Dodgeball is finally back in the Buckeye State, and Columbus, the site of this years nationals, will also be hosting the inaugural event of the 2025-26 season. This years Buckeye Opener promises to be filled with drama, as 5 Ohio region teams go head-to-head, with plenty of storylines and rivalries at play. Every team comes in with something to prove, but there isn’t room for everyone to make a statement, meaning someone has to go home disappointed. Every game matters in the incredibly contentious Ohio region, meaning there will be fireworks from the jump in Columbus.
Ohio State
Last year, Ohio State rolled up to their first tournament of the year with 3 returning starters and lineup consisting half of rookies. This year, they find themselves not only returning their entire OT6 and 10 starters, but also adding on two impact transfers in Miami’s Max Edling and Ohio’s Nate Berhalter. All this talent leaves the Buckeyes believing this season is championship or bust, and they’ll look to come out strong as they host this year’s Buckeye Opener. The Buckeyes will look to get revenge on Akron, who ended their season in the quarterfinals just a handful of months ago, as well as take down Kent State in a marquee matchup between the preseason #2 and #3 teams. Anything other than a 4-0 day will leave the Bucks disappointed, so expect a high level of intensity from the first rush for the hungry Buckeyes.
Akron
Akron, fresh off their best season in program history, which included an Ohio Dodgeball Cup Trophy, are granted with a seemingly disrespectful spot at #8 in the preseason power rankings. Theres no better way to handle disrespect than beating teams ranked above you, and the Zips will have the opportunity to do that in Columbus as they’ll face off against Ohio State and Kent State, #2 & #3 respectively. Akron will also have to deal with a Bowling Green squad still looking for revenge for an ODC semifinals match that went down to the wire. The Zips will have lots of empty shoes that need filling, the biggest of which belonged to Chance Preece (#5 AA), but Akron will have Kyle VonScio back to lead the charge. They’ll need players with lesser roles last year to step up such as Aidan Douglas and Logan Campola, both of whom are looking to have big years. The back half of the roster will need to perform in their new roles if Akron wants to leave Columbus with a positive record.
Kent State
It seems the stars are all aligning for Kent State, and they find themselves in unfamiliar territory, ranked #3 in the preseason. Kent brings back most of the talent from last year and are hoping for a big sophomore campaign from Evan Harbison (#4 All-Rookie). Kent also returns established contributors in JJ Oldenburg (#11 AA) and Mitch Lathwell, and they’ll look to lead the charge for a Golden Flashes squad trying to make an early season splash in Columbus. This team has the talent to go 3-0 against 3 talented teams but will need their entire lineup to be contributing. This Kent team believes they can compete for a national championship, and a great Buckeye Opener could put this team squarely in the middle of that discussion.
Bowling Green
Bowling Green returns to action at the Buckeye Opener sporting a lineup missing most of the recognizable names from the program, but still with talent and depth. The Falcons lost most of their starters a season ago, but have always had a deep squad, which they’ll be putting to the test in Columbus. Players like Nate Phillips, Jack Price and Nate Woolley will be looking to make a name for themselves and transform from rotational pieces to stars. Gavin Gillard is back to captain Bowling Green and will need to figure out how to adjust their strategy to the new roster, much like the Buckeyes had to last year. They won’t have it easy, as they’ll be facing off against 3 extremely solid teams, but the Falcons new core will be hungry to prove themselves, and don’t be surprised if they steal not only points, but a game.
Cleveland State
Cleveland State comes into the Buckeye Opener still carrying momentum and energy from last year’s nationals performance where they took down one of the leagues premier programs, Grand Valley State University, on day one. The Vikings, still led by #4 All-American Leon Rockamore Jr., will look to turn heads in the seasons first tournament, and prove to the nation that they finally are ready to compete with the league’s top dogs. The Vikings will expect to take care of business against an inexperienced BG squad but will need to have a level of consistency above what has been shown in previous years. The Vikings will also have 2 shots at top 3 teams, and don’t be surprised when the Vikings look just as good as their counterparts. The Vikings have the talent to finally make noise and can make a statement with a solid showing in Columbus.
The Buckeye Opener looks to be an incredibly exciting tournament, filled with matchups that, at least last year, could be considered “rivalries”. Here are my top 5 most anticipated matchups
1. OSU-Kent: An early-season battle between the top 2 ranked teams in the Ohio region
2. BG-Akron: ODC semifinal rematch between 2 teams with heavy offseason losses
3. OSU-Akron: Nationals quarterfinal rematch, Buckeyes looking to spin back on the Zips
4. Kent-CSU: Cleveland State will look to make early season noise, early test for Kent
5. OSU-CSU: First queue of the day, two teams looking to make a big statement