Summer Storylines: Boynton Ball, Golf Money, Preseason Rankings

The sportless summer will be over before we know it.

Kyle Porter and Kyle Cox have laid out five summer storylines in recent weeks, and here is my take at it.

1. Boynton’s 2020 Class

At this point, the possibilities for Mike Boynton’s 2020 recruiting class seem endless.

From all accounts, the Cowboys are in a good spot to land Cade Cunningham, the nation’s second-ranked recruit, and from there the floodgates could open. If this wild NBA offseason has proven anything, it’s that good players want to play with other good players.

These are the most Calm&Relaxed buckets you’ll see ???
pic.twitter.com/UXugtuO6Km

— Brad Ballislife (@BradBallisLife) July 11, 2019

Boynton already has Top-100 guard Davonte Davis committed, and with Cunningham the two could help bring in a class that ranks Top 10? Top 5? Tops? It could get wild.

2. Boynton’s 2019-20 Team

If you can’t tell, I’m excited for basketball season.

As fun as the thoughts of Cade Cunningham joining next year’s OSU team are, this year’s OSU team is also quite a bit of fun. The 2019 recruiting cycle’s 22nd-ranked class is on campus. UMass transfer Jonathan Laurent joined that group near the end of the school year, and recently Boynton signed a Euro player of intrigue in Hidde Roessink.

Isaac Likekele won a World Cup this summer, and on top of all of that, the likes of Lindy Waters, Cameron McGriff, Thomas Dziagwa and Yor Anei are all working hard preparing for their next year of college hoops.

Oh, and the program will start the year with two new assistants in Erik Pastrana and Cannen Cunningham.

3. New Kids on the Block

Through their first three weekends as pros, Matthew Wolff and Viktor Hovland have made a combined $1,446,323 in tournament earnings alone.

Sure, most of that came from Wolff’s win this past weekend at the 3M Open, but Hovland’s $281,435 in winnings isn’t anything to scoff at for a kid who was a junior in college earlier this year.

Hovland has back-to-back Top 15 finishes, Wolff has a win, and though I used to not be a golf guy, I now find myself constantly checking the leaderboard throughout the weekend to see how the two Poke prodigies are doing.

4. Cowboys Picked Fifth in Preseason Poll

I’ve seen people say OSU was too high in the Big 12 Preseason Poll, and I’ve seen people say the Pokes were too low. That probably means their spot at five was fair.

The conference as a whole has a lot of mystery with it this year, so the whole thing kind of seemed like a tossup. Oklahoma lost a lot on its offensive line and its Heisman-trophy winning quarterback. Texas lost a lot of its defense. How will Brock Purdy do without Hakeem Butler or David Montgomery at Iowa State? TCU has questions at quarterback. OSU has questions at quarterback. Baylor showed promise at times last season but stunk in others. And Texas Tech, West Virginia, Kansas State and Kansas all have new coaches.

Preseason polls are rarely ever perfect, but this one could be all sorts of out of whack when all is done.

5. Big Football Recruiting Has Been Fun to Follow

Kyle Boone’s series of Big 12 recruiting updates has been a fun follow.

Yeah sure, Oklahoma and Texas sit atop the conference’s rankings in recruiting, but behind that, it’s been a blood bath. As of now, Kansas has the No. 3 2020 class in the Big 12 because of Les Miles’ quantity over quality approach. Miles has 21 commitments in the cycle, a number that ranks among the most in the country.

After starting hot, OSU’s class is down to sixth in the Big 12, but the differences between spots No. 3 through 10 aren’t much.