This article was written by Eli Maistros from Ohio University.
1. Michigan State – Michigan State returns as the leader of the pack despite a ‘disappointing’ campaign by their lofty standards, one that still included a trip to the Final Four, where they lost to the eventual champions, Miami. Talent is abundant for Sparty, with National Player of the Year Matt Barriball and Rookie of the Year Luke Foco headlining a group that also features All-Americans Zach VanFleet and Alex Edson. Though the taste of defeat for the first time since 2022 stings, this strong contingent of green and white is determined to return the title to East Lansing.
2. Ohio State – The Buckeyes endured a roller coaster of a 2024-25, having a disappointing first half of the season, but finished strong down the stretch, turning a 6-9 start into a .500 record and a close overtime loss in the quarterfinals. Ohio State has a bona fide superstar in 1st team All-American Colson Bunch, and a deep cast of support that started to shine in the second semester, with Rookie All-Americans Will Dalton and Braylen Jarvis stepping up. The challenge in the new season for the Buckeyes will be proving their hot run to end the season was no fluke, as they try to reach the National Championship game again.
3. Kent State – The rise of Kent State dodgeball is in full swing, and the Golden Flashes might roll out their most complete roster in program history next year. Spearheaded by Senior All-American JJ Oldenburg and 2nd team All-American Ohio University transfer Emmanuel Miller, Kent State has the heavy hitters to compete, along with an exceptional supporting cast with captains Jacob Florentine and Mike Blizco, and Rookie All-American duo of Evan Harbison and Brogan Hartup. The Golden Flashes, who took eventual champions Miami to overtime during Nationals, will look to turn some heads this season.
4. Miami – The remarkable story that was the 2024-25 Miami dodgeball season will be the topic of focus around the league until next season starts, highlighting the program going from one win in 2022 to the top of the mountain a few years later. But the Redhawks have huge shoes to fill with the heartbeat of the program, and All-American Max Edling graduating, and fellow captain and All-American Cole Ginocchio also finishing his career. The champs will return southpaw slinger Philip Hampton, as well as a good chunk of the starting rotation, including the thunder and lightning rookie duo of the towering Rookie All-American Max Boon and the quick and nimble Ray Moore.
5. Virginia – Another huge riser after a breakout tournament performance, the Virginia Cavaliers find themselves in the top five of the power rankings. The Hoos are as deep 1-12 as any team in the country, and play a brilliant controlled chaos style of dodgeball that helped them produce a huge upset win over Ohio, and give Ohio State a first-round scare in Cleveland. Despite losing 2nd team All-American Kenji McCartney, 3rd team All-American Grady Holmes, and Nationals performers Arden Levin and Benjamin Wu, standout in a crop of highly talented and smart players led by coach Wyndham White.
6. Cincinnati – Cincinnati had an unusual 2024-25 campaign that started dreary but ended up being historic. The eventual national runner-up hit a tumultuous point in mid-February after a first-round Ohio Dodgeball Cup exit to Ohio, ending their three-peat as ODC champions, but got hot when it mattered, outscoring Nationals opponents 27-5 leading up to the final. The Bearcats will have to fill a lot of production with a quartet of seniors, who combined for three All-American nods this past season and 14 years of dodgeball experience graduating. Superstar Will Hyatt will have help with Rookie All-American Brett Sweeney and captain Jacob Zilles stepping into larger roles.
7. Grand Valley State – Well, this is not where the 11-time National Champions envisioned themselves to be in the power rankings. The Lakers, who missed the Final Four for the first time in program history last season, have a positive outlook on the horizon, only losing three seniors, although that group includes All-American Mason Smith. There is some serious horsepower returning next season, with 1st team All-American Aidan Jacobs and 3rd team All-American Ryan Paddock still donning the Laker blue. With a strong core and a fun cast surrounding them, Grand Valley will look to use 2025-26 as a launchpad back to the throne they are so familiar with.
8. Akron – Akron, the national number one seed entering last season’s national tournament, has experienced a slight decline in the early-season rankings, likely due to the sheer talent that is departing the program in the offseason. All-Americans Chance Preece and Carter Crawford leave the program, and other key longtime staples will need to be replaced. The good news is that reigning Women’s National Player of the Year Alexis Schultz and on-court leader Kyle VonScio return, and Akron’s style of dodgeball, led by coach Adam Pfeifer, means Akron does not especially need star power to compete with the best of the best in the NCDA.
9. James Madison – The Dukes might not be the team to beat in the East anymore, but they still made enough of an impact at nationals, beating five-seed Ohio in the upset of the day and making the quarterfinals to make the top ten. The reigning East Coast Dodgeball Cup champions return rising star and Rookie All-American Preston Anderson, and All-Star and All-East Coast team member Jaxson Hannie will join him. James Madison will have a trio of seniors exit the program with Francesco Carvelli, Sean Kelly, and Jack Mercer, all key players from last season’s team, hanging up the sneakers and finger tape.
10. Cleveland State – If you told me at the beginning of the year that Cleveland State would beat GVSU in Cleveland at nationals, I probably would have laughed in your face. But that is exactly what transpired in April, as the Vikings produced their program’s statement win that showed the immense growth of the program over the past year. A lot of the spotlight rightfully goes towards 1st team All-American Leon Rockamore Jr, a consensus top dodgeballer in the world, but his running mates, 3rd team All-American Jostein Sagnes and Antoine Lamar, had breakout seasons that helped boost the Vikings into the top-10 of these rankings.
11. Ohio – The Bobcats crashed and burned out of the tournament last season, going 1-3 with a first-round upset loss to James Madison in Cleveland despite an impressive 12-4 regular season. Only three players will be gone from last season’s team, but they are the three All-Americans that represented the Bobcats in Terence Checkett, Logan Neff, and Emmanuel Miller. Ohio still holds onto All-Star Judson Jones and experienced players in Brennan McTighe, Ryan Theiss, and Jack Watts, but they will have to replace a lot of star power come 2025-26, and need to figure it out quickly to stay afloat.
12. Penn State – The third East Coast program to appear on the list, Penn State, only played four games before nationals, losing all of them and being a team of mostly mystery coming into Cleveland. They came out swinging, winning all three games on Saturday, but they ran into the buzzsaw that was Cincinnati in the first round. 2nd team All-American Hunter Stewart has played his senior season, and so has All-Star Ian Robb, leaving the Nittany Lions a bit thin up front.
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The rest of the top 25:
13. Illinois
14. Bowling Green
15. Maryland
16. Northern Kentucky
17. Wisconsin-Platteville
18. Saginaw Valley State
19. Central Michigan
20. Western Michigan
21. Nebraska
22. Georgia Southern
23. North Georgia
24. Wisconsin-Stout
25. Georgia Tech