Kevin Bailey – Page 20

Season Preview: Bowling Green State

Location: Bowling Green, Oh

NCDA Region: Ohio

2013-14 Record: 3-13

National Tournament Finish: Lost to JMU in the first round

2014-15 Captains: Tyler Broyles, Adam Hynes, Brad Masters, Jake Tripplet, as well as Presidents-Tyrell Smith and Joel Hunter.

Returning Starters: 15

Players to Watch: Joel Hunter, Tyler Broyles, and Jake Tripplet

Overview: Bowling Green will come into the new season of NCDA dodgeball as the lowest ranked team from the Ohio region. Continue reading “Season Preview: Bowling Green State”

Season Preview: Saginaw Valley State

Location: Saginaw, MI

NCDA Region: Michigan

2013-14 Record: 22-6

National Tournament Finish: Lost to GVSU in Championship Game

2014-15 Captains: Nathan Council – C, Max Siler – A, Blake Grivetti – A

Returning Starters: 9

Players to Watch: Cody Putnam, Kyle Foster, Nathan Council – C, Max Siler – A, Blake Grivetti – A

Overview: SVSU has historically been an elite team in the NCDA. Continue reading “Season Preview: Saginaw Valley State”

Season Preview: Ohio State

Location: Columbus, Oh.

NCDA Region: Ohio

2013-14 Record: 7-8

National Tournament Finish: Lost to WKU in the first round

2014-15 Captains: Josh Conner – C, Jeff Starr – A, Marshall Winterbotham – A

Returning Starters: 14

Players to Watch: Chris Stringer, Nick Fausnight, Paul Peters, Sam Palumbo, Dan Grainger, Noah Brown, Nico Wong, Josh Conner – C, Jeff Starr – A, and Marshall Winterbotham – A

Overview: Ohio State enters the 2014-15 season with a bit more hype than most teams that lost in the first round of the national tournament. Continue reading “Season Preview: Ohio State”

Season Preview: Kentucky

Location: Lexington, Ky.

NCDA Region: Kentucky

2013-14 Record: 6-7

National Tournament Finish: Lost to SVSU in the Quarterfinals

2014-15 Captains: Brandon Engelman – C

Returning Starters: 8

Players to Watch: Zac Brown #13, Brandon Engelman #23, Drew Greenawalt #37

Overview: The NCDA’s National Tournament will make it’s way back to the state of Kentucky for the second time in three seasons in 2015 when it is hosted by Western Kentcuky. Continue reading “Season Preview: Kentucky”

Season Preview: Maryland

Location: College Park, MD

NCDA Region: East Coast

2013-14 Record: 9-10

National Tournament Finish: Lost to GVSU in the Quarterfinals

2014-15 Captains: Dylan Allred – C, Tyler Wieland – A, Steve Via -A, Cody Hance -A

Returning Varsity Players: 15

Players to Watch: Rohan Mittal, Mike Cariello, Tyler Wieland, Curtis Reybold

Overview: Maryland will enter the season with higher expectations than ever before. Continue reading “Season Preview: Maryland”

Preview: WKU at UK

WKU: 4-10 last season

UK: 6-7 last season

What: Western Kentucky vs. Kentucky doubleheader

Where: University of Kentucky, Lexington, Ky.

When: Sat. Sept. 13th starting at 1 pm

Continue reading “Preview: WKU at UK”

Season Preview: Michigan State

1654303_10203351898057812_1112039250_n — MSU Sophomore Noe Galaviz will be expected to lead the Spartans to another Final Four appearance and maybe more this season. Photo Credit – Nicole Bailey

Location: East Lansing, Mich.

NCDA Region: Michigan

2013-14 Record: 10-13

National Tournament Finish: Lost to SVSU in the Semifinals

2014-15 Captains: Colin O’Brien #18 – C, Andy Lieblich #20 – A, Alex Zajac #27 – A

Returning Varsity Players: 20 (18 from Nationals)

Players to Watch: Colin O’Brien #18 – C, Andy Lieblich #20 – A, Alex Zajac #27 – A, Noe Galaviz, & Charlie Wilshire

Overview: For a team that has never won an NCDA National Championship, the Michigan State Dodgeball program has built up quite the resume. Continue reading “Season Preview: Michigan State”

Season Preview: Western Kentucky

Location: Bowling Green, Ky.

NCDA Region: Kentucky

2013-14 Record: 4-10

National Tournament Finish: Lost to JMU in the Quarterfinals

2014-15 Captains: Nick Johnson – C, & Hunter Dickison – C

Returning Varsity Players: 8

Players to Watch: Josh Hicks, Dexter Banks, & Nick Johnson

Overview: Western Kentucky comes into the 2014-15 campaign with quite a bit of momentum. Continue reading “Season Preview: Western Kentucky”

Season Preview: Virginia Commonwealth

Location: Richmond, Va.

NCDA Region: East Coast

2013-14 Record: 0-6

National Tournament Finish: Did not attend

2014-15 Captains: Adam Hallers – C, & Matt Bosco – C

Returning Varsity Players: 5

Players to Watch: Unknown due to the majority of the team being newcomers

Overview: Virginia Commonwealth has historically been the weakest team from the East Coast region. Continue reading “Season Preview: Virginia Commonwealth”

Season Preview: Central Michigan

Location: Mount Pleasant, Mich.

NCDA Region: Michigan

2013-14 Record: 8-13

National Tournament Finish: Lost to Kentucky in the first round

2014-15 Captains: Wes Peters-C, Brett Hadwin-C, Scott La Valley-A, and Zach Bachner-A

Returning Varsity Players: Every player returns for CMU

Players to Watch: Wes Peters-C, Brett Hadwin-C, Scott La Valley-A, Zach Bachner-A, Michael Heller #77 , Tyler Prill #21, Shane Willette #69, and Ian Ryan #14.

Captain Wes Peters will look to lead CMU this year as they look to rebound from a first round exit at Nationals last season.

Overview: Central Michigan comes into the 2014-15 season in an interesting position. Continue reading “Season Preview: Central Michigan”

Ranking the Regions

The National Collegiate Dodgeball Association is not yet to the point where participating schools can be categorized into “conferences” like what the NCAA has done with college athletics. For now, every team can identify with a certain region, instead of claiming membership to a “division” or “conference”. As it stands in the NCDA right now, there are five regions: Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, and East Coast. Here is my power rankings of the NCDA’s five regions: Continue reading “Ranking the Regions”

Ultimate Dodgeball: Local Qualifier Results

Sky Zone Indoor Trampoline Parks holds an annual dodgeball tournament titled the “Ultimate Dodgeball Championship”. Sky Zone parks around the country hold “Local Qualifier” tournaments over the summer, with the winning team from each qualifier becoming eligible to compete in the “Championship Tournament” held in Las Vegas in mid-August. Continue reading “Ultimate Dodgeball: Local Qualifier Results”

BOTM: 2014 June

Brent Gromer [JMU-00]

The National Collegiate Dodgeball Association’s June Baller of the Month is James Madison’s Brent Gromer. Brent had a strong performance at Nationals 2014 in April, after recovering from an injury to his ACL and medial meniscus that kept him on the sidelines for most of the season. In his three seasons in this league, Brent has transitioned from an unknown player, to one of the best all-around dodgeball players in the NCDA. His strong performance at the end of last season earned him 1st-Team All-NCDA honors (Brent was the #6 player on the list, and the top selection from the East Coast Region). Brent Gromer is very deserving of the honor of “Baller of the Month”. Here is my interview with the star player from James Madison: Continue reading “BOTM: 2014 June”

“Way-Too-Early Top 20” for the 2014-15 Season

The 2014-15 College Dodgeball season is still many months away, but if you are like me, you are already looking forward to the coming season. Much like espn.com makes annual “Way-Too-Early Top 25” lists for college football and basketball; I will be giving my list of the top 20 teams in the NCDA for next year.

I know for a fact that not everyone will agree with my rankings, so feel free to post your own opinions in the comment section below. Here is my Way-Too-Early Top 20 for the NCDA’s 2014-15 season: Continue reading ““Way-Too-Early Top 20” for the 2014-15 Season”

Best Rivalries in College Dodgeball

After writing an article recently that highlighted the most anticipated matchups for next year, I decided to give my list of the best rivalries in the NCDA. I divided this list into two sections: Tradition Rivalries and Emerging/New Rivalries. Which NCDA rivalry is your favorite? Let me know what you all think in the comment section! Continue reading “Best Rivalries in College Dodgeball”