Category: Opinions
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.
Continue reading “Midseason Takeaways”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!
Continue reading “Power Rankings: November 2021”Power Rankings: Preseason 2021-22
Team writeups provided by the NCDA Power Ranking Panel
1) Grand Valley State
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.
Continue reading “Power Rankings: Preseason 2021-22”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
Continue reading “Power Rankings: 2020-21 Preseason”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.
Continue reading “Power Rankings: March 2020”5 Matchups Every NCDA Fan Wants to See Before the End of the Season
1. Grand Valley State vs. Ohio
Let’s start with the most obvious choice: GVSU and Ohio. The top two teams in college dodgeball at the halfway point in the season, everyone wants to see what would happen when these two undefeateds face off. While their records are the same, the two programs couldn’t be much different. GVSU has been a dominant team in the NCDA since 2006, winning 10 national titles in that time-frame. Ohio, on the other hand, has never even made it past the round of 16 at Nationals. The Bobcats look like a team with national title potential, with some great top end talent, but more importantly, quality depth. We hope that a GVSU vs. OU matchup happens in the regular season, but if we don’t see this duel until the NCDA National Title Game, that would be pretty epic as well…
Continue reading “5 Matchups Every NCDA Fan Wants to See Before the End of the Season”Storylines to Follow in the Second Half of the Season:
What is happening to the Michigan Region?
Grand Valley is still… Grand Valley. But outside of the Lakers, the rest of the region seems a bit off so far this season. Michigan State is currently the second best team in the region, but they have lost by multiple points in each of their games against GVSU, and in one of their only games against a non-Michigan team (BGSU), they lost in overtime. Meanwhile, Central Michigan has been nowhere near the caliber of team that they were a season ago when they made the Final Four. The Chips have some work to do to get back to reaching their potential. Then there is SVSU, sitting at 2-7 currently. The Cardinals had a rough first semester, but they are known to turn it on in the winter and become a contender, so the jury is still out on them. Lastly, Western Michigan has played only against GVSU, so they are yet to get their first win. The feeling around the league is that the Michigan Region has significantly regressed, and will have only one team (GVSU) even make the Final Four this year. The state that back in 2017 held all four spots in the Final Four, now looks much more average. But maybe this is all a big overreaction. Michigan State is still loaded with talent, and a few content team members expect the Spartans to make the National Title Game still. CMU had a rough first semester, but they have most of the same players from a year ago, so if they can get in a groove, a Final Four run shouldn’t be ruled out. And we all know SVSU improves dramatically in the second half of the season. It was a lackluster first half to the season for the state of Michigan, but it will be fun to watch how each team performs this semester leading up to Nationals.
Power Rankings: December 2019
We have reached the midway point in the 2019-20 NCDA season. There have been some surprising upsets so far this year, with some teams performing differently than expected preseason. With still four months until NCDA Nationals 2020, teams continue to shuffle in the power rankings order, as we get a better grasp at who are the contenders and who are the pretenders.
Below is the official December 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
For the second consecutive fall semester, the Lakers finish undefeated. GVSU is once again a title contender, proving their abilities against many of the top teams in the country. Grand Valley has several players who should be considered in the MVP hunt, most notably Ben Smart and Nolan Stanko. It’s never a bad thing to have several players in that discussion. The the biggest bright spot for GVSU though, is the way Captain Josh Hill and the other leaders have been able to develop the talented depth on this roster. GVSU is a much deeper team than some may have expected them to be after how may contributors they lost from a year ago. This team looks poised to start a new title streak this spring.
Continue reading “Power Rankings: December 2019”Power Rankings: November 2019
The 2019-20 season already has seen quite a few shakeups in the first two months. With so many upsets and chaotic results, ranking teams based off of the results so far this year has been difficult to say the least. Here’s to hoping the month of November provides a bit more clarity!
Below is the official November 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.
Continue reading “Power Rankings: November 2019”Power Rankings: October 2019
What an incredible first month to the season. 31 games have been played so far this year, with over 1/3rd of them being upsets! If the month of September was any indication, it’s going to be a FUN season of college dodgeball!
Below is the official October 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.
Continue reading “Power Rankings: October 2019”Power Rankings: Preseason 2019-20
The first official tournament of the 2019-20 College Dodgeball season will take place this Sunday at Michigan State University. With the season just days away, it’s time to take a look at the 2019-20 Preseason Power Rankings.
Note: this year the Power Rankings were voted on by the NCDA Content Team. Every member was given the opportunity to submit a ballot. Here are our final results:
1. Grand Valley State
2019 Finish: #2 in Power Rankings, 2nd at Nationals
After finishing 2018-19 at #2, Grand Valley State jumps back to #1 to start the 2018-19 season. While the Lakers will be losing quite a few top-notch players, they still return a strong cast of contributors who are poised to step up and keep GVSU at or near the top of the collegiate dodgeball standings. Josh Hill will take over as captain this year for the Lakers, after missing most of 2018-19 with a shoulder injury. He will be joined by a few familiar faces in the NCDA, as Ben Smart (2019 1st-Team All American) and Alex Jonauskas (2019 2nd-Team All American) also remain on the roster. Beyond those three, GVSU has plenty of depth. Nolan Stanko has been a starter since his freshman year in 2016-17, and will likely be one of the Lakers’ top arms this year.
Continue reading “Power Rankings: Preseason 2019-20”2019-20 Way-Too-Early Power Rankings
With the 2019-20 season still several months away, let’s take an early look at the way-too-early power rankings. This coming season looks to be a special one, with so many teams in the hunt for a national title!
1. Michigan State
2019 Finish: #5 in Power Rankings, T-3 at Nationals
2020 is the Spartans’ year! Youth and inexperience will no longer plague Michigan State in 2020, as they will be not only one of the most talented teams in the country, but one of the most experienced.
Starting at the top, Junior Captain Payton Schuster is poised to have an MVP caliber season in 2020, after finishing as an All-American in 2019 as just a sophomore. Schuster is far from the only weapon on this roster though. Fellow juniors Dennis Sullivan, Max Antilla, and Brent Weakland will all be veteran leaders next year. Each of which can be counted on to hold his own if he is the last man standing. On top of that, MSU had a loaded rookie class in 2018-19, so they will bring back a talented, battle-tested sophomore class that will have a major impact on the team’s success. Jack Hilt and Jacob Georges were two of the top rookies in the country last year, and will only be better in 2019-20. Hunter Broski, Evan Bara, Jake Lico, and Ben Traub all made some plays last year for the Spartans, but each will have breakout seasons during their second year on the roster.
Continue reading “2019-20 Way-Too-Early Power Rankings”2018-19 Top Rookie Classes in the NCDA
1. Michigan State
The Spartans brought in a loaded rookie class in 2018-19, with both top-end talent, and depth. The headliners for MSU were Jack Hilt and Jacob Georges. Hilt turned heads in the winter semester, with some clutch performances in big moments (most notably at WAR). Georges had his breakout tournament at Nationals where he was a massive part of the Michigan State offensive attack. Hunter Broski showed a lot of promise in 2018-19, and is poised for a breakout season in 2020. Evan Bara burst onto the scene at MDC as one of the top playmakers on the MSU roster. Jake Lico already is putting together highlight play after highlight play thanks to his great hands and impressive anticipation as a thrower. One last Spartan rookie worth mentioning is Ben Traub, who will become a much more well-known name in 2019-20 as his role continues to increase on this squad. Overall, this rookie class for MSU is exactly what they needed, and will be the foundation for success in East Lansing for years to come.
Continue reading “2018-19 Top Rookie Classes in the NCDA”Power Rankings: Postseason 2019
What a season! After months and months of battling it out on the hardwood, we finally crowned our National Champion this April, at Nationals 2019. Congratulations to Towson University on winning their first College Dodgeball National Championship in school history! While this season may be over, keep an eye out for our way-too-early 2019-20 rankings coming soon…
Below is the official Postseason Power Rankings list produced by NCDA Executive Board members Jacob Leski (Director of Recruitment and Retention) and Kevin Bailey (Chief of Content). Please keep in mind: these power rankings have no impact on the actual NCDA Standings.
Continue reading “Power Rankings: Postseason 2019”