the Rockies, who play in the most hitter friendly ballpark in MLB. Perhaps there is help on the way, as Mike Clevinger and Tommy Pham will make their season debuts soon. But nothing can erase the horrendous play of the first month. — Rogers
-
Ryan S. Clark
-
Kristen Shilton
The 2023-24 NHL regular season was an entertaining one, with races for playoff position, point and goal leaders, and major trophies all coming down to the bitter end.
But not every fan base got to enjoy all of it so much.
With eliminations piling up, it’s time to look ahead to the offseason. Clubs that didn’t quite hit the mark this season will use the draft, free agency and trades in an effort to be more competitive in 2024-25.
Read on for a look at what went wrong for each eliminated team, along with a breakdown of its biggest keys this offseason and realistic expectations for next season. Note that more teams will be added to this story as they are eliminated.
Note: Profiles for the Atlantic and Metro teams were written by Kristen Shilton, while Ryan S. Clark analyzed the Central and Pacific teams. Stats are collected from sites such as Natural Stat Trick, Hockey Reference and Evolving Hockey. Projected cap space per Cap Friendly. Dates listed with each team are when the entry was published.
Jump to a team:
ANA | ARI | BOS | BUF
CGY | CAR | CHI | COL
CBJ | DET | LA | MIN
MTL | NSH | NJ | NYI
OTT | PHI | PIT | SJ
SEA | STL | TB | TOR
VGK | WSH | WPG
-
Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — On the night of Oct. 7, Wesleyan wide receiver Colby Geddis traveled back from a game in Maine with his phone on life support, attempting to track the Notre Dame–Louisville contest.
Jordan Faison, Geddis’ close friend and longtime teammate in both football and lacrosse, was set to make his football debut for Notre Dame. Faison had come to college as a top-50 lacrosse recruit and walked on to the football team as a wide receiver.
Geddis’ phone had only enough juice to allow him to refresh the statistics.
“When I saw him touch the field, I’m like, ‘Holy s—, this kid is playing D-I football,'” Geddis said. “It’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.”
Faison has continued to impress his friends, family and Fighting Irish fans, spending the winter and spring successfully juggling two sports that, at Notre Dame, carry the highest of expectations. The true freshman scored Notre Dame’s first goal of the lacrosse season Feb. 14, 38 seconds into the opener against Cleveland State, and is a starting midfielder for an Irish team that continues its quest to repeat as national champions when it faces Georgetown in the NCAA tournament quarterfinals (noon ET, ESPNU). Faison ranks fourth on the team in both goals (19) and points (27).
When Notre Dame began spring football practice March 22, Faison was around as much as he could be, avoiding contact to preserve his body for lacrosse, while still learning new offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock’s scheme.
Faison came to Notre Dame primarily for lacrosse, joining a program that had captured its first national championship in spring 2023. But then football had to come first. He made 19 receptions in seven games as a slot receiver, tied for second on the team in touchdown catches (4) and earned Sun Bowl MVP honors with five catches for 115 yards and a touchdown.
“You’re held to a standard in both sports and you’ve got to meet that standard to make sure the team is developing well,” Faison said. “Being able to do that has just been freaking awesome.”
Faison wasn’t even supposed to see the football field for Notre Dame this soon. He’s also somewhat of an unlikely lacrosse prodigy, hailing from a region not known for producing many college stars. But after a blistering start at Notre Dame, he has become the link between two sports that are often not viewed through the same lens but contain plenty of parallels.
NOTRE DAME WIDE receivers coach Mike Brown spends chunks of his year on the road recruiting, which often means watching prospects compete in other sports. Basketball is common. So are track and baseball. Those recruiting in the Midwest often see future football players on the mat in wrestling singlets.
But Brown hadn’t experienced much lacrosse crossover.
“Obviously with Jordan out there, I’m watching a lot more and just learning,” Brown said. “It’s a lot of similar movements, change of direction, how they rotate. It’s a football slash basketball-ish mix.”
Faison is a distinct talent, but there are other players with football-lacrosse backgrounds competing at the Division I level. There’s even another at Notre Dame. Tyler Buchner, who opened the 2022 football season as Fighting Irish starting quarterback and vied for the QB1 job last spring before transferring to Alabama, returned to Notre Dame over the winter to compete for the lacrosse team, a sport he had not played since early in high school. Buchner is a reserve midfielder for the Irish.
Will Shipley, the Clemson running back selected in the fourth round of last month’s NFL draft, was a standout lacrosse player in high school who could have played both sports at Notre Dame had he signed with the Irish. Maryland defensive back Dante Trader Jr., who started the past two seasons, earned honorable mention All-America honors for the Terrapins lacrosse team in 2023 before focusing solely on football.
So what skills in lacrosse translate to football?
“What wouldn’t?” Notre Dame lacrosse coach Kevin Corrigan, who has led the program since 1988, shot back. “Changing directions, reading a guy’s hips to know when to come out of your break, deception that you use to make guys think you’re doing one thing or another, those are all traits that you’re using on both fields. Forget about the acceleration and stopping and those sorts of things. All the athletic traits translate very easily.”
Geddis, who played both football and lacrosse with Faison throughout their childhood, cited significant tactical differences, but also similarities with core movements. The two sports track especially for wide receivers, who have to beat defenders in press coverage with their feet and hands, just like lacrosse players seeking room to attempt shots.
“It definitely does translate a lot in terms of understanding where to attack leverage on a guy and how to break him down,” Geddis said. “Going against D-I safeties and corners, his IQ and skill set is probably so much better now for lacrosse. And that aspect goes both ways.”
And those talents immediately jumped out to Faison’s football teammates.
“He’s agile, fast, athletic, quick, so no wonder it’s going to translate to lacrosse,” wide receiver Jayden Thomas said. “Seeing him in football, it’s obvious, and then going out to a [lacrosse] game and watching him, it’s like, ‘OK, it makes sense.'”
When Faison’s two-sport ambition came into focus, Notre Dame mapped out a detailed schedule for him. Faison spent the summer and fall with the football team, immersed in the demanding schedule of practices and meetings, and ultimately travel and games. He missed six weeks of lacrosse practice in the fall, as well as weight training and individual work.
After the Sun Bowl on Dec. 28, Faison briefly went home, but he was at the first preseason lacrosse practice Jan. 11 and became a full participant days later. The lacrosse plan called for him to focus on defense, mindful of his time away, but he quickly showed he could handle all the midfielders’ tasks. The 5-foot-10, 182-pound Faison did in-season lifting with lacrosse this spring, while doing little physically with football, where he spent most of his time in meetings as Notre Dame installed its offense.
Corrigan credited football coach Marcus Freeman and strength and conditioning coach Loren Landow for aligning their expectations to ensure Faison is at his best in lacrosse during the spring and at his best in football when the fall comes.
“I’ve told Marcus and them, ‘If you gave us all your skill guys and made them play lacrosse in the spring and they had the ability to play it at a high level, it would be the best training physically for those guys to possibly have,'” Corrigan said.
FAISON’S INTRODUCTION TO lacrosse came easily and innocently.
He was 6 at the time and just finished a youth football game with Geddis in South Florida. Geddis immediately began lacrosse practice on a nearby field. Faison then grabbed a stick and started launching balls as far as he could.
“That got me into the sport, and then I took it and ran with it,” Faison said.
His football teammates all began playing lacrosse for a team coached by Geddis’ father. Faison showed the natural ability to make one-on-one plays and absorbed the finer points of the sport, especially within the team construct. Lacrosse in Florida has become more popular, but the area still trails the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic in generating elite-level competition and Division I recruiting avenues.
“We were smoking every team down here,” said Quincy Faison, Jordan’s father, who helped coach the youth lacrosse team. “Then, when we would take our team up to the North, we would get smoked. So to get better, you need to understand how they operate, how they practice, what they work on.”
To gain greater exposure, Faison began playing club lacrosse during the summers with a team in Long Island, New York. During that first summer, before he entered high school, he lived in an RV with his parents and younger brother, Dylan.
The Faisons posted up in an RV park near Nickerson Beach, about 15 miles from JFK International Airport. Quincy, a technology executive, and his mother Kristen, who works in software development, had the RV equipped with portable high-speed internet so they could keep working.
“My wife and I loved it; I’m not sure how Jordan and Dylan felt,” Quincy said. “We were within 100 yards of the beach, there was a bike ramp set up. I took Zoom calls from the RV. It was basically like camping for the whole summer.”
But Jordan said he had “mixed emotions” about the RV.
“The area was nice, next to a beach, that was kind of fun, but being in tight quarters with my family, sometimes you’ve got to get away from them,” he recalled.
Although Jordan missed hanging out with his friends back home during the summers, he benefited from the club lacrosse experience, rising to No. 48 in Inside Lacrosse’s recruiting rankings. Faison didn’t receive as much attention for football until later in his career as a quarterback and defensive back at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale.
His recruiting went into three tracks: lacrosse only, lacrosse/football and football only. He wanted to play both sports and discussed the possibility with schools such as Duke and Ohio State, as well as Notre Dame.
The only deal breaker, according to Quincy, is that Jordan couldn’t play quarterback along with a second sport. Jordan also considered schools like Syracuse and Michigan for lacrosse. In the fall of 2021, he committed to Notre Dame for lacrosse, but his football recruitment would eventually pick up.
Iowa, which doesn’t have a lacrosse program, offered Faison for football. About a year after he committed to Notre Dame, he visited Iowa City.
“Recruiting is majorly different between football and lacrosse, the budgets are different, how they treat the athletes,” Quincy said. “So going on lacrosse visits and then going to Iowa, the red carpet’s rolled out, you’ve got your own hotel room, they’re feeding you, so he got googly-eyed. He was actually thinking about just going to Iowa. I said, ‘There’s a lot more into this.’ He gave it some consideration, that’s for sure.”
But Jordan ultimately stuck with Notre Dame even though his football path wasn’t set in stone. The decision has paid off and rubbed off on Dylan, who in March became the first football recruit to commit for Notre Dame’s 2026 class. Dylan plays the same position (wide receiver) and starred in the same sports as his big brother.
Although lacrosse recruiting doesn’t begin until September of a prospect’s junior year in high school, Dylan is expected to be high on Notre Dame’s wish list. He and Jordan could play both sports together during the 2026-27 academic year, which is why Quincy and Kristen are looking to buy a small home near campus. Jordan said Dylan is better than he was at the same age, and boasts more length, at 5-foot-11, to complement his quickness.
“We had it in high school for a year, and being able to have it again here at this special place, it’s just unreal,” Jordan said. “We’ll definitely butt heads a bit, as all brothers do, but it will be really fun.”
NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL welcomed Jordan as a walk-on, but the plan wasn’t to play him, at least not right away, because his scholarship would convert to football and count against the team’s limit. Quincy had heard some buzz that Jordan would ultimately land a football scholarship, but perhaps not until 2025.
“We came into the season with no expectations,” Quincy said.
“I thought I’d probably be on the bench,” Jordan added.
But wide receiver injuries began to mount. Faison’s behind-the-scenes performance also made it increasingly more difficult to keep him out on Saturdays.
“We had an extra scholarship, but that was the last-case scenario,” Freeman said. “Then, we had some wideouts go down, and he was making too many plays in practice. We had to play him.”
Faison made his first career start the following week against USC, as Notre Dame crushed its rival 48-20. He recorded multiple receptions in six of the seven games he played and had 12 in the final three contests, hauling in a touchdown in each.
Some of his biggest plays came in the Sun Bowl against Oregon State, including a 33-yard sideline route early in the second half, where Faison beat airtight coverage to come down with quarterback Steve Angeli‘s pass.
“Coming in here with the goal of playing is the main thing, and then once you play, it’s like, ‘Now I’ve got to keep it rolling,'” Faison said. “Once you get it rolling, the confidence comes and then, with the confidence, that’s where you really see gains develop.”
A procrastinator during high school, Faison still must break old habits to navigate a unique and busy schedule. But he has dutifully followed the plans both teams laid out for him, and communicated with the staffs about potential conflicts. He still finds some downtime to nap or play video games.
Corrigan has seen many students become overwhelmed with the academic and athletic demands of one sport, much less two. But Faison has never lost the “quiet confidence” that he could perform in both sports. Freeman said he wants to support Faison’s future goals, whether or not they include football.
“I don’t know why he couldn’t keep doing this,” Corrigan said. “We have to protect him and his body, make sure he is getting enough rest over the course of the year.”
Faison’s immediate goal, one reinforced by Notre Dame’s lacrosse veterans, is to chase another championship. After another short break, he’ll switch back into football mode.
“He’s laid a solid foundation in his first year here, and we’ve got high expectations going into Year 2,” Freeman said. “He’s handling two different sports and all those demands.”
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Environment12 months agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports1 month agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports7 months agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment1 year agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Environment1 year agoTesla advances Powerwall pilot project with German electric company