Overview
November 22, 2025 was a big day for the UW-Stout and UW-Eau Claire dodgeball clubs. Stout won its first match in club history, followed it up with another, and successfully held its second home tournament. Eau Claire officially joined the NCDA after a few years of trial matches. Needless to say, the coaches and players on each team were thrilled to hold what may be the birth of a new rivalry as Eau Claire and Menominee are a mere 30-minutes apart.
The matches can be viewed on UW-Stout’s YouTube channel here and here.
Matches
The teams competed in two matches with Stout taking the first 8-1 and the second 7-1. Eau Claire brought eight players to face off against Stout’s 10. Aside from a few early points each point was hotly contested and could have gone in favor of either team.
In the first match, Stout took the first five points before half time and took the sixth point after half. Eau Claire then rallied and took the seventh point while Stout reclaimed the final two.
Stout again claimed the first three points of the second match before Eau Claire won the fourth. The fifth point came down to the wire with Stout unable to eliminate Eau Claire before time ran out. Stout then claimed four of the five points in the second half with the final point ending in a draw.
UW-Stout
Overall, Stout played well and certainly earned their club’s first win. They came out of the gates strong and were able to capitalize on both their numerical advantage and Eau Claire’s relative inexperience. Coach Jacob Sebranek was happy with his team’s performance but would like to see his players improve their team throws and communication. Stout’s recruitment efforts seem to be paying off as they picked up quite a few big catchers this year.
Team Top performers:
Kaden Brede– Kaden had both the most catches and kills on Stout. Coach Jacob and referee Tomas Zander were impressed with his leadership on the court and his situational awareness. Coach Jacob expects him to be under consideration for all-rookie team. He led the event in kills (31) and his team in catches (7).
Tyler Mathison– Tyler is one of Stout’s veteran players and is Stout’s strongest arm. Tyler does not often pinch his throws, but he does not need to. Tomas was happy to see Tyler’s throws hitting below his target’s waists. He had the second most kills at the event (28.5).
Dominic Weso– Dominic had some crucial catches that allowed Stout to win as many points as they did. Without some of these timely catches, Eau Claire may have took a few more points. Additionally, he is a very solid and consistent blocker able to accurately control the direction of his blocks. He continually baited Eau Claire into throwing at him and blocked the throws directly to his teammates. He was third on Stout in catches (5) and had 10 kills.
UW-Eau Claire
While Eau Claire did not perform as well as they would have liked, they were able to secure a point in each match, keep most points close, and showed clear improvement from the beginning to the end of the day. Several players also have prior experience playing in unofficial matches and worked to help their teammates understand the game. Their hiccups are to be expected of a new team and new players. Coach Matt says they should keep their heads up as more practice and experience next semester will help them grow and figure out their team strategy.
Team Top Performers:
Jason Bleskan– Jason was the best player on the court between both teams. He racked up an impressive number of kills and catches, leading Eau Claire in kills (26.5) and the event in catches (8), while continually applying pressure all over the court.
Cleo Moen– Cleo had some “annoying catches falling down” that both frustrated and impressed her opponents. She also has a solid throw that will only continue to get better with more practice. She was second on the team in catches (7) and third in kills (6.5).
Jacob Bornemeier– This was Jacob’s second NCDA event. His first was a few weeks prior as part of a mixed/alumni team at the Pioneer Classic (Platteville, WI). His improvement was noticeable as he took an active role on the court and was second on the team in kills (12) and third in catches (4).
Conclusion
While it seems unlikely that neither Stout nor Eau Claire will attend nationals in April, the Rosen Bowl II signals the presence of both a returned and a new competitor in the Central Region. Both clubs are young, but they will look to bolster their tournament experience and roster numbers in the spring of 2026. With the two clubs being so close to each other it seems likely that they will frequently face each other in 1-on-1 events like this.
Be sure to keep an eye on the sure-to-be-growing, and yet-to-be-named (I-94, Chippewa Valley, Highway 12), rivalry.