[abell1198]

The offseason had been a long and challenging one for Ephraim to handle. Baby number eight arrived in August of 1892, a boy, who he and Irene had named after his brother, John. The household, was to say the least, a bit chaotic. But, as always, Ephraim found a way to balance the challenges of his job and family life. Ten teams had joined the Collegiate Baseball Association and there was a lot of work put into the scheduling and formation of the CBA for the 1893 season. Plus the issues with Michigan, which was front page news, made the offseason seem to be that much longer. Ephraim had wanted to perform his usual tour of new facilities, as had been done in years passed, but an economic crisis was beginning to unfold in the nation. They were calling it the Panic of 1893, and as it unfolded, the Board of Presidents voted to cancel the tour in order to save money amid the uncertainties of the economic situation.

This time of year brought about the ever popular reports of preseason predictions, which the sportswriters and the newspapers used to sell more papers and get people talking. For the 1893 season, Yale is considered the favorite to win the New England Region. Defending New England Region title holder Dartmouth is picked to finish second, followed by Harvard, Brown, and Vermont. In the Northeast Region, defending regional champ Fordham is again the favorite to win. Cornell is expected to finish second in the region....again. Rutgers and Columbia are picked to contend, but finish the season third and fourth. Syracuse, Princeton, and Army round out the rest of the region. In a shocker, Villanova is picked to edge out defending national champion Penn in the Atlantic Region. Bucknell and Virginia are picked to finish with winning records and fall into third and fourth place in the region. Lehigh, Lafayette, and VMI fill out the region.

North Carolina and Mississippi State are predicted to battle it out for the Southeast Region crown, with the Tar Heels picked by a slim margin to win the title over the Bulldogs. Wake Forest is projected to finish third in the region, followed by Wofford, Alabama, and Vanderbilt. With the defending regional champ in a new region this year, the new look Great Lakes Region is up for grabs. Both Illinois State and Northwestern are considered the favorites, and are predicted to tie for the regional title. Newcomer Ohio is expected to challenge immediately, and Michigan State appears to be returning to form as well. Both teams are picked to challenge for the title, but ultimately finish third and fourth. Michigan, Notre Dame, and Illinois round out the field. Defending Great Lakes Region champion Nebraska has moved to the newly formed Midwest Region, where they are joined by newcomer Iowa State. The Cornhuskers are the favorite to win the region as well. Finally, in the new Pacific Region, there are four newcomers to the CBA. Washington State is considered the favorite to win the region, followed by Stanford, California, and USC.