Who are the best players in the Atlantic Coast region? This is an open thread to discuss All-Region nominations, All-Freshman nominations, coaching awards, and more. Stay positive and keep it civil.
Nathan Kwon and Elijah Long for All-Defensive Team
Matt Gouche-Hanas for All-Region Team
Norman Archer and Nick MacLeod for All-Cuteness Team
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Jonny Malks from W&M is in contention for AC Rookie of the Year. I’ve seen him play at a few tournaments this year. Confident and consistent thrower. I’m not surprised he made DC Breeze and Truckstop even as a freshman. He’s probably not better than UNC’s Liam Searles-Bohs, but he should definitely be in the conversation.
Jacob Fairfax from UNC-Charlotte has been a very dominant player all season. I saw him at a fall and at a spring tournament, and the team revolves around him. Solid thrower, and the best deep threat I’ve seen all season. He’s a lock for First Team All-region.
Christian Boxley and Matt Cullom from Georgetown should also be in the conversation for an All-region nominations. With the exception of Fairfax, no other player in the Region has been able to guard these two guys, either for unders or deep shots. Granted, Georgetown hasn’t played UNC, UNC-W, nor Virginia Tech. However, These two players combine for an overwhelming majority of Georgetown’s points. Look out for them at Regionals.
Jonny Malks and Gus Norrbom for All-Region team. Together these two have led W&M to a 23-5 season with a 10-1 record vs. Atlantic Coast teams. They have worked it up the field at will against every AC team (although W&M hasn’t played UNC, UNC-W, or VT yet). Additionally, they notch clutch Ds in crunch time points.
Ryan Cooper for All-Freshman team. Ryan is a defensive beast who can sky any player in the region. Look for him to match up on opposing teams most effective threats.
Ben Reutner of Liberty University is undoubtedly a top 5 freshman in the nations, he comes from Cincinnati Flying Pig ycc program. I am someone who watches an extensive amount of ultimate and film and I can confidently say that bens throws are better than searles-bohs. At 6 foot 3 inches tall, Ben can shut down opposing teams best handlers or cutters, he can be a take over cutting forceps O, and his best ability is leading an offense down field with calmness and incredible break throws that he makes look too easy as a handler.
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I’d argue for Malks over LSB for FotY. If Liam wins is will be entirely based on reputation. Malks played the whole season and was the centerpiece on top half of regionals team.
I’ll also throw in some sleepers into the thread. I’m sure enough people will jerk off Joe Freund.
Assuming Mason makes regionals Sam (Toucan) Gabrielson should be in the conversation for carrying them there.
I don’t know a ton of players on Maryland but they weren’t that good last year and then Alex Liu took a fifth year there and now they’re pretty good.
Whoever is coaching Virginia Tech should win coach of the year
Also worth noting that Maryland added Darryl Stanley (coach of Truckstop and DC Breeze) as a coach this year, which I think helps to explain the turn around.
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I’ll give you the top guys from the Colonial Section because that’s what I know. Some of these guys you’ll see at Regionals, some you won’t.
John Walden (UMD)- Alex Liu has gotten a lot of hype this year. But Johnny has been the consistent factor here in my opinion. The talent around him is there and I hope he gets the recognition he deserves.
Christian Boxley (Georgetown)- I had no idea that Georgetown was gonna beat Maryland. Kinda like Johnny I think it’s the supporting cast that has improved more than Box. Still he joined the Breeze with Johnny and he’s really good. It pleases me to no end to know that I’ve made it through my whole college career without getting roofed by him once.
Alex Liu (UMD)- I’ve never met him so I can’t say much. Ulti world writers have been impressed by him though.
Angelo Oclese (JHU)-He unfriended me on Facebook and I’m kinda salty about it BUT he’s definitely a baller.
Christopher Bernard (UMD)- He’s my personal friend so I’m super proud of the work he’s put in and I think it needs to be recognized.
Matt Cullom (Georgetown)- I’ve heard he’s solid but also haven’t seen him play. Our team is aware of his dominance though.
Jesse Nelson (Delaware)- Jesse is the engine of Sideshow. We’ve played them twice and it’s definitely been a matter of shutting down Jesse to shut down their main way of attack. By no means are they as reliant upon him as Gdub was on TyMon but he’s solid.
Other dudes
Joey Ricks (UMBC)
Reed Forman (Delaware)
Max Shevchenko (Towson)
Ryan Trisman (American)
Max Cohen-Casado (Georgetown)
Ryan Bates (Towson)
Lex Nunno (GWU)
All Freshmen
Johnny Malks (W&M)
LSB (UNC)
Luke Pascale (UMD)
Mason Banner (UMD)
Jeremy Hess (UMD)
Johnny Frisbee is the POTY don’t at me.
UVA Captain here:
- Didn’t get to watch UNC much this year - they very clearly are a remarkable team with a deep pool of players that obviously merit commensurate accolades (and in my opinion a good number of votes), but given that I wouldn’t contribute anything other than secondhand commentary on them I won’t write about them here. Same goes generally for UNCW.
Going through teams I saw enough of to feel comfortable discussing:
W&M - Jonny Malks (my choice for FOTY) and Gus Norrbom deserve a ton of credit for W&M’s play style and trip to Nationals. Their ability to alternate between mesmerizing, patient backfield control with handler movement, devastating break throws and smart targeted attacks downfield kept their offense dangerous and consistent throughout the series. Versatile cutters like Moussa Dia and Gabe Westergren were able to operate comfortably in under and deep spaces, and Taylor Gilman provides consistently relentless handler defense as well as a spark moving the disc and operating as a focal point of their possession off of the turn.
UMD - John Walden was simply unguardable in the backfield and downfield Sunday at regionals as UMD blitzed their way to the fourth bid. Alex Liu & Jeremy Hess (who I believe is a freshman) also were standout options for a group with terrific team buy-in to their systems (a credit to the club along with Darryl Stanley and his masterful coaching).
Georgetown - Christian Boxley (whose greatest on DGP against UNCW still astounds me a day later) and Matt Cullom deserve a ton of credit for their contributions to Georgetown’s success this year - both are cutters that can dominate in the deep space and distribute the disc very effectively after receiving an under. In our matchup on Saturday, Anthony Bernard-Sasges also was a very challenging matchup on both sides of possession.
VT - Joe Freund, Rhys Bergeron, Joe Novak, Ryan Rossum, Colum Bergeron and Daniel Sablosky stood out in their contribution to make VT as physically commanding of a team as I’ve seen on the college level. This group was able to control downfield space with their height, speed and collective throwing prowess while running stifling person and zone D (their cup was the best we’d faced all year).
UNCC - Jacob Fairfax is probably the best player in the region, and Jordan Perry shines as a versatile and consistent component of their attack.
NC State - David Jones’ throwing ability and field awareness shines through as a centerpiece of their attack. Archer Gordon, Rhys Gretsch & Trevor Lynch (who I believe is a freshman) stood out as dangerous, athletic defenders and deep threats in our matchups against the Pack.
JMU - Colin Smith and Colin Doescher may be the most underrated duo in the region, carrying a heavy load on both sides of the disc for a team that beat UMD in pool play on Saturday at Regionals. Haroon Matties (a freshman) served a key role as a deep defender and powerful thrower.
GMU - Sam Gabrielson does everything for them in the backfield, and Leo Pierson has developed into a dangerous first option cutter.
Discussion on UVA (my team) focuses on the efforts of our remarkable defensive line:
Alexandre Fall (about to play his first year on DC Breeze) deserves an outsize portion of the credit for our team’s success. His elite speed, vertical dominance, throwing ability, field awareness, and leadership on both lines was crucial as he comfortably led our team in goals while drawing and taking the opponent’s best matchup. Kevin Niu, according to Rowan McDonnell, is “as good of a downfield defender as you’ll see at the college level” and earned some massive blocks and goals for our defensive line in key moments. Alex Turney (a freshman) threw us back into the game against VT Sunday morning, with 5 assists (exclusively playing D-Line) and dominant handler movement in a microcosm of the outstanding play he’s demonstrated all season long. Cole Dickerson served as a lockdown handler defender, consistent reset option, and capable downfield threat throughout our campaign.
Hi, other UVa captain here,
I wanted to just add on to what said in the previous message. Thomas Owen was an essential part of our offense this season and a big reason for why we were able to perform well at regionals. He has an unparalleled knowledge of the game and his creativity behind the disc allows him to easily pick apart weak spots in defenses while also consistently and accurately hitting receivers at any location on the field. He also was the heart, soul, and leader of our team. He makes everyone on our team better through his teaching and tries his best to ensure we always stay spirited & positive, two contributions that definitely warrant recognition.
I also think that Moussa Dia is severely underrated and should absolutely make the All-Region 1st team. He is the captain/center cutter for William & Mary and was probably their best player. He is not as well known as several of his teammates but he is just as, if not more, impactful.
Finally, Johnny Walden was, in my opinion, the best player we played against in the Region. Very complete Ultimate player