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.
#7 Sean Walsh and #28 Will Yaglou both deserve to be in the conversation for All-Region. Both have essential skill sets that make them excellent two way players and have been at the center of CNU’s rise from unheard of to #12 on the D-III rankings this year
Sean serves as both the primary puller and center handler for the team. His long frame makes him incredibly difficult to mark and frequently goes over or around marks to keep the offense moving. His hucking ability truly sets him apart. Both his flicks and backhands remain steady in the wind and have helped the team push through some 20mph weekends this season. As the season has gone on, his pulls have gotten more and more consistent and often sticks guys in the back of their endzone.
Will is one of the top deep threats in the nation. His ability to fly through the air has turned him into a highlight machine for the team. Whether you’re into goals, blocks, or layouts, you will find something to like in his highlights. In the Conference Championship game (14-15 loss to Navy) Will recorded a plus/minus of 11. In other words, when Will is on the field, good things happen.
The Sean huck to Will is a play that has been repeated with possibly more success than any other set in CNU’s system. Sean’s throwing prowess and Will’s incredible ability in the air are threats every team at regionals will have to plan for this coming weekend. This is a special duo that has put CNU in a place to compete for a chance to go to Nationals for the first time ever.
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#19 Anthony Armad on Navy deserves some attention. Plays a very thankless position of a continuation cutter, but does a damn good job of it. Repeatedly serves as the safely valve to get Navy out of trouble when their offense comes to a halt. But his ability does not stop there. Anthony makes ridiculous catches look routine. Seems every game he is climbing the ladder or laying out to collect an errand pass. Anthony is the unsung hero of Navy’s season.
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14 players that I would like to build a team around
I don’t think it’s possible for a coach to view awards objectively, so you will not see any Christopher Newport University players listed below although I believe that several CNU players richly deserve consideration.
1st Team
Anthony Armad (Navy #19)- Do-everything leader and unselfish initiating cutter, rarely makes the wrong decision and might have the best hands in the region. He put the team on his back in semifinals vs Richmond. If you don’t have a plan to limit his impact, you are going to have a problem.
Liam Day (Richmond #13)- The man knows how to fill up a stat sheet. I would bet that he leads most tournaments in every statistical category (Blocks, scores, assists and turnovers) on the back of a quick trigger finger, lethal jump cut, deep bag of tricks, and heads up defensive play.
Alex Pistolesi (Richmond #99)- A little weird to see Richmond run their offense through two similar players: Tall huck-happy lefties that are fully capable of earning back on D any mistakes they may make on offense, and a nightmare to match up against. Tall, fast, big throws, and versatile- what’s not to love?
Max Benedetti (Navy #69)- Not often that teams play their best thrower on the D line, but Max is capable of running the D line offense on turnovers and crossing over to O when the game is on the line.
Beau De Koninck (Mary Wash #45)
Patrick “PK” Kenney (Mary Wash #29)
Marcelo Ruggiero (Mary Wash) – Is it possible that the 5 seed at regionals has three first team players? All three of them have a do-everything skillset, capable of playing both ways and matching up against the best players from opposing teams. You typically see PK as the primary downfield cutter and Marcelo anchoring the D line, with Beau operating as center, but this offense can be just as deadly with roles reversed. Expect Mary Wash to bounce back in 22-23 as the supporting pieces grow into their roles.
2nd Team
Joel Maury-Holmes (Davidson #24)- Don’t let his unconventional throwing technique fool you, he can launch the disc a country mile and is a leader on this Davidson offense.
Casey Hepburn (Richmond #34)
Brett Schoppert (Richmond #2) – D line guys never get enough love during awards, and these are two of the best in the region. Casey typically picks up the point of attack and Brett will do his best to lock down your best cutter, and both perform at a high level.
Andrew Beck (Navy #22)- Hammers, hucks and a lightning first step. What more could you want?
George Coffey (Richmond #9) – O line handler that is versatile enough to move downfield, uses his length to effectively break the mark, and makes slightly more conservative hucking decisions than gunners Liam and Pistol.
Peter Rock (Davidson)- Best-in-the-business backhands and a solid deep game earn him a second team nod.
That really tall guy (High Point)- Whatever your name is, respect. Wish you guys were able to accept your bid to regionals because you are a baller.
Honorable mention:
Chester Todd (Richmond), Owen Donovan (MW #56), Kevin Escott (Davidson #77) – Three elite O line reset handlers. The spotlight is not as bright in their current role but if these teams are successful this weekend, a lot of credit goes to this supporting cast. I’d be honored to have any of you play for me.
Andrew Mazza (Navy)- Scrappy little initiating cutter on the O line that lowkey touches the disc all the time.
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Most of the people I wanted to talk about are already mentioned above but the guy that hasnt been mentioned yet I wanna talk about is Calvin “discmemes” Ciorba (#44/#40) is a freshman on our d line at Richmond. Kid absolutely eats on d as getting up in the deep space, huge hucks, pretty layouts, and his pulls are majestic. Might be known for running a meme page but the kids an animal and a freshman.
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Gotta bump all the support for my Richmond guys. Vinny Ciorba is the truth, kid is gonna be one of the best players in the region next year. His memes are definitely overrated though. All-freshman lock of the century. To prove he deserves a spot on all-freshman, not just for his play but his freshman decision making too, Vinny went and got himself hurt before regionals. Lock
Pistol, Liam, George, and Chester are such a good offensive unit. All of them have really put in the work the last four years, going from role players to the animals they are today. All have monster hucks, and there aren’t a lot of teams that can deal with three legit six footers (plus Chester). Pistol should be a D3 POTY candidate.
If you had told me two years ago that Casey Hepburn would get shouted out by someone other than X on one of these threads, I wouldn’t have believed you. He’s improved so much these last few years, and takes some of the toughest matchups in the country and effectively takes them out of the game. Watch the second half of Richmond/Berry and see what he does to Caleb Enright.
And Brett Schoppert should be getting more first-team love. Lockdown defender, unbelievably consistent with the disc on a turn, and the most handsome player in D3 (maybe the country?), to boot. Incredible heads up defender, will throw his body at anything he thinks he has a chance at (which is every throw). Went from athlete to ultimate player very quickly- essentially a better looking Harris Cannon with better throws.