COLLEGE PARK, Md. — The majority of the roster and coaching staff in College Park will remain the same as last year as Maryland kicks off its 2019-2020 season in a few weeks, but one major change the Terps made this offseason to propel them to the next level is putting a major emphasis on strength, conditioning, and nutrition in order to increase the team’s overall athleticism and physicality.

With a top-10 national ranking across all major preseason polls and a chance to build upon a team that made it to the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament last year, the Terps have an opportunity in front of them and they don’t intend to waste it by not having their bodies in pique shape.

“I think we’re just really fully committed to winning and doing whatever we have to do,” Terps senior point guard Anthony Cowan Jr. said Oct. 15 at Maryland men’s basketball media day. “Individually, you’ll always find someone in the gym either early in the morning or late at night. So I think that’s definitely a recipe for success.”

Diligent weight training has been part of Maryland’s newfound “recipe for success,” but it is matched with healthier diets and more efficient rest across the team.

Cowan is one of several Terps to add some bulk to their frame this offseason in an attempt to keep up with the physical grind of Big Ten play. The senior floor general has added 10 pounds of muscle this offseason and expects the difference to show in his game right away.

“If you know the Big Ten, you know how physical it is,” Cowan said. “I just want to be able to bump with the guys. I felt like at times last year I just wasn’t’ strong enough to make the moves or finish the way I wanted to. So I think putting on this weight helped me out a little bit.”

Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon admitted that he was concerned about Cowan’s weight gain once he heard about the plan for him to bulk up, but his worries have been put to rest after seeing how much athleticism his point guard has gained from the physical transformation.

“It's made him really athletic even more athletic,” Turgeon said. “He's always been fast and now he can actually dunk the ball pretty easily for a short guy. So he's worked hard he put in a lot of time this summer.”

Much like Cowan, fellow All-Big Ten selection Jalen “Stix” Smith has added 10 pounds of muscle since last season and is now up more than 30 pounds from when he first arrived in College Park.

Turgeon joked at media day that “Logs” is a more applicable nickname for Smith these days because of the muscle he’s added to his frame, and the 6-foot-10 sophomore is looking forward to using his newfound bulk to his advantage in the post this season.

“Last year pretty much just motivated [me] to get stronger and work on my weaknesses, overall be a better teammate to my team,” Smith said. “Since last year, I’ve gained about 10-12 pounds. I was 215 pounds last year and now I am 225-227 pounds. It’s going to help me withstand hits and have longer endurance.

With a solid perimeter game to supplement his size and skill down low, Smith doesn’t plan to let his added size diminish his fluidity as an athlete or touch when shooting the ball. He has worked hard this offseason to make sure his new body only acts as a benefit to him and his game.

“Every time I finish lifting, I’m always out here doing drills that I normally do like running to the rim, running full court, just so I can adjust to it,” Smith said.

Adding to Maryland’s goal of being more stout in the frontcourt, fellow sophomore big Rick Lindo Jr. is another Terp tasked with the goal of improving his body for the upcoming season.

Lindo is up 20 pounds from last year, and after cutting out unhealthy habits like Chick-fil-A on a daily basis, he is feeling healthier, bouncier, and more energetic heading into his sophomore campaign.

“It was a big emphasis for me to gain more weight and be stronger so that I can help out the team more,” Lindo said, adding that in between workouts this offseason he and his teammates would eat “snack packs” that included items such as peanut butter, yogurt, fruit, nuts, and beef jerky, as well as drink a gallon of water a day in order to see the changes to their body that they wanted to make.

Sophomore guard Eric Ayala is reaping the benefits of his new diet, but in a different way than Lindo. Rather than add weight this offseason, Ayala focused on slimming down in order to become quicker and more athletic.

“I think my skill and IQ have always been there; I just think my body was just holding me back from doing some things that I wanted to do,” Ayala said.

By changing the way he eats like avoiding Popeyes before a game or pancakes with extra syrup in the morning and replacing these foods with a high-protein diet full of bacon and eggs, Ayala is down 10 pounds from last year and feeling great about how he feels entering this season.

“It’s more so confidence, just having confidence in my body that it can produce at a certain level that I need it to,” Ayala said. “Athletically, just playing above the rim, getting out, running the floor. Defensively it has helped me out a lot, being able to beat guys to spots. Just confidence. My body can produce my thoughts now, and that’s just a blessing to have.”

Sophomore guard Serrel Smith gaining five pounds of muscle and freshman center Makhi Mitchell shedding 20 pounds are among other notable Terps’ offseason body transformations that should help Maryland become the more physical team Turgeon hopes to see this season.

“We weren't the most physical team in the world last year, a lot of it was our youth,” Turgeon said. “But these guys are built pretty well so our practices are much more physical, and they need to be for us to play at the highest level, so that helps.”