Courtesy of Maryland Eastern Shore Athletic Media Relations


PRINCESS ANNE, Md. — One year ago from Friday (April 24), Maryland Eastern Shore announced it had a new head men's basketball coach. Jason Crafton was placed at the helm that day and began his first tenure as a Division I head coach.

"Even after a year I would say I am thankful for this opportunity to be the head coach here," Crafton said. "I am glad we have set a foundation on strong defense on the court as well as increasing the team GPA off the court."

The Hawks allowed 68.9 points per game in conference play this past season. That mark was fourth in the MEAC and that defensive effort led to the Hawks establishing a new school record in their 2019-20 campaign.

Block shots became an official stat in the NCAA beginning in the 1985-86 season. Eastern Shore had never had a team get 100 or more blocks in a season. The Shore swatted away 102 attempts this past season led by MEAC all-rookie selection Da'Shawn Phillip, who blocked 27 shots to place him the top 10 in the conference.

Phillip headlined a freshman class that could serve as the foundation for the Hawks for the next few seasons. However, Maryland Eastern Shore along with every other school in the country has had to change how their offseason program due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This time of year is typically reserved for an emphasis in strength training and skill development on campus, but that is not happening this year.

"The situation that we are in has made us get creative as we prepare for next season," Crafton said. "We have made an extra effort to stay in tune with our guys as we want to continue to develop our young players as we saw growth from them throughout the season."

The 2020-21 version of the Hawks will be the second installment of the Crafton era in Princess Anne. Next year's squad will look to replace the services of five seniors that left due to graduation, one of those being leading scorer AJ Cheeseman. With that being said, the task to bring in new players will be a different process than ever before this spring and summer.

"Recruiting this year has created a dynamic where we have to be extra intentional in how we develop relationships with players and their families," Crafton said. "Our staff has utilized all of the NCAA approved interactive recruiting methods to cultivate relationships with prospects. We are excited about all of the potential student-athletes that we are involved with during this process."

This time and offseason is different than any other in the history of collegiate athletics. With the landscape of the world changed forever, Crafton and The Shore will still continue to have the mentality to get better and work to be in the thick of the MEAC Championship conversation when March 2021 comes around.