CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.–The 2026 East Coast Dodgeball Cup delivered exactly what the region needed as Nationals approaches. With momentum, seeding, and regional pride on the line, Virginia and James Madison squared off in a championship clash that felt like a preview of April intensity, while Maryland searched for answers in a rebuilding stretch. From Virginia’s composed, statement-making title run to JMU’s flashes of dominance and Maryland’s continued growing pains, ECDC offered a revealing snapshot of where each program stands—and what it will take to make noise when the postseason lights turn on.
Virginia
Results: 6-0 vs. UMD, 3-1 vs. JMU
For the first time ever, Virginia are your 2026 East Coast Champions. The Hoos easily dispatched Maryland in their opening match, playing incredibly solid dodgeball throughout the game and shaking off any concerns of a performance like their blown 3-0 lead at Beast in January. Since they were in the drivers seat and scored a fourth point less than five minutes into the second half, they were able to rest arms for the championship game against JMU. UVA played very fundamentally well against Maryland–-using the wall and applying consistent pressure to gain ball control, then using that ball control to execute team throws.
Virginia dominated the first point against JMU, capitalizing on early kills and the resulting player advantage to take space on the court and keep the Dukes on their back line. They continued this pressure into the second point, taking advantage of multiple JMU balls overs to close it out. Towards the end of the first half, JMU looked to be in position to close out a point, a player and ball advantage pushing Virginia to their baseline. Crucial catching led to a stalemate at the end of the half. JMU won a dominant point to open the second half to cut the lead in half and then took an 8-4 player lead in the next point. Second-year Christian Bolton then took center stage, making 3 catches down the stretch to help Virginia extend the point, finally going up 3-1 with only 6 minutes and change left in the game.
The Cavaliers put on a very impressive showing at this year’s ECDC, staying composed when necessary and forcing their opponents to conform to their style. On the front foot, Virginia is a very threatening team, and it takes a lot to put them on their back. They’ll be a tough out at Nationals, and they’re surging with momentum at the right time.
James Madison
Results: 5-1 vs. UMD, 1-3 vs. UVA
The Dukes looked like their old selves in their first half against Maryland, jumping out to a 4-0 lead at the end of the first half and coasting to a 5-1 final. After coming off of a disappointing home tournament performance at Beast, it was imperative that JMU get off to a hot start to shake off any lasting issues. Jaxson Hannie looked great in this matchup, with not much pressure from Maryland leading to plenty of opportunities to throw for a kill.
Though they never led against Virginia, it’s hard to not look at the championship game as a missed opportunity. They were up 8-4 and 5-3 in players when down by 1, with team throwing and catching putting them in a great position to even the score. Yet they couldn’t finish the job in these points, illustrating a larger trend in JMU’s performance this year. If they want to make the deep April run that we’ve come to expect, they’ll need to play much more consistently. Each time the team seemed to gain a bit of momentum, a balls over call could bring them to a screeching halt that they couldn’t recover from. The Dukes are a still a great team, and they’re underseeded, sitting at 13th in the overall standings as Nationals looms. They’ll have some work to do to improve their draw in the tournament, but they’ll nevertheless be a difficult team for any higher seed to beat.
Maryland
Results; 1-5 vs. JMU, 0-6 vs. UVA
Maryland is still searching for a win on the season after ECDC, sorely missing recent graduate Adam Butz. Butz’s absence on the right corner of the Terrapins’ front line moved Dan Rodriguez over to take his place, but Rodriguez’s efforts couldn’t make up for a relatively uncompetitive Maryland side. Julian Kim and others made some incredible plays throughout their first game, including an amazing double catch on a JMU team throw early in the first half, but Maryland couldn’t capitalize when they needed to. They still showed an ability to play together and push JMU back, especially in their one point won on the day, but JMU’s power proved to be too much.
UMD looks relatively aimless as we head towards Nationals, appearing slow and sluggish in their loss to Virginia. Virginia is the weakest when playing from their back line, and instead the Terps were the ones on the baseline for what felt like the entire game. Unable to step into many throws and bereft of their usually dependable catching, they struggled to put anything competitive together. Overall, JMU and Virginia are very competitive teams that might be out of Maryland’s weight class, but Maryland could still squeeze out a win or two in Ohio.
East Coast Dodgeball Cup Overtime 6
Ben Wu (UVA)
Christian Bolton (UVA)
Landon Jones (UVA)
Jaxson Hannie (JMU)
Ryan Pendleton (JMU)
Evan Woinski (JMU)