Who are the best players in the South Central region? This is an open thread to discuss All-Region nominations, All-Freshman nominations, coaching awards, and more. Stay positive and keep it civil.
Cameron Thompson was the DIII Grand Prix player of the tournament as a freshman and is one of the best DIII prospects in the SC, if not the country.
Hey y’all, it’s Derek from Mines. Another great regionals in the books from the best d3 region out there. I’m only going to talk about teams and players that I’ve personally played against this season, I’m sure there’s many more ballers out there I just don’t know who you are, sorry.
Mines:
Randy Lahm #10
If you don’t know who Randy is then you probably have never played us. Randy has some of the best ultimate knowledge and decision making I’ve ever seen (he only throws arounds). Pair that with a canon of a flick and backhand as well as incredibly shifty cuts, Randy will always be my first pick no matter what.
Q Lorenz #33
Q might be the most difficult handler to guard in the country. He’s incredible at using his size to his advantage to win upline as well as getting up for floaty arounds. Speaking of arounds, Q’s length allows him to hit any reset that he wants with ease.
CC:
Oliver Van Linder #11
This should come as a surprise to absolutely nobody. Another crazy consistent handler with the best field vision I’ve seen in any sport. Even injured this dude has an insane impact for his team. Also just the most genuine and kind dude you’ll ever meet.
Tanner flagg #3
BALLER! Dude has made some of the craziest plays I’ve ever seen. Between roofing whoever he wants and chest high bids, this dude is the real deal. Not to mention he’s got a great bag of throws that forces every defender on the field to be disciplined if they don’t want their oline back on the field.
Airforce:
Riley Lubic #21
Riley is a lockdown defender as well as a cool and confident handler when the disc is in his hands, and willing to let it fly to open cutters in the deep space.
JBU:
Andrew Headley #2
Didn’t matter how many times Andrew will burn you under, he’s gonna do it again on the next point. All of this so that you’ll try to force him deep where he’ll put you on yet another poster for his wall. Great in the air and on the ground.
Luke Dishman #8
Another very very talented defender. Made some high iq poaches to force turns and also had some great bids to save possession for his team.
TSU
Jeffrey Laubscher #17
He is a great handler who is fully capable of going every other against any team in the country. Really great vision as well as the throws to punish any poaches. Also another great dude who is always a pleasure to talk to at tourneys.
Honorable mentions:
Carter Gonzalez #63 Mines
So much of a dawg it’s a little scary.
Jack Fortune #12 Mines
If you don’t know him yet he’s gonna be a huge pain for the next couple years.
Oliver wells #9 CC
Crazy good hands and a nice dude.
Nico Martinez #44 CC
The wind is irrelevant for this man, ridiculous upwind throws.
Lots more ballers out there, benefits of such a great region. Best of luck to those heading to natties. Sko Digs and Sko South Central.
Missouri S&T here, this is what we think
Truman:
Jeffrey Laubscher - immaculate throws, will layout whenever, always open, chippy, dawg.
JBU:
Andrew Headley - one of the only guys we could not lock down at all. Got any force side under he wanted. Crazy in the deep space. Dawg.
Andrew Graham - dominant handle, explosive at the give and go, surprising hops, dawg.
OC:
Couper Kerns - great defender, cutter that can huck it, some crazy layout D’s, dawg.
Sammy Roberts - crazy fluid handle, played through injury, smooth buttery hucks, dawg.
Emannuel Kameri - nuts on defence, crazy long, handle defense is NUTS, dawg.
Harding:
Denver Mitchell - quick handle motion, main engine behind Harding, hammer man, dawg.
Justin Mills - COTY, dawg.
COCO:
Oliver Van Linder - nutty fakes, smooth handler, unfortunate injury (get well soon), dawg.
Us:
Mason Scheifer - nutty freshman, playing for longer than the rest of the team, NO ACL IN RIGHT KNEE, dawg.
Sean Sharp - also freshman, reset merchant, solid low release backhands, got a layout D (hot), dawg.
IDK about the rest of JBU, but here’s what I saw:
S&T:
Sam Papin - Crazy good handle, smooth throws, always makes the right decision. You can’t shut this man down, you just have to try and stop the bleeding.
HARDING:
Denver Mitchell - Fluid. Gets all the resets he wants, then gets things going downfield. #1 mustache in the Region.
TRUMAN:
Jeff Laubscher - Menace. Tremendous hucker. I was the help defender on at least 4 of his hucks and he always puts it just right for his receiver, I didn’t have a play on any of them.
Levon Muradyan: You gotta shout these two out together. The one two punch that kept TSU’s attack rolling. Levon dug up some many low resets, hustled for every disc, and gave everything for this team. Solid pulls too.
JBU:
Andy Graham: Missed a tournament and still has 98 more completions than the next guy. Completed passes at 93%, which is nuts for a center handle. Soothing presence on the O-line. Master of the give and go, unphased by the wind, he’s that guy.
Jackson Macdonald: Mr. Deep Ball. The emotional leader of the team and a fearless D-line anchor with an absolute cannon on the counter attack. One of ten dawgs on the roster for Free State Classic, Jackson tossed 32 assists in 6 games. He threw 84 of Ironfists 317 recorded goals this year. Nuts.
SC All Region 2025
JBU had the privilege of playing every single team this season who ended up being at regionals, so it’s been cool to be able to play against and interact with so many great people and teams. It’s such a pleasure to be a part of such a high spirited and competitive region. With that said, here are my shoutouts.
Harding:
First off, exceptionally coached by Justin Mills, well done.
Denver Mitchell: Best described as a sports car, the way he can accelerate and so quickly reach his top speed. Makes it hard (I daresay, near impossible) to stop the throw n go. Also has some cheeky inside throws.
S&T:
Sam Papin: Does what he wants when he wants, good luck and God bless. Try to shut down his handle cuts, too bad. Get him to clear out of the handler space, too bad he’s now got four steps on you deep.
Wes Fransen: Match-up nightmare, phenomenal cutter, doesn’t only rely on his height (although that sure helps)
Also shoutout the Claytons especially the one who got the bookends on Uni. Sorry I can’t remember who that was.
Truman St:
Jeff Laubscher: Great handle, throws well into tight windows, unfazed by whatever the defense throws at him. Also super good in the clutch.
Both Stuart Whitmer and Thomas Schmidt were either absent/injured at Sectionals and you could tell. Stu is a phenomenal defender, much like Diego was before him. Will lock up your best player and makes intelligent poaches. Thomas is a dawg and a certified deep threat. Also I just found out this weekend that his high release flick is really really nice.
OC:
The usuals were amazing once again: Sammy Roberts, Emmanuel Kameri, Couper Kerns all were fantastic. Brendon Mersincavage played some exceptional defense on Andrew Headley, which is not easy to do. I’m sorry I can’t remember much from our game except how our tent collapsed on the sideline and y’all were so helpful in fixing it, so thanks for that! Even though we got cooked by y’all, our game was one of the most fun games I’ve had, due to just the energy and spirit on the sidelines.
COCO:
Oliver Van Linder is him, but sadly was injured for regionals.
Nico Martinez is a fantastic defender, he had a huge handblock (actually it might have been a footblock, I wasn’t looking but I heard the noise) on a clutch point in our game. His good play doesn’t stop on a turn, and he makes the same high-level plays offensively.
I don’t know his name, so help me on this, but the main handle who was wearing the black tank top and glasses was also super smooth. His composure was exceptional and his throws and reading of the game were very good.
Shout out the entire team and coaches too! The mental game of this team is admirable, they were never unsettled even when down a few breaks to us and came back and won it late. That speaks to just the team culture.
Mines:
Coaching here really stood out to me. Andrew didn’t get the same opportunities he usually does in the deep space due to the good defensive gameplan to stop the big shots. Although that left the unders more open, y’all communicated well to create turn opportunities. That all comes back to coaching, so well done.
Q Lorenz is exactly what was mentioned by the Mines coach above. He makes good throws, breaks the mark often and has quick releases, making it difficult to get a hand block. He reads switches and poaches well and does not force throws which are not there.
Randy Lahm is their face of the franchise. Cool, calm, and collected, his fundamentals are so solid that he could beat you with just them. But he doesn’t need to use only them cause his bag is deeper than philosophical discussions on the meaning of life. Cutting, handling, being on the sideline, it doesn’t matter, he’ll impact the point.
Air Force:
I can’t remember his name, but on the first point he absolutely skied one of our guys and I realized that he was an Air Force haha. I think he was #67, but I might be wrong about that. Also a super cool headed and spirited guy, called a foul on himself at one point. He got that strike cut basically whenever he wanted.
JBU:
As for us, I’d like to give our own coach, Mark Belvardi, a shoutout for all that he’s done for us, whether it’s giving us some of his Sam’s club dried mangoes or creating gameplans to deal with playing in the snow or mud. He’s a big reason why we are always competitive year to year, regardless of who graduates. He’s also a big Orlando Magic fan which is a burden to carry on its own lol.
Andrew Headley is alright I guess. Pretty much unguardable in isolation, he’ll beat you under and beat you deep, give you a little bit of hope when the disc hangs in the air and then absolutely roof you. Our freshman year, he struggled with his throws but that’s no longer an issue, as his hucks are pinpoint and his continuation throws are precise.
Theo Stegall is the dawg of all the dawgs. By the end of the day, his white jersey looked dark from all the mud to the point where I thought we turned it over one time when he caught it in the end zone. His motor is unmatched and always finds a way to get open. Super humble too.
I’d like to shout out some of our freshmen as well: Joshua Mudd for locking up his matchups in the S&T game, he was on something. Nathan Snell for being a reliable handle and a clutch bid D in the Air Force game.
Every game we played had high spirits and great competition, and that’s why the SC is the best region. Thank you all!
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Jeffrey from Truman here!
First off, I want to shoutout the whole region. A lot of these players that I’m going to mention would be household names if they played in a different region, but we are all together just so deep, its hard to give everyone the recognition they deserve, well done everyone! Also sorry to Airforce and CC, we did not get to play y’all this year, but I’m sure you have some dawgs.
S&T
Sam Papin: I love playing against this guy, its unfair how good he is on top of being a lefty, great hucks, great give and gos, layout, D’s. Sick player
Wes Franson: Its unfair how tall he is with his ability to also throw and layout. When Wes and Sam are on the field together you know that they are going to score that point.
Honorable mentions to Sandy, Ian, and Brandyss. This team is so deep, and these players made the strides to help them get to nattys.
OCU
Something different about the team this year! In years past it has been a lot about personal glory, but they really brought it together as a team this year. The usual suspects of Sammy, Kameri, and more were great, but it was really the teamwork that got them to where they are this year. Shoutout the culture shift! I also gotta shoutout Alex Babler for all freshman, thats my KC Dawg.
Harding:
As everyone else has said, shoutout to Justin Mills on coaching. This is the best harding team I’ve seen, and its largely due to the coaching.
Denver Mitchell: This dude really turned it on this year! Give and gos, cheeky throws, making defenses focus soley on him to create opportunities for others, he’s only a junior, so really look out for this guy next year on a dangerous Harding team.
JBU:
This team is sneaky deep, shoutout the coach Mark. He is what makes this team so great. As mentioned before he is a Magic fan, so he does have some room for improvement.
Andrew Headley: This dude rocks, he makes everything difficult look easy. Roofing our most athletic players like its nothing, being a menace on the field. Also, a really genuine and nice dude.
Jackson Macdonald: Great player, chippy, great hucks, sneaky good D. He has been a great anchor for the team the last few years!
Mines:
First off shoutout the coaches, you guys are so fun to be around and play against. Its hard enough for D-3 teams to get 1 coach who cares about the team so much, but having 2 is nuts.
Randy Lahm: This dude also rocks, great give and go, shifty as hell, great throws, fun to talk to.
There is a lot more on Mines that deserve recognition, I forgot to get names but you guys are sick.
My Truman Dawgs:
Stuart Whitmer: This guy is so good, he will chop you up and get open no matter what. The best part about him though is the way he unlocks the people around him, the amount of trust he puts in the rest of the team is what got us so far this year
Levon Muradyan: He has been a phenominal handle this year, last year he was more of a huck and D kinda guy, but he really turned it on this year being a great give and go.
Thomas Schmidt: Our main cutter look, I feel like hes always open. He also throws cheeky throws that are gross as hell.
Once again, this region is super sick, and everyone is a dawg. Keep being great South Central!
Guy in the black beater is Eliot Kirkham
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Wasabi player here. To be honest, I spent a lot of regionals on the sideline, so I can’t say I have the best sense of the field, but I’ll try my best.
OCU:
Luke Norby is a strong rookie of the year contender, very strong cutter and defender
Per usual, Eman and Sammy are very strong players.
It’s a talented team, but that’s what scholarships get you.
S&T
Sam Papin: One of the best handlers in the region. Very consistent year in and year out. Plays damn near every point and plays well.
I’m not sure what his name was, but there was a taller guy wearing a Papin jersey and #22 shorts, he was also great.
Mines:
Randy Lahm: The crux of Mines’ team, good defender who’s really there to play offense after the turn
Carter Gonzalez: An absolute dog on defense, great hucker, and also so nice.
Q Lorenz: Pain in my ass to guard, very talented handler
Also a major shoutout to the Mines culture and coaching staff. You guys are so incredibly spirited and have fostered such a healthy, competitive relationship between our teams.
JBU:
Andrew Headley: Very strong and athletic cutting threat
Now time for my Wasabi shoutouts:
Oliver van Linder tore his ACL at Snow Melt, I feel like he’s the default shoutout in this region as he’s just SO damn good, but I think what a lot of people missed is how much impact he had off the field post-injury.
#74 - Eliot Kirkham: The region was saved from Elo as he suffered a concussion early in the tournament. Eliot plays every game in a black beater and has some of the best throwing in the division. Really a key cog in our O line after Ollie’s injury and an absolute defensive nightmare.
#3 - Tanner Flagg - Nobody hits a chest height bid quite like Tanner. Fast, good throws, jumps like a guy 9" taller, this guy is the truest of hybrids and it’s scary.
#44 - Nico Martinez: If we did a regional breakout player of the year for a sophomore it might be Nico. Not to say Nico wasn’t a dawg last year, but this year he leveled it up and should be on everyone’s radar. Generates so many blocks for our D and has done a lot to up his consistency on offense.
#19 - Leo McGaraghan - 6’7", good defender, good cutter, can throw everything. Enough said.
I think if we’re talking about breakout juniors, #10 Thomas Nielsen is an absolute rock on D line, while #4 Cooper Quatrochi (@4chi.music) is an absolute nightmare in the deep space and caught everything at regionals.
I think Wasabi also fields three of the strongest rookie of the year contenders.
#30 Mason Pancoast - True hybrid player, equally open in the cutter and handler space. Great shooter and great bids.
#81 Cameron Thompson - Defensive nightmare, absolute clamps on cutters and handlers, and is scary in the air. Also an amazing cutter after the turn.
#9 Oliver Wells - Phenomenal D line handler. Great defense, casual chest height bids, great thrower. Enough said.
That’s not to discount the other Wasabi freshmen (the fruzz). All 6 of our freshmen this year got serious minutes on O or D and will be a problem for the rest of the division.