Tompkins Weekly

All-American Teat returns to Cornell for fifth year




Cornell attackman Jeff Teat runs downfield against Lehigh during the 2019 season. He is a four-time All-American and will be returning to Cornell for a fifth season. Photo by Eldon Lindsay/Cornell Athletics

Cornell attackman Jeff Teat runs downfield against Lehigh during the 2019 season. He is a four-time All-American and will be returning to Cornell for a fifth season. Photo by Eldon Lindsay/Cornell Athletics

This year has been a rollercoaster for everyone, and Cornell men’s lacrosse was not immune to that. The ups and downs due to COVID-19 have been well documented. The Big Red started the season 5-0 and were ranked second in the nation only to have the season wiped out by the pandemic. Then, the Ivy League stated it would not be granting fifth-year eligibility for spring athletes.

Fortunately, the conference made an exception for four-time Inside Lacrosse All-American Jeff Teat, who has been described as a “generational talent” by new head coach Connor Buczek. Teat certainly had his options, as he was drafted by not one, but two professional lacrosse teams this offseason. However, after gaining approval from the Ivy League executive director, Teat’s decision was solidified.

In order to gain that fifth year, Teat will forgo the fall semester and then return to Cornell in the spring to “complete degree requirements, as well as additional coursework that supports his career goals,” according to a Cornell Lacrosse press release. After finalizing all the necessary details, Teat is glad to be back in red next year.

“It’s definitely very exciting for me,” Teat said. “A lot of work’s been going on in the past four years, and getting the opportunity to go back and finish what we started and continue to lift the Cornell lacrosse legacy is definitely something that was extremely important to me. [It was] something I couldn’t wait to get back on campus and continue.”

Teat has built quite a legacy at Cornell as a two-time Tewaaraton Trophy nominee, which is awarded to the nation’s most outstanding lacrosse player. He’s also third on Cornell’s all-time list in points, goals and assists. It’s been a ride that Teat did not want to let go of following a shortened five-game season.

“When everything happened and our season got cut short, I knew I wanted to go back right away,” Teat said. “From there, it was just a long process of talking to many different people and making sure that we did all the right things in the right order so that we didn’t mess anything up. Then, it took about three months and finally got confirmation a couple weeks ago.”

As mentioned before, a professional lacrosse career was right there for the taking for Teat. He was selected 25th overall by the Boston Cannons in the Major League Lacrosse College Draft and 12th overall by Chaos LC in the Premier Lacrosse League Collegiate Draft. Those options were not even considered.

“My main goal was always to come back,” Teat said. “As long as that window was open, I didn’t really look anywhere else or take my mind anywhere else. Maybe if that window did close, then I would look elsewhere. But as long as that window is open, my focus was getting back to Cornell and doing whatever I needed to come back.”

The return of Teat was such a big topic of discussion for Cornell lacrosse fans that people online were looking up the commencement program to see if Teat’s name was on it (it was not). Having people put in that much energy into a decision about your future could be a bit strange, but it’s part of the game for Teat.

“You definitely have to embrace it,” Teat said. “I wouldn’t say there’s an added pressure or anything; it’s just continuing where you started. It’s not restarting the year or anything like that. It’s just picking up where we left off and helping this team find its identity and working to our ultimate goal, the National Championship. Nothing changes on our end. It’s just another opportunity to compete with your teammates.”

Unfinished business will be a theme for Cornell lacrosse next year. Like the Cornell hockey teams, who were both ranked number one in the nation when the NCAA playoffs were canceled, there seemed to be something special brewing at Schoellkopf Field this year.

“As far as this past season, [it was] definitely a fun team to be around,” Teat said. “We responded well, we competed, and it didn’t take a couple days to find our identity. We kept working on and working on it. I truly believe that we were still working at it and unfortunately got cut short. But I think if the season were to continue, it would have been scary to see our future potential.”

While there will be many familiar faces on the roster next year, there will be a brand-new head coach. Former standout Cornell player and assistant coach Connor Buczek will be stepping into the head coaching role after Peter Milliman joined the staff of Johns Hopkins. The news of Buczek becoming the head coach helped bring a positive light to what was an unsatisfying 2020 for Cornell lacrosse.

“At that point, it was kind of a snowball effect of things and it seemed like there were roadblocks for us and we kept trying to hurdle them,” Teat said. “Then to hear that news, it was like a breath of fresh air. We’re so excited to now have [Buczek] and coach [Jordan] Stevens leading us, two guys that care so much about this program. They’ve shown that over the course of their coaching career and their playing career.”

Teat’s focus this offseason is to spend as much time with his family as possible. Naturally, that will likely also end up building his lacrosse skill set as his father had a 14-year professional lacrosse career in Rochester, Albany and Buffalo, among other cities around North America. Teat’s two younger brothers also play lacrosse, so it will be a fun environment to be in as he anxiously awaits the opportunity to suit up for Cornell for a fifth and final year.

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