With the return of dodgeball comes the return of what I can only assume will become a time honored tradition for Ohio University, and that is hosting the annual John Betters’ Bobcat Bonanza in the fall semester. Not only will this year’s iteration feature eight talented dodgeball teams, but we will also witness the retirement of the great John Betters’ jersey as well as the ceremonial first throw – a welcomed new addition to the tournament.
Silliness aside, Ohio University will be host to some of the hardest hitting, most impactful matchups the NCDA has to offer since before the pandemic started in March of 2020. The teams in attendance will be Bowling Green State University, the University of Cincinnati, Grand Valley State University, James Madison University, Miami University, hosts Ohio University, [the] Ohio State University, and Saginaw Valley State University.
There are a lot of intriguing storylines to consider and questions that need answers as we head into Saturday’s tournament. To shine some light on some of those, we’ve asked the leaders of each team to provide some insight into who some players to look out for are, what they think about their respective matchups, and what they need to do to have a successful day Saturday. Without further adieu, here is what each team had to say:
This marks the 6th time that teams will compete at the University of Akron in October for the (formerly) annual Pink Out Tournament, hosted by the Zips. The teams in attendance will be the Redhawks from Miami, The Bowling Green State University Falcons, and The Cleveland State Vikings. The three visiting teams will all be competing in their first matches of the season, with the hosts competing in their second tournament this year. I asked the attending school’s captains what their takes and expectations for their teams are when they compete this weekend, as well as some stand out players to watch out for on their squad.
The East Coast kicks off the 2021-2022 season with the Virginia Classic at the Slaughter Recreation Center! In attendance, will be the host team University of Virginia (UVA), James Madison University (JMU), and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). The following is the schedule for today’s event.
With the National Collegiate Dodgeball Association [finally] returning this weekend, we would be remiss if we did not preview the first competitive collegiate dodgeball matches in over 18 months. Indeed, the Buckeye Opener on Sunday, September 19th will feature the host team Ohio State Buckeyes and their B-Team, the Cincinnati Bearcats, and the Akron Zips. These teams were ranked 2nd, 4th, and 10th respectively in our 2021 Preseason Power Rankings, so we should be in for three quality, competitive dodgeball matches this weekend.
We spoke with Dylan Greer – former captain and president of Ohio State, Wes Peters – coach of Cincinnati, and Colby Briceland – coach of Akron, about their teams’ expectations for not only this tournament, but also the season as a whole. Lastly, as always, we have gathered predictions from numerous Content Team members and distinguished alumni for how they believe each match will play out as well.
Without further ado, here is what each team’s representative had to say..
Ohio State’s Expectations
At the end of the 2019-2020 NCDA season, the Buckeyes’ expectations were straight forward; Win the National Championship. As we return to a new season, these expectations remain the same. I believe our team’s combination of strong returning talent and an extraordinary recruiting class will put us well in a position to do so.
While the pandemic shut down our team’s best season performance since 2015, we plan to return this year without skipping a beat. The long off-season resulted in the loss of All-American Star Ben Johnson, but out of the ashes rose a whole new board of captains: Ben Dardia, Ryan Ginsberg, Evan Utterback, and Elijah Thomas. These captains have shown early on that they’re capable of picking up where we left off and help our team advance in the rankings without a flinch. Elijah, our team’s only recruit from the 2020-2021 off-season, will finally be able to showcase the effort he’s put forth into developing his talent during his first NCDA match on Sunday. Sharing the spotlight with our new leaders are returning players Sam Palumbo, Matt Thomas, Evan Luikart, and the 2019-2020 Women’s MVP Kathryn Mays. These core players standing beside our captains on the court will create a storm that won’t go unnoticed throughout the year.
With our returning talent already in full bloom, we see the bees lining up at the sprouts of our young players, waiting to pollinate the rich flowers they will become. Derek Kemper, Ethan Lehmkuhl, and Will O’Malley are only a few names from a long list of new players that show great encouragement for the future success of this team. After taking part in a roster which could barely field 10 players nearly 3 years ago, being able to support a B team feels like one of the greatest accomplishments our team can make. In addition, supporting a B team with such enthusiasm for the sport makes the feeling even better, and I can’t wait to see them grow. After the long off-season, I believed the team who would have the most success in this upcoming season would be the one who recruited the best, and I believe our team has done just that.
While our team’s expectations are high, we don’t expect our road to success to be handed to us. This upcoming Sunday we know we will have to put forth a solid performance to beat top Ohio teams UC and Akron. This season, UC suddenly became one of the most experienced teams in the league with their astounding number of returning players. Facing them at the end of the day will hopefully give our team time to adjust after the time off, and give our new players time to settle in. Separately, Akron’s mixture of returning players and new recruits makes them a dangerous mystery, as we don’t know what to expect going into their matchup. Nevertheless, I think this new Akron team and UC’s veteran team will lead to a great weekend of matches as we get to showcase the Ohio Region’s talent in Columbus.
Cincinnati’s Expectations
The Bearcats were in the middle of their second season as a club, standing at a respectable 10-8 when the entire world suddenly shut down for the pandemic. With the imminent transfer of now club president Jacob Weber, 2020/21 was shaping up to be their year. Things change real fast.
Fast forward to fall 2021 and the Bearcats are still poised to make a lot of noise, perhaps even more than they would have a year ago. Given the amount of talent that has graduated around the league over the past year and a half, Cincinnati is in great shape. The Bearcats will feature a lot of familiar faces at this tournament, as they only lost a handful of 2019/20 freshmen and one Assistant Captain. Expect Brett Liming, Cory Heitmann, and Jacob Weber to be the faces of the team, but this team is budding with talent when you get past those big names. Cincinnati has high expectations for Brannon McGinn, Matthew Rosinski, Ryan Engelman, and Ian Bartholomew who each bring something unique to the table. The Bearcats will actually feature two transfer students, including Kevin Skiba, formerly of the Ohio Bobcats. It was difficult for Skiba to stand out on a loaded Bobcats roster in 2019/20, so he will be looking to make a name for himself this year as a core player for UC. Beyond that, it will be interesting to see what the bottom half of the lineup can produce for the Bearcats. The talent doesn’t necessarily fall off the table after their top 8, but Cincinnati will need some unexpected performances from their remaining roster, and a new fall rookie class.
As for this weekend, it’s pretty simple – The Bearcats are looking to make a statement to the league. They want everyone from out west in Nebraska, up to Michigan, and down to Georgia to know that this team is the real deal, and they are here to stay. A 2-0 performance would set the expectation around the league that it is Final Four or bust for the Bearcats – not to mention this team is already one of the early favorites for the Ohio Dodgeball Cup.
That being said, it won’t be easy to beat both Ohio State and Akron. OSU is still loaded with most of the talent they had in spring 2020, and the same goes for the Akron Zips. In fact, these three teams may boast the most returning starters of any other team in the NCDA. One thing is for certain: this weekend will feature some quality matchups to welcome us back to dodgeball.
Akron’s Expectations
Despite the losses of multiple starters before the 2019-2020 season the Zips reloaded in a big way and boasted a great recruiting class for that season. Unfortunately, it was cut short and they weren’t able to recruit last year. Despite these losses, I don’t see that being a problem now, since this year the club captains have had great success in retention and recruitment thus far, and attending their first tournament of the season should cement this class of recruits to the roster.
Captain Clay Egleston has put a lot of work in the off season in preparation for this upcoming year, and it shows. The new recruits are honing in their skills and that is thanks in part to Egleston’s effort and time spent teaching and grooming them for match play. I also expect big plays to be made by the assistant captains Brandon Snyder, and KC Franz, who now have a few seasons under their belts. Their veteran experience will be the key to Akron’s success this season. Other stand outs for the season will include PJ Antalek, Reece Bowman, Nathan “Howdy” Houdeshell, and Tommy Masteller, who need to be on top of their game if the Zips are going to climb the ranks this season.
The real test will be the rookie class this year. How will they adapt to game speed and awareness? As always, my expectations for the first tournament are to just get your sea legs and experience, but this class seems to have a good handle on what that would entail. They’re organized and eager to learn, and those are the two traits that will set them apart from opposing team’s rookie recruits. The captains and assistants of Akron have done a great job in fostering the talent of the new recruits, it’s now up to them to take the first steps into joining the starting roster.
The expectations are high for this team, since they’ve had a few weeks of practice and drills, I fully expect to see some great gameplay and skill being executed on Akron’s side of the court. This tournament will be a great gauge of where our returners and rookies are at, and where we need to improve on as the season progresses. As always, the Ohio Dodgeball Cup and a good seeding at nationals are on the horizon, but in our immediate future we have an immense challenge. Ohio State and Cincinnati are going to be tough first matches for these new recruits, but I always say the best way to learn is to play the best. And in the Ohio Region, these two teams are the best. Go Zips!
Alumni Predictions
As per tradition, we solicited predictions from numerous esteemed alumni to weigh in on how they think the matches this weekend will play out (B team matches excluded).
The NCDA will be hosting another online video game tournament to raise money for the organization’s Recruitment and Retention Fund. This online tournament will feature Among Us. The tournament will be held on January 23 and registration is due by January 21, at 11:59p.m. eastern time.
The NCDA will be hosting another online tournament to raise money that will help jump start the organization’s first officiating fund. Our goal for this fund is to be able to pay for referees not just at Nationals, but other tournaments too. This online tournament will feature Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Gunfight mode). The tournament will be held on October 24 and registration is due by October 11, at 11:59p.m. eastern time.
This weekend mark’s the fifth Zanderthon Throw-Down in its history. One of the best tournaments of the year and one that the Midway conference looks forward to the most. The teams in attendance will be University of Nebraska Lincoln (UNL), Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE), the University of Wisconsin Platteville (UWP), and UWP alumni. Let’s take a look at the schedule for the day!
This Saturday, we have the Ninth Edition of JMU’s BEAST, which could be more appropriately named the “Maryland vs. Virginia Tournament”. Fortunately, each team will have a chance to play each other, so we’ll have a great chance to see how the East Coast stands coming into the new semester. None of these teams have played at all in the new year, so we’ll likely see some teams knock off the rust. Below is the schedule:
Saturday marks the 10th annual Ohio Dodgeball Cup, and boy are there a lot of questions and storylines heading into this weekend. This year, there will be 7 teams competing for the cup: Akron, Bowling Green State, Cincinnati, Kent State, Miami, Ohio, and Ohio State. These teams will compete in an interesting bracket style tournament where each team is guaranteed to play three matches with the exception of Ohio (thanks Cleveland State and Marietta), who as the highest ranked state-of-Ohio team, has drawn a first round bye. With that being said, it is impossible to determine exactly which team will play who in most rounds, we do have the bracket handy for your viewing pleasure.
On February 22, 2020, we have a great mix of teams attending the Viking Cup that should make for some fun matches. There are two teams from the Michigan and Midway regions, and one each from the South and Ohio regions. The teams in attendance will be: Cleveland State University (CSU), Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU), Western Michigan University (WMU), Ball State University (BSU), University of Kentucky (UK), and the University of Wisconsin Platteville (UWP). Let’s take a look at the schedule (games will be played at the CSU Rec Center).
The Ohio Bobcats are poised to resume their breakout, currently undefeated season by hosting a round robin style tournament on Saturday, February 8th, 2020. This tournament will feature 8 teams, 6 coming from the state of Ohio (Akron, Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Miami, Ohio, and Ohio State), West Virginia, and a combination of Ohio & Miami B-Team players. Similar to the Michigan Region hosting a pre-Michigan Dodgeball Cup tournament two weeks prior to the actual event, you could very well consider this a pre-Ohio Dodgeball Cup – only with WVU replacing Kent State.
Also similar to the pre-MDC tournament, the John Betters’ Bobcat Bonanza (JBBB) will be chock-full of incredible storylines to pay attention to. For instance, some match-ups will feature teams who will be facing off against one another for the very first time in league history!
As we prepare for the JBBB, we took the time to reach out to each team so that they could share for themselves their expectations for their respective teams this weekend, a handful of players they wanted to shine the spotlight on, and what they believe their keys to success will be. Finally, to wrap up we will have game by game predictions from six of our league’s most involved alumni.
Staff Picks for this weekend’s Michigan Dodgeball Cup!
This Saturday, every collegiate dodgeball club within the state of Michigan will converge on IM Sports West on the campus of Michigan State University for the 16th Annual Michigan Dodgeball Cup (MDC). Games begin at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday and will be streamed live on the NCDA’s social media channels.
11-0 GVSU will play host to MSU, CMU, SVSU, and WMU this Sunday at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena. All Court 1 matches will be streamed live on the NCDA’s YouTube Page.
The second half of the 2019-20 College Dodgeball season kicks off on Sunday, January 26th in Allendale, Michigan in what we are going to call the ‘Pre-MDC Tournament’. As the tournament title indicates, every Michigan school will be in attendance for this event. With the Michigan Dodgeball Cup just two weeks after this tournament, it’s safe to say this Sunday will give us an accurate preview of what to expect at MDC. Court 1 games at this tournament will be livestreamed on the NCDA Youtube Page, so make sure to tune in on Sunday for all the action!
Below is the schedule for the tournament:
The schedule for this event is interesting because it is not a full round robin (what we always see at MDC). This Sunday, some teams will play more games than others. Here is the list of opponents for each school along with a graphic comparing each team’s resume to this point in the season:
This Sunday, Michigan State University will host the annual ‘Spartan Invite Tournament’. Typically, this tournament will field teams from all across the Midwest, but for whatever reason, this year’s version of the Spartan Invite will only have three schools in attendance: #7 Central Michigan, #1 Grand Valley State, and of course #5 Michigan State. Despite only having three Michigan schools in action at this weekend’s event, there is still a lot to keep an eye on.
This Saturday, Ohio University will host the largest regular season tournament in collegiate dodgeball history with 19 schools in attendance. This one-day event, dubbed by some as ‘Fall Nationals’, will include some epic matchups as we near the end of the fall semester in the NCDA. From the top teams in the rankings, to some of the newest schools in the NCDA, the ‘No Fear Invitational’ will have it all. Check out our preview of the event below, and don’t forget: Court 3 will be livestream on Facebook:
