I’m the NUT coach, and I’d like to highlight some of the talented guys in our program as well as some of the great players from around the region who may be lesser known.
NUT:
Chris Rozolis - Is an exceptionally skilled defender in his 5th year for us who is among the best athletes in the region. He wears a facemask due to an impact injury earlier in his career, and he has built his game from the ground up, starting on our developmental squad (Bolt) as a rookie.
Kyle Rutledge - Is an extremely well-rounded player who practiced with Machine this past summer. NUT traveled around the country and Kyle consistently proved himself against the best players in the nation, on both offense and defense, anywhere on the field.
Jeff Holm - Is among the best cutters in the region, and has a level of offensive skill that is very uncommon among taller players.
NUT Freshman:
Nathan Graber-Lipperman: With good size and smooth throws, Nate brings a level of offense composure to NUT that is very unusual for a freshman.
Micah Thompkins: This St. Louis product had not played ultimate prior to coming to us, but brings his track speed and basketball footwork to the defense.
Ben Girard: A product of Evanston Township High School (ETHS), Ben brings NUT his athleticism and his ability to work in big spaces.
Raymond Tang: Out of the New Jersey area, Ray is an aggressive defender who breaks the mark well.
UChicago:
Jeff Weis - Is a dominant force downfield for them. He’s grown as a player significantly since spending the summer with Chicago Machine, and brings a tireless engine to the field. One of the best cutters in the region.
Jeff Zhao and Judah Newman - Two highly skilled throwers with the size and speed to work downfield as well.
Jason Vallee - The best player in the illinois section that you’ve never heard of. Excellent defender with great release points.
Zubair Abdulla (Coach) - Is the coach who should win CoTR. It’s been said before, but I’ll say it again. He is consistently able to develop great players, he runs an offensive system that is brutally effective, even if you know exactly what they are going to do.
ISU:
This team has many great players, so please refer to Jeremy Burril’s post below for the full story. The growth of this program over the past few years due to the leadership of Jack, Jeremy, and Karl has been impressive to watch. This team has been the largest benefactor of the IYU pipeline over the past 5 years. Just two names to add:
Jeremy Burril - An excellent defender who can do it all. A longtime member of beachfront who recently made the Chicago Wildfire.
Karl Beck - A skilled thrower excellent at getting open in small spaces. Somehow still underrated.
ISU Freshman: The three freshman that Jeremy mentioned are excellent players and immediate contributors for them, all 3 are deserving candidates.
Illinois:
Josh Deeman - Great offensive cutter with size, clean footwork, and strong throws. A difficult matchup for any team downfield and a big part of their results this year.
Jacob Cuthbert - Good athlete with great field awareness. Strong all-around player for them.
Notre Dame:
Luke Brennan - An excellent athlete and skilled handler. One of the top handlers in the region.
Collin Klenke - A very strong handler defender who will drive the line on a turn. A great player and competitor.
Connor Buckley and Colin MacGregor - Great athletes with big time playmaking ability.
David Hoffman (coach) - One of the best coaches in the region. Has helped bring Nd towards the top of regionals over the past few years.
Michigan:
Jake Steslicki - One of the best handlers in the region. Has good size and is dangerous from anywhere on the field.
Nathan Shapiro - Another one of the best handlers in the region. Excellent small space athleticism and breakmark throws.
Daniel Lee - Big cutter who is great in the air and brings skilled offense as a lefty. Among the best cutters in the region.
Tyler Kinley (coach) - Has been recognized over the past few years (rightly so) for helping Michigan be consistently excellent.
Illinois-B:
Eric Badger (coach) - While I do not think he should win, he deserves significant recognition for his efforts in building Boomland over the years and for guiding them to an upset win over Reserve to earn a bid to regionals.
Indiana, Michigan State, GVSU, Purdue, Illinois-B, Kentucky:
As we did not see these teams as much this year, I would defer to people on those teams who know who is most deserving of recognition.