Ruschel was given a very very bare cupboard when he got there. I’m also going to say something that sucks but is the truth. They’ve stopped really recruiting up North and it’s showing.
Some of their most solid guys over the last 30 years were northern mid tier recruits. The ones who were tough but just below elite and UTC offered a DI opportunity.
The problem with just recruiting in the South is.. yes it has massively improved.. but.. the top tier recruits out of the south are usually the type of kids looking at a UNC, Duke, Bucknell level academics. Which UTC doesn’t have outside a decent engineering program. So any elite southern recruits they “can” get in are usually known flight risks with issues that prevented them from getting the results.
Add in the top 10 schools in the state don’t send their kids to utc.. you get what’s going on