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.
Ben Simmons (UNCC)>Liam Searles-Bohs (UNC)
Jeremy Hess. Hands down goat!!
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Ben Simmons for sure (UNCC). Man is the most slept on player in the region. Always puts people on a poster. From throws to layout catches/D is definitely the most all around player. In addition, he makes everyone around him play at a higher level.
couldn’t agree more. one of the best defenders in the region and severely underrated. helping maryland go on this amazing run
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also daniel friedman brown. the quarterback of umds offense and a phenomenal thrower
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Don’t know much about the sections outside of Carolina, but I think some obvious player are Liam and Trevor lynch. Not sure his name but #18 on NC state is a baller as well.
I’m a fan of 25 on UNCC (Ben Simmons maybe?) and 22 as well.
South Carolina has a few standouts on both sides of the disc I think. Thomas Nye, Deven Riley, and Bobby Gunshefski (better known as orange hat guy) run their offense and the D-line goes through Joseph Cammarata, Luke Colwell, and Nicholas Headden.
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Nick Headden on South Carolina is highly underrated imo. Lockdown defender and plays every point like it’s his last. Got to respect him.
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Watch out for Vinny Calderon on Duke! Absolutely incredible defender, crucial to Duke’s deep run at EQ.
Going off of players that we’ve run into this year, the biggest one that stands out to me is:
Ben Simmons, UNC-C: One of the most slept on players in the region for sure, was definitely one of the biggest problems for many of the teams that played against Charlotte this year and is one of the major reasons why they have continued to see success this spring
For rookies, I don’t know of too many people cause of ages and stuff with COVID, but two that I know of for sure are:
Akiva Dienstfrey, Virginia: Kids a baller for sure, loves the game and is so devoted to it, seen big growth this year and he slots big-time minutes with the O-Line every game. Calling it right now, he will be absolutely unstoppable as an upper-classman
Patrick Vorathiankul, JMU: Athletic defender for JMU who definitely plays above his age. A 2022 WJUC U-20 tryoutee who also rocks some eye black that makes him 100x more menacing on the field. I’ve seen this guy make some crazy plays and he’s definitely deserving off the all-rookie conversation
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South Carolina has a really strong freshman class, highlighted by Tyler Catton, who is an O line handler and plays every O point, and Evan Sanderson, who is a do-it-all player who is already one of the team’s best defenders and is also one of the most consistent O line cutters.
South Carolina’s coach, Devin Waldrop, also deserves a ton of credit for taking a young, inexperienced, and overlooked South Carolina team and propelling them to a strong 3rd place finish in the section and putting the team in a strong position going into regionals. Devin has been huge in setting the tone of this program/ shaping culture and has also implemented a bunch of new systems both offensively and defensively that have been a big part of the team’s success so far this season.
South Carolina’s top players are Bobby Gunshefski and Thomas Nye. Thomas is the center O line handler and Bobby is one of the main O line cutters. These guys are the heart and soul of South Carolina’s offense and are also 2 of the best defenders on the team. Look for both of these players to make a huge impact at Regionals and cross over to D line a time or two before all is said and done. Also watch out for these guys to emerge as big names on the club scene in the coming years.
Outside of South Carolina, here are a few players who stood out to me:
Duke: Albert Yuan is a really impressive do-it-all hybrid player who is critical for this team’s success thus far this season
UNCC: It’s been said, but Ben Simmons is their top guy. He’s super talented & skilled + is a respectful competitor and clearly values spirit of the game
NC State and UNC also have deep rosters with a bunch of talented guys, but I don’t know many of their names outside Liam Searles-Bohs and Trevor Lynch.
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From William & Mary, Ethan Ruh and Lucas Reichert have been the driving force behind winning the Virginia section. Ruh boasted a +25 plus minus at Virginia Sectionals and consistently made game altering plays. He also scored 18 goals. Reichert dominated with powerful hucks and handler movement, earning 24 assists on the weekend and a plus minus of 18. Both have elevated the team significantly
Vorathiankul is an impressive defender and should be in the conversation there
Further, Sam Brothers has been a consistently effective D-Line handler. He has fit into William & Mary systems exceptionally well and proved himself a lockdown defender shutting down some of Virginia’s best. He should be in the all rookie conversation.
Hey everyone, I am the Head Coach of GW and I wanted to put out my respective lists for All-Region and All-Freshman awards.
I am listing the players who’s game I can speak to. This is not an exhaustive list, but these are the people I think deserve shouts for the work they’ve done this season.
All-Region in no particular order:
Matt Labar- JMU
Matt Krause- JMU
Seth Weaver- Duke
Alex Daley- Delaware
Michael Xiao- Georgetown
Jimmy Clarke- Johns Hopkins
Daniel Friedman-Brown- UMD
David Zimmerman- UMD
Miles Grovic- UMD
Fred Farah- UMD
Jeremy Hess- UMD
Hyosam Jeon- GW
Sasha Frank-Stempel- GW
Myles Maxon- American
Liam Searles-Bohs- UNC
Trevor Lynch- NC State
Lucas Reichert- W&M
All Freshman Nominees:
Miles Grovic- UMD - Who I believe to be the best Freshman in the region right now, if not one of the best players.
Akiva Dienstfrey- UVA
Patrick Vorathiankul- JMU
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Miles Grovic and Vincent Zhong (UMD) are top 5 rookies in the region. The UNC Nationals lads and Duke’s younger He (is he a freshman?) fill out that 5.
All region locks IMO:
LSB
McDonnell
Hess
Lynch
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I have faced off against a particular player at NC State, I think his name is Blake Stratton? He was a complete player and really gave his match ups a difficult time. He was not a flashy player, but that shouldn’t determine players on an all-region team. His speed, ability to move the disc quickly to the break side, and his ability to time his cuts perfectly to gain the most out of each cut was impressive to watch. I believe his performance this weekend at the Atlantic coast regionals will determine if they make a push for the regional championship/nationals.
Want to emphasize how crucial freshman Sam Brothers has been for the William and Mary D-line. A very composed thrower who has some insane hucks in his bag. He is also a dog on defense consistently strapping up some of the best handlers in the region. Excited to see him develop and dominate the region the next few years. Should definitely be on the all-freshman team.
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All Region: Ben Simmons (for all of the above reasons)
All Freshmen: Matthew Nightingale, started on UNCC’s D-Line during the 2021 sectionals/regionals and then transitioned to our o-line for the 2022 season. He is an absolute menace down field and will beat his match up under or deep. Hes got that dog in him.
Virginia Tech’s Chris Mascis is a beast on both sides of the disc– superb athlete that will come out of nowhere with run-through D’s and come down with chest-high bids to save possessions. Also a special thrower, and seems to be a natural leader for his team. If not a lock for first team all-region, should at least be in the discussion.