This Sunday in Kalamazoo, Western Michigan will host the fourth Dr. Peter Broe Classic. In attendance will be a mix of title contenders, up-and-coming clubs, and out of region teams. The day will include some intriguing matchups and opportunities for various teams to head into Thanksgiving with some serious momentum. The tournament will be broadcast live the the NCDA Dodgeball YouTube Channel. Here is the schedule of games for the event:
Below is a breakdown of each participating team, followed by some marquee matchups to watch.
#4 Michigan State
Michigan State enters this tournament on a hot streak, sitting at 5-0 on the season. The Spartans are coming off a great showing at the Laker Labyrinth, where they defeated Grand Valley 6-0 along with notching their third victory over Central Michigan this year. Alex Edson was arguably the best performer for the Spartans last weekend, but Thomas Swanson, Jacob Rademacher, and others also stepped up. The overall depth and veteran presence on the court has been the main story for Michigan State so far this year. All the Spartans have an undefeated record. The one thing they lack compared to other top teams is number of games played and variety of opponents. The Spartans will take on UW-Platteville, Akron, and Central Michigan at this event, and it will give them an opportunity to show off their depth. There is quite a lot of competition for top rookie class in college dodgeball this season, with schools like North Georgia, Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, Bowling Green, Alabama, and more boasting deep rookie classes with some headliner talent. This weekend could be an opportunity for Michigan State’s top rookies, who have yet to become household names in the NCDA, to show off their skills. All in all, this weekend should not include any difficult matches for the Spartans, who will likely overpower all three of their opponents. Expect MSU to play well on Sunday and head into the midseason break sitting at 8-0.
#5 Grand Valley State
GVSU has had quite the up-and-down season so far and will look to bounce back and finish out the fall on a positive note. The Lakers will face off against Western Michigan, UW-Platteville, and Cleveland State, three opponents they have yet to face this season. GVSU’s top few players are well-known names in the league, with Matt Budai standing out as having a strong year so far, along with his younger brother Michael Budai. What has held Grand Valley back this fall has been their overall depth; this weekend is a prime opportunity to show improvement in that area. The Lakers could have a good combination of veteran presence and young talent to fill out their starting roster, and we’ve already seen positive signs from some rookie contributors, including Logan Marshall and Ryan Welscott. This weekend will be interesting for GVSU to see how they can handle this three-game slate, most notably the game against Cleveland State, a team they faced twice and split with at Nationals 2025.
#10 Akron
Akron enters this weekend ranked No. 10 in the standings with a surprising 3-7 record. The Zips have fought closely with teams like Ohio State and Grand Valley and also pulled off a nice win against Ohio at the Bobcats’ home tournament a few weeks ago. But the Zips have also fallen short in some games that they maybe could have won, including an upset loss to Northern Kentucky earlier this year and an overtime loss to Cleveland State. Jeremy Faircloth, Kyle VonScio, Alexis Schultz, and Aidan Douglas have all been impressive contributors for Akron so far this year, and rookie Alek Skwirut has already become a big piece of Akron’s offense, despite being in his first semester of dodgeball. With a tough schedule of Cleveland State, Michigan State, and Wisconsin-Platteville, Akron is one of the most intriguing teams to watch this weekend to see how they finish off their fall semester.
#16 Cleveland State
Cleveland State sits at No. 16 in the standings right now, but this team should not be taken lightly. Leo Rockamore Jr. and Antoine Lamar are two major headliners for this club, but CSU has also found some solid depth. Austin Blood has already been recognized as Rookie of the Month and frequently mentioned by teammates as a player stepping up early in his first season. Cleveland State has had some close matches this year, including a 4-3 loss to Cincinnati and an overtime win against Akron. Their schedule of Central Michigan, Akron, Western Michigan, and Grand Valley will be quite the test, not only because it’s four matchups, but because of the quality of opponents. CSU against Akron should be another classic, and their rematch with GVSU will certainly be one of the more intriguing games on Sunday. Cleveland State will head to Kalamazoo with an awesome opportunity to turn heads and carry serious momentum into Thanksgiving.
#19 Western Michigan
Western Michigan has yet to play a tournament this year, unfortunately, so there is not all that much to comment on with the Broncos. Nick Hoffon and Matt Barnett are two headliners for this team, but the big thing to keep an eye on with WMU will be their depth and numbers. Hosting a home tournament is great for any club, especially one struggling with numbers, so look for Western Michigan’s younger players to pick up the game throughout the day and improve a ton. The Broncos face off against two fellow Michigan Region opponents in Grand Valley and Central Michigan, then finish off their day against Cleveland State in another Nationals rematch from a game that went to overtime. This tournament will be extremely beneficial for Western Michigan moving forward, and we will know a lot more about this team on Sunday night.
#21 Central Michigan
Central Michigan sits at 0-4 on the year, but that does not tell the whole story about this program. College dodgeball historians are familiar with CMU going through a rebuild, as that has happened multiple times throughout the team’s history, and we seem to be in the midst of another right now. Central Michigan’s club leaders have done a fantastic job of recruiting and building the club back up, and despite their 0-4 record, the Chippewas are showing signs of improvement. With three losses on the year to Michigan State and one to Grand Valley State, it’s hard to tell where CMU falls amongst the rest of the NCDA, and this weekend will be an opportunity for fans to find out. The Chips will face off against Cleveland State, Western Michigan, and, gasp, Michigan State. The Western Michigan game in particular will be an interesting one to watch to see who is the third-best club in the Michigan Region. Blake Brown, Ethan Gibson, Pierce Hansen, and Landon Yurgaites are four key players for Central Michigan. Keep an eye on freshman Tyler Wieseler, who has a natural arm and could end up being one of the best rookies in the region this year.
#23 Wisconsin-Platteville
UW-Platteville will make the trek to Kalamazoo for some out-of-region competition. They’re coming off a decent showing at the Pioneer Classic in early November, where they had a few close losses to Illinois and Nebraska. With an 0-4 record on the year, the Pioneers might not seem like an interesting team to keep an eye on this weekend, but their performance could arguably be one of the most telling for league storylines, as it will give us all a better idea of where Central Region talent stands compared to the Michigan Region and Ohio Region teams in attendance. UWP will face off against Michigan State, Grand Valley State, and Akron. This is easily the most difficult schedule of any team in attendance, but if you know the Pioneers, you know they would not have it any other way as they’re looking to get their team battle-tested during the regular season. A 3-0 record is likely not in the cards for UWP this weekend, but they will gain some valuable experience, and their final match against Akron is certainly one to circle as it could be their best shot at a win and a potential major boost in their standings position.
Marquee Matchups to Watch
10:30 AM – Akron vs. CSU
This Ohio Region vs. Ohio Region matchup is an interesting one, especially considering their most recent clash ended in a high-scoring 6-5 overtime final in favor of the Vikings of Cleveland State. Both rosters have some young talent, and it will be interesting to see how each club develops over the course of the season. This matchup will determine who has bragging rights going into the second half of the season and give us a better idea on the overall Ohio Region hierarchy. With CSU sitting at No. 16 and Akron at No. 10 in the NCDA standings, this game is crucial for both teams.
10:30 AM – WMU vs. CMU
An improved roster versus an unknown roster. As mentioned earlier, Central Michigan is a much-improved team this season, whereas Western Michigan has had to drop out of a few events that they were initially planning on attending. The good news is Western Michigan is hosting and ready to play their first matches of the season, and we will have an opportunity to get a good idea of where they stand compared to a fellow Michigan Region opponent. Will the Chippewas’ depth and early-season experience be enough to overcome the host school, or will Western Michigan start the year with a strong win at their first tournament?
2:15 PM – CSU vs. GVSU
This matchup at 2:15 PM could be spicy. Nationals 2025 saw two clashes between Cleveland State and Grand Valley State, with the Vikings winning a shocker on day one and the Lakers getting revenge in the round of 16 on day two. This will be the first matchup between the two schools since Nationals, and it could be a good one. Cleveland State has some solid top-end talent on their roster, improved depth, and a few contributor rookies. That same sentence could be copied and pasted for Grand Valley State. It will be interesting to see where these two programs sit compared to each other here in late November. The Lakers should be favored by a few points based on results earlier in the season, but as is always the case, there’s a reason we play the games. Cleveland State proved that on day one of Nationals last year and could prove it again on Sunday.
2:15 PM – Akron vs. UWP
At first glance, this feels like a game that Akron should win handily, and that very well may be the case. But it is one of the potential closer matchups at this event and will be a good barometer for Wisconsin-Platteville and their Central Region opponents from earlier in the season to get a gauge for where they stand compared to teams in the Ohio Region. Akron was the No. 1 seed last year at Nationals, and while they started the year slow, they still have some strong veteran pieces to blend with new talent. Expect the Zips to win this one, but don’t be surprised if UWP brings their best effort in this game.
