EAST LANSING, MI – Michigan State University’s dodgeball club capped off a challenging and emotional week with a Michigan Dodgeball Cup (MDC) on Saturday at IM West. The Spartans (12-0) defeated Grand Valley State (13-6) to win their second consecutive MDC and remain the #1 team in the country. Also in attendance were Western Michigan (finished 2-2 on the day), Saginaw Valley State (1-3), and Central Michigan (0-4).
Below is a recap of each team and the main storylines surrounding them at the Michigan Dodgeball Cup and heading towards the end of the season.
As time grows closer to the Michigan Dodgeball Cup and Nationals, let’s take a step back and look at all the Michigan Region schools and their seasons so far. The following teams are: Michigan State Univeristy, Grand Valley State Univeristy, Saginaw Valley State Univeristy, Western Michigan University, and Central Michigan University. We asked respondents from each school these questions about how they felt their season has gone and general knowledge about their clubs.
1. Who is your OT6? (please include if they are a captain, rookie, etc. 2. Anything notable go well for you at these tournaments? Anything you need to improve on? 3. Any changes for your team heading into the spring semester? 4. Which tournament are you most excited for this spring? 5. What team would you most like to play? 6. Do you have any rising players on your team you’d like to give a shoutout? 7. How will your team do this spring? 8. Please list 3 players you think should be on AA and womens AA (not including your team) 9. Please list 1 rookie youve been impressed by (not including your team) 10. Please give us your thoughts on 1 team ranked above you and 1 team ranked below you.
On February 4th, Grand Valley State University held the Grand Valley Gauntlet IX. The teams in attendance were Grand Valley State University, Michigan State University, and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. The day gave us a glimpse into what we can look forward to from these teams this semester. Below are the results for the day and a breakdown for each team.
On February 4th, Grand Valley State Univeristy will be hosting the Grand Valley Gauntlet IX. The following teams in atttendance will be: Grand Valley State University (GVSU), Michigan State University (MSU), and University of Wisconsin Platteville (UWP). Below is the schedule for the day and a breakdown of each of the teams.
On December 4th, Western Michigan University held the inaugural Dr. Peter Broe Classic. This tournament was named after Dr. Peter Broe, the founder of the club, to say thank you for all the hard work he put in to get the club up and running. Broe provided several students with a great way to make friends and take a little stress out of college life, and instilled his love of dodgeball in them. This tournament was great for getting the Wisconsin teams involved with the Ohio and Michigan teams, below are the results.
On December 4th, Western Michigan University will be hosting the inaugural Dr. Peter Broe Classic. This tournament was name after Dr. Peter Broe, the founder of the club, as a way to say thank you for all the hard work he put in to get the club up and running. Peter provided several students a great way to make friends and take a little stress of college life and instilled his love of dodgeball in them. This tournament will see the nine following teams in action: WMU, GVSU, CMU, SVSU, CUW, Kent, OSU, UWP, and MSU. Below is the schedule for each court and a breakdown of each team.
Ten teams made the trip to Ohio University on October 1st to play in the John Betters’ Bobcat Bonanza III. We saw a few teams make their first appearance of the season including last year’s runner up, Michigan State, while others were looking to improve on past performances. Of the 18 matches played only one ended with a single point difference. What does this say about the teams this season? We’ll go team by team and breakdown what these matches showed us and what to look for in coming tournaments. Also, stay tuned for the Women’s Tournament Recap article.
Ohio University is hosting one of the largest tournaments that we will see in most fall semesters to come – the 3rd Annual John Betters Bobcat Bonanza! This club will play host to nine other teams that will make the trip to Athens, OH and try and earn themselves a few wins on the weekend. Will the Bobcats continue their hot streak on their home turf? Will Michigan State continue the dominance it started last year by knocking of Cincinnati and Ohio in their own state? To answer those questions, let’s take a look into the schools taking the trip to the beautiful campus.
As we look to the start of another new NCDA Season and teams begin recruiting their next captains or future All-Americans we thought it would be fun to take a look back at last year’s top rookie classes.
Several teams across the league brought in multiple impact players which speaks to the depth and resiliency we are seeing across the league in the first full year back post-COVID.
The 2022 semester has come to an end, and one thing can be said for certain about the college dodgeball atmosphere: we are amidst an entirely new league. College dodgeball returned last fall, and with it came an exciting season of close matches, upsets, rookies, and of course, dodgettes (Shout-out to Akron University’s female players for coining the new term).
This article continues to highlight dodgettes across the league: 2021-2022 season graduates, pre-COVID veterans, and new recruits. Stay tuned to hear how they made their name in the league and what they are looking forward to this year; in other words, dodgettes navigating a new league.
The 2022 NCDA season was always going to be one with a lot of mystery heading into the year. With a significant hiatus away from the court, questions about which teams and players would step up and push their way to the top remained at large until finally everything came together with a fantastic showing at this year’s Nationals. Since 2017, the NCDA has honored the female competitors who have dedicated time and effort to their craft. These women erased all the doubt, the mystery, and questions through their excellent play and proved beyond a shadow of a doubt they were some of the best athletes college dodgeball had to offer. This list recognizes both the athletic achievements and amazing leadership these women have brought to their respective clubs.
February 2022 ROTM Interview with MSU Freshman Jonathan Crockett
Rebecca Shappell: I had the chance to sit down with February Rookie of the Month, Jon Crockett, to hear what he had to say over an incredible Michigan Dodgeball Cup performance to help Michigan State secure their first MDC title in 17 years!
Crockett is a freshman studying Mechanical Engineering at Michigan State. Prior to college, he played baseball but found club dodgeball at MSU’s fall recruitment event, Sparticipation. Crockett quickly developed into a strong rookie player for the Spartans by showing off his arm early. While he had a little bit of a quiet start to the fall semester, he burst onto the scene in spring with a stellar MDC performance, notching several catches, huge hits and great transitional play. He quickly showed that he is an integral piece to an already powerful Spartan offense.
Crockett may show off a powerful throw but what has quickly catapulted him into the top of MSU’s rotation is his hands. He is always looking for catches and made multiple clutch plays to swing momentum at key points in the Spartans championship match against GV. His versatility in how he moves on the court allowed him to capitalize on stray throws and catch teams off guard. Crockett worked his way into a stacked Michigan State OT-6 roster and wound up making two huge catches to help seal the victory at MDC.
We look forward to seeing Crockett improve throughout his college career. Expect him to be a household name for the Spartans as he becomes an upper class-man. Congratulations on the achievement, Jon!
Leading into Nationals, we look to spotlight as many teams as we can in hopes of shining a bright light on standouts from participating teams. These glow-ups include up to 2 of each team’s standout rookies as well as a handful of core contributing players that have gotten their respective team to where they are going into the National Collegiate Dodgeball Association’s annual finale. Lastly, we get a glance into each participating team’s mindset and expectations going into Nationals.
The following article was prepared by Kevin Bailey, Wes Peters, and Kathryn Mays.
With the March 2022 Power Rankings just released, the top 5 teams in the NCDA deserve a deeper dive. It seems at this point in the season, the top 5 teams in the league have separated themselves a bit from the rest of the pack.
With Cincinnati winning the Ohio Dodgeball Cup, Michigan State winning the Michigan Dodgeball Cup, James Madison putting the hammer down on the rest of the East Coast, Grand Valley State boasting a 13-2 overall record, and Ohio State chugging along as a title contender and up to #3 in the Gonzalez standings, these 5 teams all have had stellar campaigns thus far.
Let’s take a closer look at each team’s resume to get a better understanding of where each squad stands heading into the final month of the collegiate dodgeball season! We will cover these teams in the order in which they were ranked in the March 2022 PR:
