Bold Nationals 2018 Predictions

In the spirit of March Madness, and with Nationals 2018 approaching soon, myself and other members of the content team have decided to put together some of our bold predictions for Nationals 2018.  While Nationals has traditionally been dominated by a select few teams, there is a lot of reason to believe this year could be different with one of the largest and most talented fields in league history.  I’ve provided each member’s predictions, as well as my personal brief summary of their predictions.  Some predictions are bold, some are not, and others are just downright foolish…or so it seems.  Let’s have a look.

Continue reading “Bold Nationals 2018 Predictions”

Nationals 2018 All-Star Announcement

The annual NCDA All-Star Game takes place at Nationals, which this year will be held at Virginia Commonwealth University.

This year, the National Collegiate Dodgeball Association will be changing the format for the annual All-Star Game. For Nationals 2018, there will be 4 All-Star teams competing in a single-elimination tournament, each game will be a one point sudden-death match.

How will the four teams be determined? That is another big change for 2018. This year, we will have four player-captains to draft the All-Star Teams.  These four captains will be selected in a unique way.

Continue reading “Nationals 2018 All-Star Announcement”

BOTM: 2018 March

Evan Eschenburg – JMU

After a series of matchups and polls on Twitter, JMU’s Evan Eschenburg was the people’s choice, coming out on top over seven other talented and well-qualified dodgeballers.  Throughout his career, Eschenburg has embodied what it means to be a true JMU dodgeballer, which lead to him being one of the captains for this season.  Without a doubt, he has made a bigger name for himself this season and could even be placed in the league MVP discussion.  I had a chance to talk to him to congratulate him and pick his thoughts on dodgeball, JMU, and Fortnite.

Continue reading “BOTM: 2018 March”

Future Stars of the East Coast

There are a lot of big names that have come out of the East Coast over the years, but today we’re giving you a preview of those who are on their way.  Each of these young players have shown the talent and drive to eventually become leaders of their team, and prominent dodgeballers in the NCDA for years to come.  Let’s take a look at some of these prospects.

Continue reading “Future Stars of the East Coast”

North Georgia Takes Home the Gold…Rush

The University of North Georgia hosted Georgia Southern University and the University of Central Florida this past weekend at the UNG Gold Rush.  For UNG, it was a chance to flex their muscles and prove once again they are the top contenders in the South.  GSU looked to add to their win total for the year, and prove they could compete with their in-state competition.  As for UCF, this was a great opportunity for them to get their feet wet, as it was their first match in program history.  Overall, it was a fun and simple event which gave us some insight on the younger programs in the country.

Continue reading “North Georgia Takes Home the Gold…Rush”

GVSU Tames BEAST

The BEAST has always been an exciting tournament which brings out top level competition and memorable moments for many teams.  While this year’s tournament didn’t have the upsets and big surprises last year’s had, it certainly had some spectacular plays and thrilling finishes.

Ultimately, the biggest takeaway is that we are starting to get a clearer picture about where each team on the East Coast stands relative to each other.  It was also a good opportunity to see four potential MVP candidates in action and get a better idea of how the MVP race will play out, along with looking at some other potential All-American players.

Continue reading “GVSU Tames BEAST”

District 5 Becomes the Official Dinner Sponsor for Nationals 2018

District 5 has partnered with the NCDA to help sponsor Nationals 2018 in Richmond, VA.  The local restaurant has been a popular spot in the Richmond area for years and will be an excellent place for teams to gather Friday and Saturday night.  They will also be sponsoring a court and be the official sponsors for the annual Fastest Arm Competition.  All current and former NCDA members will be welcome to attend anytime throughout the weekend.  You can find their website here to learn more details about their restaurant.

Major Shakeups from The War II

Akron hosted the second installment of The War on the 10th and 11th, and the name could not have been more appropriate.  The tournament featured 8 of the top 14 schools, a brand new team in West Virginia, and some hungry teams looking to climb the ranks in Miami and Akron.  There were a total of 21 matches played and 10(!) of them were technical upsets.  On top of that, coming into the weekend there was almost a perfect flip in teams ranked 3-7.  We have described “tiers” in the past to describe the placement of teams, and the 3-7 ranked teams have established a tier that is nearly impossible to make heads or tails of at this point in the season.  Let’s take a look at the specifics of what went down in the state of Ohio.

Continue reading “Major Shakeups from The War II”

BOTM: 2017 November

Baller of the Month – November 2017 Kristofer DeJesus

Kris DeJesus

Kris DeJesus is November’s BOTM, and I’ve gotta say, this was very well deserved.  Everyone loves a good underdog story, and for many years that has been the Stevenson Mustang’s reputation.  However, with all the blood, sweat, and (maybe?) tears that Kris has put into this program, we are seeing the fruits of that labor.  He has lead this team to their first wins in program history, and has also demonstrated that his talent level is above and beyond the average NCDA baller.

The kid can do it all.  Catch, throw, block, you name it.  More or less, the dodgeball version of Boobie Miles.  Kris has a big presence on the court as both a player and leader for this team, that much has been easy to see this year.  I had a chance to chat with Kris to talk about his success and congratulate him on being our November BOTM.

Continue reading “BOTM: 2017 November”

Midterm Report Card: Grading the East Coast

We have reached a point in the season where we have started to get an idea of where teams stand and what they’re potentially capable of.  Sean Smith, former Towson University dodgeballer, and I have teamed up to give our takes and grades from what we’ve seen so far out of the East Coast.  For some teams, they will love their grades.  For some teams, they will hate them.  But at the end of the day, these are just some not-so-scientifically assigned grade based on early observations this season.  For the overachiever students out there it may be hard to accept the grade you get, but fear not, there will be more chances to bump your grade up later this season.

Continue reading “Midterm Report Card: Grading the East Coast”

BGSU Invitational Preview

The Following was written by reid manger (BGSU):

The 2017-2018 NCDA season is in full force midway through the first semester. With well over 50 matches played so far during the year, this has arguably been the most exciting (certainly most active) season the NCDA has seen to date. With that in mind, it should be no surprise to see even more activity taking place this weekend at Bowling Green State University (otherwise known as BSGU) (no, unfortunately that isn’t a typo). The following six varsity teams will be in attendance: BGSU, OU, OSU, CSU, Towson, and UK. Although primarily an Ohio tournament, the introduction of a couple competitive out of state opponents gives this tournament a bit of flare. In the paragraphs to come, I will give a brief summary of each team, their upcoming opponents, a few interview questions, and end it with my own personal predictions of how things will shake out.

Continue reading “BGSU Invitational Preview”

UMD Tourney Preview

The following was written by
Jeremy Brown:

 

This weekend, Maryland will be hosting the first full-scale tournament on the East Coast this season. This tournament is going to be pretty big in seeing where teams stand to start the season, particularly Towson facing JMU with East Coast supremacy on the line. But before I get into all the drama this upcoming weekend, let me first recap the tournament hosted by Towson this past weekend.

Continue reading “UMD Tourney Preview”

First East Coast Showdown: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

This past weekend MSU opened up the 2017-18 NCDA season with the EA tournament in East Lansing, MI.  There were certainly some interesting surprises, but the main point is that dodgeball is back!  Now, it is the first chance for some East Coast schools to show what they’re all about.

This Saturday, Towson University has the pleasure of hosting the first event of the season which will also include Stevenson University and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).  Towson comes in as the top rated team after having their best season ever last year followed by VCU and Stevenson.  This will be their opportunity to flex their muscle against some familiar opponents and start the year strong.  That being said, Stevenson and VCU won’t make it easy, and are each looking for a statement win.  Let’s take a look at some things to watch with each team, from the good to the bad, and even the ugly.

Continue reading “First East Coast Showdown: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”

East Coast 2017-18 Preview

Next on our region by region previews is the East Coast.  There were a lot of headlines coming out of the East last year, and this year should prove to be no different.  In Kevin Bailey-esque fashion, let’s take a look at our teams to watch out for in the 2017-18 season, and who is likely to emerge as the top team out of the East Coast.

Continue reading “East Coast 2017-18 Preview”

2018 Executive Board

WASHINGTON Office of the Director of Officiating (and Records): 27 of the 32 Member Teams have submitted valid ballots for the Election of the 2018 Executive Board.  Additionally, non-voting ballots were submitted by upcoming member teams Gonzaga and the University of Central Florida, we thank them for their contribution.  A number of alumni voted, however did not reach the required number of votes (14) to be included as an Alumni Ballot.

The open positions on this year’s ballot included: President, Treasurer, and three Directorships under the recent Board expansion. These three directors will be titled as one of their first actions of business. The positions of President and Treasurer were unopposed, so only one round of voting was required for each.  There were four eligible candidates for the three Directorships, and required three rounds of voting under our preferential Single Transferable Vote system.

Member Team ballots were confirmed and preferential election counted by the upcoming Director of Nationals (Hunter Ford).  The winning candidates have accepted their positions and the defeated candidates have been notified of the results prior to this posting.

Continue reading “2018 Executive Board”