Kevin Bailey – Page 3

Improbable Comeback Gives Michigan State First Michigan Dodgeball Cup Title since 2005

May be an image of 6 people and people standing

17 years.

That’s how long it had been since the last time Michigan State University’s dodgeball club members could call themselves Michigan Dodgeball Cup Champions. 17 years of heartbreak. 17 years of what-ifs. 17 years of being the butt of jokes from rival Michigan teams when February rolled around.

What started as a two-team event highlighting the rivalry between Michigan State and Delta College, turned into arguably the most historic regular season event in collegiate dodgeball. Back in 2005, when the Spartans were victorious over Delta College by a score of 8-3 in the Inaugural Michigan Dodgeball Cup, nobody could’ve foreseen the suffering the program would go through at this particular event over the next 17 years.

2022 Michigan Dodgeball Cup Preview

2015 Michigan Dodgeball Cup Preview – NCDA

This Saturday, Michigan State University will host three other schools in the annual Michigan Dodgeball Cup. In attendance will be Grand Valley State (8-1), Michigan State (5-3), Saginaw Valley State (2-7), and Western Michigan (0-3). Missing from the MDC for the first time since 2007 (prior to their club’s existence) is Central Michigan University.

While eyes will be on the CMU club to see if they can rebuild their program and get back to competition, let’s shift our attention back to the four teams in attendance. To start, here is the schedule for the 2022 MDC, which will be livestreamed on the NCDA’s social channels this Saturday, starting at 10:00 AM.

Power Rankings: February 2022

Power Rankings: December 2021

Midseason Takeaways

1) A new best region?

For as long as any of us can remember, the Michigan Region has owned the NCDA. With 12 of the 15 college dodgeball national titles going to a Michigan school, not to mention most of the Final Four each year consisting of Michigan teams, the region’s success could be categorized as nothing short of ‘dominance’. But, that all might be changing. Sure, it took 1.5 years off from NCDA Dodgeball thanks to a worldwide pandemic, but it certainly feels like the gap has closed.

Power Rankings: November 2021

Team writeups provided by the NCDA Power Ranking Panel

1) Cincinnati

For the first time in team history, my Cincinnati Bearcats, your Cincinnati Bearcats, OUR Cincinnati Bearcats are ranked #1 in the NCDA’s power rankings. Having only played one tournament, there are still plenty of unanswered questions about this team, but boy did they look dominant in their only appearance thus far. Expect many of those outstanding questions to be answered next weekend at Ohio when the Bearcats face off against GVSU, Ohio, and JMU. Go Cats!

Power Rankings: Preseason 2021-22

Team writeups provided by the NCDA Power Ranking Panel

1) Grand Valley State

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is gvsu-300x230.png

GVSU looks to continue their winning ways in the 2021-2022 season. The Lakers return plenty of familiar faces, including 2020 Player of the Year Ben Smart, former captain Josh Hill, and assistant captain Nick Hehl. These three all have big game experience and know how to lead their team to success. Tyler Peach is the new name to know from this team. He takes the team over this year as head captain. As a freshman the year COVID hit, he only has half a year of game experience. What he lacks in experience though he more than makes up for in talent, so expect this guy to just keep getting better. GVSU was limited to practice only last season but still managed to bring in a few promising recruits. Among them is Owen Israels, who already looks to have the composure of a veteran despite not playing in a match yet. For those hoping GV would finally have a down year, looks like that’s going to have to wait.

Power Rankings: 2020-21 Preseason

1) Grand Valley State

Grand Valley opens yet another season as the predicted top team in college dodgeball. After going undefeated in 2019-20 prior to the Covid-19 shutdown, GVSU comes into the 2021 season with a handful of star players on the roster. The Lakers return 2019-20 NCDA Player of the Year Ben Smart, along with fellow All-American Nolan Stanko. On top of that, Captain Josh Hill is back for his second year at the helm. Collin Freeman is back (for potentially just the fall semester), along with Nick Hehl. Not to mention, GVSU had two All-Rookie performers a year ago, who are poised for a strong sophomore campaign: Tyler Peach and Thomas Williamson. GVSU will need to do a good job recruiting this year to keep the depth that has always made them so dangerous, but overall they have the experience and talent at the top to once again be in the title conversation.

2) Michigan State

2020 College Dodgeball All-Rookie Team

Michigan State’s Barry Butler III is the 2019-20 College Dodgeball Rookie of the Year.

1. Barry Butler III – Michigan State

This year’s rookie class brought in some incredible talent nationally, but when you look across the season one name stood out above the rest – Barry Butler III. Barry had begun to make a name for himself from the first point he played in. He’s already developed into one of Michigan State’s top arms and has strong catching abilities. He learns the game quickly and already has more court awareness than most seasoned vets. It’s hard to watch him play and remember that he’s only a rookie, this kid seems like he can do it all. Beyond his skill set, his work ethic is unparalleled and he is always striving for improvement. Barry has the potential to be a future NCDA MVP.

2020 College Dodgeball All-American 2nd Team

1) Alex Jonauskas – Grand Valley State

Jonauskas comes in one spot shy of making the 1st Team after another strong season. This GVSU star has been a force for years in Allendale, Michigan. Jonauskas developed over the years into a strong leader, and well-rounded player for the GVSU Lakers. His survivability and knack for making clutch plays as the last man standing helped him gain recognition. In his final year as a college dodgeballer, Jonauskas stepped up as a leader and playmaker and helped Grand Valley to an undefeated season prior to the season being stopped due to COVID-19. Congrats to Jonauskas on making the list!

2020 College Dodgeball All-American Team

The National Collegiate Dodgeball Association continues to grow and improve. As the number of teams and players in the league increases, so does the competition to make the All-American Team. With COVID-19 cutting short the 16th season of College Dodgeball, it is time to announce the players who have earned a spot on this year’s list. Congrats to all the fantastic players who made the cut!

Player of the Year: Ben Smart – Grand Valley State

Earning his 2nd consecutive 1st Team All American honor, Ben Smart lands at #1 on this list, taking home the title of 2020 College Dodgeball Player of the Year. This Grand Valley State University star had an impressive season, showing off his skills any time he had the chance. Smart burst onto the scene two years ago in the 2018 National Title Game, and since then the legend of Ben Smart has only grown. He is one of the top catchers in the game, showing an ability to get low and make tough catches on well-placed throws. His arm strength has improved dramatically over the past few seasons, and he now has one of the toughest throws in the entire country to block/dodge. Smart was a play-maker all year long, at times showing he can secure outs at will when he is on his game. Smart will be back on the team again next season so look for more dominance from him in 2020-21.

2020 All-South Team

Listed below is the 2020 All-Region Team for the South. This list was voted on by captains within the South Region.

The following was produced by Zachary Rivera, Kyle Dattelbaum, and Hunter Ford:

1. Daniel LaJeunesse (Kentucky):

Back to back All-South #1’s for the University of Kentucky! Leading the Southern Region list is the captain of the University of Kentucky dodgeball team himself. This is his second year in a row being on this list, moving from #2 to MVP in the South, and rightfully so. LaJeunesse stepped up big time for his team this year, leading them to several victories throughout the season and the first ever Southern Dodgeball Cup Championship. He is an extremely versatile player with a ton of energy and presence on the court, and he has some pretty awesome moves which makes him surprisingly hard to hit. He also makes some pretty funny Tik-Toks, so check him out!

2020 All-Michigan Team

Listed below is the 2020 All-Region Team for Michigan. This list was voted on by captains within the Michigan Region.

1. Ben Smart – Grand Valley State

Landing at #1 on the All-Michigan list in Grand Valley State star Ben Smart. Known for his great instincts, clutch catching, and devastatingly accurate throws, Ben Smart is the definition of an all-around player. At times this year it seemed like he could eliminate opponents at will. The lefty for the Lakers has such phenomenal movement and placement on his throw, and great timing in transition, that he can pick off opponents at a very efficient rate. Smart helped the Lakers to an undefeated record prior to the season being suspended, and while he would’ve loved to finish out the year with a National Title, he will be back next fall to help lead GVSU in their pursuit of a championship.

Power Rankings: March 2020

With only a few months left in the 2019-20 season, the rankings continue to shift. The months of January and February saw some very entertaining dodgeball to say the least, with some teams finding themselves on hot streaks, with others falling into a slump. With Nationals quickly approaching, it will be fun to see how the rest of the regular season shakes out!

Below is the official March Power Rankings list, voted on and written by the NCDA Content Team. Please keep in mind: these power rankings have no impact on the actual NCDA Standings.

1) Grand Valley State

Grand Valley remains undefeated after some very close calls so far this winter. The Lakers have been forced to overtime each of the past two times they’ve faced Michigan State. GVSU also had some first half struggles at the Michigan Dodgeball Cup against Central Michigan. The best GVSU teams over the years haven’t been simply their most talented or most skilled squads, but rather the most disciplined ones. If GVSU plans to be the first team since 2009 to go undefeated for an entire season, they will need to lock in over the next month and a half and get back to being the most disciplined team in dodgeball.

Weekend Recap: Biggest Winners / Losers from Last Saturday

Saturday, February 22, 2020 was a hectic day for college dodgeball. In total, 18 schools were in action on Saturday, spread across 3 separate tournaments: Ohio Dodgeball Cup, BEAST, and Viking Cup. It was a day full of awesome games and interesting results, with 28 total matches taking place throughout the day. There is certainly a lot to unpack after Saturday, so to break things down a bit, let’s take a look at the biggest ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ from last weekend.

Before we get to the fun stuff, here are the results from the weekend:

…And here is your current top 20 Gonzalez Standings:

Now onto the winners and losers from Saturday:

Winners:

Western Michigan

It was a historic day for the Western Michigan University Dodgeball Club on Saturday, as the Broncos earned their first two wins ever. WMU beat Ball State 5-3, then followed it up with a 5-2 win over Kentucky in which the Broncos came back from a 2-1 halftime deficit to score four-consecutive points en route to a huge victory. Along with Captain Peter Broe leading the way, WMU had some strong consistent play from Ryan Allor and Randy Santana-Jiminez as well as some clutch performances by Hue Pettway and Evin Cooper. Saturday was a great day for WMU, and a stepping stone for their program moving forward. Western’s commitment to consistently facing tough competition in the Michigan Region is starting to pay off, and they are moving up the rankings because of it. This team has an exciting future.