Previews – Page 9

All 5 Michigan Schools Set to Attend GVSU’s ‘Pre-MDC’ This Sunday

News Photo — 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:

Spartan Invite Preview

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.

No Fear Invitational Preview

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:

Schedule:

5 Bold Takes from Cincinnati Coach Wes Peters:

GVSU vs. Towson goes to OT.

Pioneer Invitational

This Saturday, November 16, 2019, the teams of the Midway Conference go head to head in what should be a classic. The teams in attendance will be the University of Wisconsin Platteville (UWP), University Nebraska Lincoln (UNL), Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE), and DePaul University. This is the first time that all these teams will be in the same building, which is a great thing to see for this conference. It is going to be a fun day and it all starts at 8:30a.m. with SIUE vs UWP. Let’s take a look at the schedule and what some of the leaders think going into the tournament.

Backwoods Brawl Preview

The Backwoods Brawl will feature three East Coast teams and the University of Ohio. As of today, the current Gonzalez rankings are as follows:

Grand Valley Gauntlet Preview

This Saturday, Grand Valley State University will host the Gauntlet tournament at the GVSU Fieldhouse. In attendance will be Michigan State and Wisconsin Platteville, along with the hometown Lakers. Below is the schedule for the day (with GVSU B and GVSU Alumni also getting in on the action):

Pinkout V: The NCDA Strikes Back

We’re headed back to Akron, Ohio folks, for the fifth annual Pinkout tournament. This started as a humble tournament and has evolved into one of the biggest of the Fall semester every season. With 9 teams in attendance, this one is sure to be a slobberknocker. We asked a representative from each team to help give us some insight into their respective teams. Let’s get into it!

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Cornhusker Clash

Finally, dodgeball is back for the Midway Conference and it kicks off with a double header! For the second year in a row, the University of Nebraska Lincoln (UNL) and the University of Wisconsin Platteville (UWP) will go head to head at the Nebraska Coliseum. It should be a good match up for both teams as both are still very young and have a lot to learn. Let’s take a look at the schedule:

South Region 2019-20 Preview

*All regional rankings based off the content team’s preseason power rankings

2019-20 Projections:

Order of Finish:

1. Kentucky
2. North Georgia
3. Northwestern State
4. Georgia Southern

South Region OT 6:
Daniel LaJeunesse Jr. (UK)
Royce Hogg (UNG)
Casey Alfultis (NSU)
Brett Storie (GSU)
Tyler Kratzer (UK)
Jake Jarrett (UNG)

Midway Conference 2019-20 Preview

*All regional rankings based off the content team’s preseason power rankings

2019-20 Projections:

Order of Finish:

Wisconsin Platteville
Nebraska
Ball State
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
DePaul

Midway Conference Player of the Year: Joel Luciano (DePaul)

Midway Conference OT 6:

Joel Luciano (DePaul)
Zach Jung (SIUE)
Jared Colden (UWP)
Damon Huntley (BSU)
Austin Kurey (UWP)
Chad Jakel (UWP)

Team Previews:

Ohio Region 2019-20 Preview

*All regional rankings based off the content team’s preseason power rankings

2019-20 Projections:

Order of Finish:

Miami
Ohio
Bowling Green State
Akron
Cleveland State
Kent State
Ohio State
Cincinnati
Marietta College

Ohio Region Player of the Year: Tom Morand (Miami)

Ohio Region OT 6:

East Coast Region 2019-20 Preview

2019-20 Projections:

*All regional rankings based off the content team’s preseason power rankings

Order of Finish:

Towson
James Madison
Virginia Commonwealth
Maryland
Penn State
Virginia
West Virginia

East Coast Region Player of the Year: Evan Eschenburg (JMU)

East Coast Region OT 6:

NCDA Commentators Shadeed Drakeford and Kevin Bailey Preview College Dodgeball’s ‘Opening Weekend’

In preparation for the opening weekend of the 2019-20 College Dodgeball season, NCDA commentators Shadeed Drakeford and Kevin Bailey sat own to chat about what they expect from Michigan State’s Early Access Tournament on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2019. Below is their discussion previewing this weekend’s event:

Kevin Bailey: First off, for those who don’t know, Shadeed will be in East Lansing this weekend to help run the National Collegiate Dodgeball Association’s stream for the tournament. So Shadeed, thank you for taking the time to help run this weekend’s filming. With that said, how excited are you for opening weekend?

Shadeed Drakeford: I’m very fortunate and blessed for this amazing opportunity to stream on behalf of the NCDA. When I found out about the fall schedule, I circled this tournament on my calendar and purchased my tickets soon afterwards. On a scale of 1-10 on how excited I am, I’m at 100 right now.

Michigan Region 2019-20 Season Preview

2019-20 Projections:

*All regional rankings based off the content team’s preseason power rankings

Order of Finish:

Grand Valley State
Michigan State
Central Michigan
Saginaw Valley State
Western Michigan

Michigan Region Player of the Year: Ben Smart (GVSU)

Michigan Region OT 6:

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.