Power Rankings – December 2017

NCDABelow are the power rankings for December.  This list was co-created by Kevin Bailey and Jacob Leski.

*These Power Rankings have no impact on the league’s official standings.


1) Central Michigan

The Chips took a massive risk playing 6 games in two days and it payed off, just barely. The big question I have is whether or not these captains will be able to keep their team motivated to keep working in this large gap of time where no one plays. If he can, I expect this success to continue. – Jacob Leski

Very impressive first half of the season for Central Michigan.  They dodged a few bullets during their 6-game weekend a few weeks ago.  Sure, they are a beatable team, but the bottom line is that the Chippewas perform when the game is on the line.  Championship level teams find a way to win close games, and that is the biggest difference between CMU and GVSU so far this season. – Kevin Bailey Continue reading “Power Rankings – December 2017”

Power Rankings – November 2017

As we progress further and further into the fall semester, the college dodgeball season continues to heat up!  Already this year we have seen some fantastic games, and a few very surprising outcomes.  We even had our first event on the west coast when Gonzaga and Oregon State met for a double header.

Since it is the start of a new month, it is time to reveal the new power rankings.  This month, the list was compiled by fellow NCDA Executive Board member Jacob Leski and myself.  We both produced a top 20 list and combined them to make the final composite power rankings that you see below (any tie between two schools would go in favor of the team with the higher win percentage).  Leski and I both leave brief comments below for each team.

Let us know what you think about the current power rankings, and what you expect will change before December rolls around.

*These Power Rankings have no impact on the league’s official standings.


1) Central Michigan

Central Michigan is without a doubt worthy of the #1 ranking based on how they have done so far this year.  Their home tournament on Saturday will be a HUGE test for them.  Continue reading “Power Rankings – November 2017”

Weekend Recap – Winners & Losers

Anyone who follows college dodgeball closely knows that this past weekend featured a number a great events across the country.  This past Saturday, Penn State hosted James Madison, Maryland, and Towson in an East Coast tourney that would provide more insight into where each of those teams are at.  Also on Saturday, one of college dodgeball’s newest rivalries took place on the campus of Georgia Southern.  UNG and GSU battled it out with a double-header, in the South Region’s first event of the season.  Then, on Sunday, Grand Valley hosted their Gauntlet tournament with every Michigan school (plus Kent State) in attendance.

The results from those tournaments can be found here.  I’m going to jump right to the analysis.  Here are the major winners and loser from this past weekend:

Continue reading “Weekend Recap – Winners & Losers”

Power Rankings – October 2017

We are one month into a new year of collegiate dodgeball competition, so I felt it would be fitting to put together a “power rankings” so we can see where each team stands at this point in the season.  Below is my list of the top 15 teams in the country as of the start of October (my plan is to provide this list at the start of each month throughout the entire dodgeball season).

Please note, this list is my own opinion on where teams stand right now, and it has no effect on the actual NCDA standings, or Nationals seeding.  Also note, I have only ranked teams that have competed in a game so far this season.  Those teams who have yet to play a match are not listed.  This list is based on merit (what you’ve done this year), so if you’re offended with where your team stands, do something about it and win more games!  Enjoy…


  1. Central Michigan

Easy choice at number one.  Central Michigan is sitting pretty at 6-0.  They already hold wins over three of the other top five teams in my power rankings.  Very impressive start to the year.  Continue reading “Power Rankings – October 2017”

2017-18 MVP “Short List”

The start of a new season of dodgeball is just around the corner.  As we gear up for another year of rubber balls flying at our face at 70mph, let’s take a quick look at what players are on my MVP “short list”.  There are so many great players in the league this year.  In fact, I think we enter this year with more established names than we do most seasons.  With that said, there is a top tier of players who have a legitimate shot to win MVP this year, and they are the only ones who made it on my short list.  In no particular order, here are a few players to keep your eye on this season:

Michael Riley (Central Michigan)

Michael Riley was 6th on last year’s All-American list.

I predicted this man would be 2017 MVP at the start of last season, and while he didn’t get the #1 spot due to a rough first semester for himself and his team, Riley did come on strong in the second half of the season.  That strong finish to the NCDA season, along with a great summer of Elite Dodgeball, gives me reason to believe he is once again poised to be in the MVP race in 2018. Continue reading “2017-18 MVP “Short List””

College Dodgeball’s Winning Formula – Part One: Play Elite Dodgeball

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Looking for dodgeball outside the NCDA? Look no further than Elite Dodgeball.

As we inch closer and closer to the start of another National Collegiate Dodgeball Association (NCDA) season, I plan to begin a series of articles on “College Dodgeball’s Winning Formula”.  From my experience as a player and board member within this league, there seems to be no shortage of enthusiasm or commitment among players.  But that has not transitioned to on-court success for some teams, especially those in their first year or two as a program.

My goal with this series is simply to provide some insight into what it takes to be a championship level dodgeball player/team in the NCDA.  It is no secret that building a club sport at your school is a difficult task. Competing against programs with far more experience makes that process even more trying.  This series should help expedite that improvement process.  Future topics in this series will be about recruitment of players, practice formats, etc., but this first portion is a bit unique.  The reason I am writing about Elite Dodgeball right now is because the Elite season just ended, and I am more convinced now than ever before that this is something NCDA players NEED to be involved in.  Now, time for Part One: Play Elite Dodgeball! Continue reading “College Dodgeball’s Winning Formula – Part One: Play Elite Dodgeball”

Which Region is Most Likely to Take Down Michigan?

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People are getting pretty sick of seeing this… but who are the most likely teams to take down the state of Michigan?

A new season of College Dodgeball is only a few short months away.  As we gear up for another year of the best sport known to man, I want to take a quick look at where each region stands when it comes to their chances to take down the Michigan Region.

We all know Michigan is the dominant state in Collegiate Dodgeball.  11 consecutive National Titles is hard to ignore.  With that said, the streak must come to an end at some point.  Some out of state team will eventually steal it from the Michigan Region.  Let’s take a quick dive into that discussion today.  Which region is most likely to achieve that feat, and what team might it be?  Here are the three most likely regions in my eyes… one region at a time:


Continue reading “Which Region is Most Likely to Take Down Michigan?”

2017-18 Way-Too-Early Preseason Top 25

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Nationals 2017 came to a close just over a week ago, but that doesn’t mean we can’t start looking forward to next season.  As we enter the off-season, I figured I might as well begin the discussion on the 2017-18 version of NCDA Dodgeball.  Listed below is my way-too-early top 25 rankings for next year, with some brief explanations for each team.

Continue reading “2017-18 Way-Too-Early Preseason Top 25”

Nationals 2017 Review

Well folks, another season of NCDA Dodgeball has come and gone.  Another year of this amazing thing we call college dodgeball.

Nationals 2017, hosted by University of Kentucky, was one of the best final tournaments in our league’s history.  Listed below are some initial takeaways that I had (starting with the top finishing teams, and wandering around from there).  Also here are the results from the tournament: Continue reading “Nationals 2017 Review”

Outside Reaction to Nationals

So I heard the NCDA had a tournament this weekend. I also heard that Grand Valley won… again. I can’t say that is a surprising result to hear, but congratulations to the Lakers… again. That being said, there are a few other takeaways we can gather from this weekend. Here’s my take from everything I heard and saw from this year in the NCDA: Continue reading “Outside Reaction to Nationals”

The Future of College Dodgeball Series – Part 1: League Expansion

The following is the first in a series of articles that will be published on the topic of the future of collegiate dodgeball. NCDA Chief of Content Kevin Bailey and NCDA Director of League Expansion and Retention Jacob Leski will discuss a variety of topics, from league improvement and expansion, to the future of Nationals, the NCDA ruleset and how it will evolve overtime. We even discuss the likelihood of the NCDA eventually becoming a D1 sport with games on national television, etc.

The Future of College Dodgeball Series will even have some guest appearances, joining Kevin and Jacob in conversation. A lot will be discussed during this series, starting with Part 1 on league expansion:
Continue reading “The Future of College Dodgeball Series – Part 1: League Expansion”

Status Quo Ante Bellum

The state existing before the war

Rank Rating Team
1 56.593 GVSU
7 45.474 MSU
8 43.786 Kent
10 42.489 VCU
11 42.484 PSU
13 41.547 BGSU
16 38.704 Ohio
17 38.078 DePaul
19 37.893 CSU
22 37.459 BW
26 36.737 Akron

I’ve marked this as opinion, as I include stuff we don’t track statistically.

A technical upset is when a lower rated team defeats a higher rated team. The first day of the War includes so many closely rated opponents that it is incredibly unlikely we will see every match predicted correctly. In our Gonzalez system’s current, straight success rate, the higher seeded team will win four of five games. However, this is less likely to apply as the rating gap between teams increases. Any of GVSU’s scheduled games are unlikely to result in a technical upset. CSU vs Akron is much fuzzier; each team has near identical ratings, being only 0.157 difference.

That said, these are the kinds of matches that are a test to the system. The wins and losses and overtimes (8.19% chance of occurrence) at the end of the day will better determine each team’s rating going into Nationals. We’ve never had this many great, even match games for Nationals before. I’m excited to see the results.  Continue reading “Status Quo Ante Bellum”

Nationals Preview, Best Case Scenarios: East Coast

Nationals is only a few weeks away people! Not that anyone needed me to tell them that, but as many would expect that means it’s time to start previewing all potential facets of the crazy weekend to come. As a warning, these will be filled with a lot of optimistic thinking but, based on current standings, here are what I think the best case scenarios are for each team on the East Coast heading into Lexington: Continue reading “Nationals Preview, Best Case Scenarios: East Coast”

Top Tweets of February 2017

In our second edition of the top tweets of the month, Kevin and I once again sat down to look through the savagery our league has to offer.  We were pleasantly surprised with this month’s candidates, and look forward to what the league has to offer in the future.  Now, let’s take a look at what we believe to be the top 10 tweets of February 2017:

Top tweet of the month:

Continue reading “Top Tweets of February 2017”

Outsider’s (Over)reaction Monday

As everyone should know, there were a lot of matches played yesterday in the NCDA. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend either tournament in person, but I was able to watch most and glean a pretty good idea of how both went down and what it means for everyone. Here’s my interpretation from an outside perspective of what yesterday meant for the NCDA, and most importantly, for April. Continue reading “Outsider’s (Over)reaction Monday”