As the temperature continues to drop and players head home for their winter breaks, the NCDA season pauses for a month that feels like an eternity. During that time, let’s take a look at a quintet of powerhouses that have stood out throughout the first four months of the season and currently headline the most recent edition of the power rankings. While these teams have taken different roads to get here, they have all set themselves up well to achieve the ultimate goal: winning a national championship in Athens this April.
#1 Ohio State
Coming off an appearance in the national title game in 2023-’24, Ohio State fell flat out of the gates and struggled to find its footing in a 2024-’25 season that ended in a quarterfinal defeat. Good news for the Buckeyes is that they returned almost all of their roster, which includes All-Americans Colson Bunch and Nick Kemer, and fireballing Rookie of the Year runner-up Will Dalton. Better news came in the form of National Player of the Year runner-up Max Edling joining from reigning national champions Miami, and completing an already loaded roster. The retention and addition of superstars has propelled Ohio State to a 10-3 record and the top spot in both the formulaic standings and the league-voted power rankings. Among its six wins against top-10 competition, a 6-1 drubbing over #5 Kent State stands out, as well as their 3-0 sweep at the John Betters Bobcat Bonanza, which they outscored opponents 14-3 on the day. The three blemishes also have slight asterisks attached to them, as the first two came against Cincinnati and Ohio when the Buckeyes had a severely depleted roster, and only 11 players at the tournament total. Ohio State has scored 57 points in its contests, tied for the league lead, and is beating teams by an average of 2.7 points per game, which tops the Ohio region. Looking forward to the spring, the Buckeyes are in pole position to try and capture their first Ohio Dodgeball Cup since 2019, and attempt to break their 20-year national championship drought.
#2 Michigan State
The Spartans have all the reasons in the world to feel they are being snubbed from the top spot in the midseason power rankings, but the most successful program of the decade slides in at #2 on the list. After failing to capture the national championship for the first time since the 2021-’22 season, Sparty reloaded with returning National Player of the Year Matt Barriball, All-Americans Zach VanVleet and Alex Edson, and Rookie of the Year Luke Foco. Michigan State has yet to lose a game this season, and has outscored opponents by a jaw-dropping 57-5 margin, an average of 6.5 per game, which begs the question, why are they not the top team? Apart from two wins over #4 Grand Valley, including a 6-0 blowout in the most recent tango between the two, and an 8-0 win over #8 Akron, Michigan State has played #18 Wisconsin-Platteville, and #19 Central Michigan four times. Not exactly the type of competition that the rest of the top-5 has faced. This is not to take away from the Spartans, as they have not only won, not only dominated, but have dismantled every single team they have played this season in a way that is almost chilling to witness for the rest of the league. Their recent 6-0 performance against their rivals in Grand Valley was especially jarring, considering the first time the teams played, it was a tightly fought 4-3 overtime game. Michigan State pulled off an undefeated season in the 2022-23 season, and with multiple players still on the roster from that team, it could be deja vu for the Spartans as they look to recapture the national title.
#3 Kent State
A dodgeball season is not always a linear progression, and no team embodies that more than the Kent State Golden Flashes. A team that turned heads down the stretch last season, with a fun-young core headlined by 1st Team All-American JJ Oldenburg and Rookie All-Americans Evan Harbison and Brogan Hartup, added All-American Emmanuel Miller from Ohio, which put the league on notice. The team, and Miller, who was named September’s Baller of the Month, came out hot with a 2-1 performance at the Buckeye Opener, outscoring opponents 14-4. However, at Pink Out, the Golden Flashes lost 6-1 not once, but TWICE in one day, first to Ohio State, then again to Grand Valley. This raised many questions about this Kent State team, which they quickly answered with a 3-0 performance at the John Bettors Bobcat Bonanza, with possibly the best win on any team’s resume, a 7-0 win over #2 Miami, and a 5-2 victory against #7 Cincinnati. The semester truly was a tale of two extremes for Kent State, as they showed moments of pure and utter dominance, and also moments when they had to do some serious soul-searching. Zooming out on the calendar year as a whole, Kent State has made serious strides, with key wins like the aforementioned Miami game, and when they took down Michigan State in Kent last season, they have fully cemented themselves as a national title contender. Goals for the second semester of dodgeball include winning the Ohio Dodgeball Cup for the first time since 2018, winning a first-round game at ODC for the first time since 2019, and attempting a deep run at nationals.
#4 Miami
At this point in the season, the reigning national champions are quite comfortable with silencing any doubters they may have. Many thought there would be a drop-off with the departures of 1st Team All-Americans Max Edling and Cole Ginnochio, but the Redhawks have stormed out of the gates to an 8-1 record, and the #2 spot in the standings at midseason. A lot of the credit goes to October Ball of the Month and All-American Philip Hampton, as he is the team’s mitochondria and on-court leader, but strong performances from Evan VanCleave and Ty Keller in opposing corners can not go unnoticed. Starting 8-0 on the season, Miami ran through the South Oak Showdown and Clifton Heights Classic unfazed, winning two national championship rematches against Cincinnati and picking up two victories over rival Ohio. Their final tournament, the John Bettors Bobcat Bonanza, was a mixed bag, as they picked up their first top-5 win, beating Grand Valley in an overtime thriller, and taking Akron down, but suffered a whopping 7-0 loss to Kent State previously discussed. This loss could be the reason they slipped to 4th on this list despite remaining 2nd in the standings and having only one loss. With the target on their back as the reigning champs, everyone is going to want a crack at the Redhawks come April, and to this point, Miami has proved that it can handle the pressure.
#5 Grand Valley
Historically speaking, the fifth spot in the power ranking would be seen as a disappointment for the Lakers, but Grand Valley has had a relatively successful start to its campaign. The 11-time national champions had rough end to the 2024-25 season, failing to make the semi-finals on championship Sunday for the first time in their clubs 20-year history. The Lakers find themselves at 9-3 as the calendar flips, with returning All-Americans Aidan Jacobs, Matt Budai and Ryan Paddock making a case to be the league’s best trio. Grand Valley only played one game before Pink Out on October 25th, an overtime loss to Michigan State, but were busy in the month that followed, playing winning dodgeball the next four weekends. In those four tournaments, they picked up wins over Ohio State and Kent State, ripping off five straight wins before losing to Miami in overtime. While hopes were high for Grand Valley, there is now some uncertainty heading into the break due to the 6-0 loss they suffered at the hands of Michigan State and being taken to overtime by #12 Cleveland State in their last game of 2025. Since losing to Michigan State in last year’s Michigan Dodgeball Cup final, Grand Valley is 13-9, which is respectable on paper, but won’t cut it for a team with national championship aspirations.
Top 5 Matchups This Semester
9/20 (Buckeye Opener): #1 Ohio State (3) – #3 Kent State (2)
9/20 (Red Cedar Rumble): #2 Michigan State (4) – #5 Grand Valley (3) OT
10/25 (Pink Out): #1 Ohio State (6) – #3 Kent State (1)
10/25 (Pink Out): #5 Grand Valley (6) – #3 Kent State (1)
10/25: (Pink Out): #5 Grand Valley (3) – #1 Ohio State (2) OT
11/8 (JBBB): #3 Kent State (7) – #4 Miami (0)
11/8 (JBBB): #4 Miami (2) – Grand Valley (1) OT
11/16 (Laker Labyrinth): #2 Michigan State (6) – #5 Grand Valley (0)
