A Look Into the USA Men’s Dodgeball Team
By Tyler Greer, edited by Dan Levine
With the announcement of the first Team USA Combine scheduled to take place this Saturday, June 16th in Dallas, Texas, I wanted to take a closer look at the male candidates for Team USA and specifically, which candidates are likely to make the actual nine-person team that will compete in the World Dodgeball Federation (WDBF) International Tournament.
This will arguably be the best USA team ever assembled, partly because of the process created by USA Dodgeball, with a four-headed team of scouts evaluating candidates (in addition to Mark Acomb, who oversees the selection committee), and partly because this year’s tournament will be hosted in Los Angeles, making it easier and cheaper for players to actually try out and compete for the team than previous years.
A few tournaments that helped these scouts see the competition and the players who garnered invites were the Los Angeles Classic Coed, The Dodgeball Tribune’s Tournament, The Twin Cities Throwdown, DodgeWar 4 from Dallas Dodgeball and a few other events that featured the 7” foam ball style used in the WDBF and foam leagues throughout the US.
USA has released their list of the 40 men invited and, in my admittedly biased opinion, there seem to be some clear-cut favorites.
Finally, a team of former and current Team USA Dodgeball players recently returned from the National Dodgeball Festival held in Barrie Ontario, Canada. Depending on your perspective, that team’s performance could make this decision for USA Dodgeball easier or more difficult. Their results against some of the best foam players in the world (and Silver medal-winning Team Canada spread out through a couple of teams)? Championships in both Men’s and Coed competitive. And not just championships — these were crushing defeats of every team. They were by far the best team at what is widely believed to be the biggest foam tournament in the world.
For anyone still wondering about my selection criteria, let me first explain my decision to break players out into four groups. I believe that there is enough talent in USA dodgeball that it’s impossible to simply name nine players and click “publish.”
Instead, I’ve chosen a top tier of four players who I believe are locks for selection, a second tier of players who I think have a very legitimate claim to making the team and a third tier of players who I believe are dark horses but could surprise the selection committee (and me). I have seen each of these players play in foam and at times, seen them be the best player on the court. I am also basing this off of previous Team USA experience, pure foam talent and skills and overall experience. The players who fall in that third tier should not be disappointed as a variety of factors contribute to my own bias and do not mean that those players won’t deserve a spot next year. For this year, however, the top two groups are the best of the best.
It is also important to note that I haven’t seen most East Coast players play foam this year as they haven’t made it out to a majority of the tournaments mentioned previously. But that doesn’t mean I don’t see them making the top nine depending on a strong combine performance. That could definitely happen. Matt and Drew Giovinco, Sam Jones, Cody Stidham and Chris Zelinsky might lead the push to make it on the top nine as they’ve been on this team in years past and have performed on this stage. Needless to say, I don’t envy the selection committee as none of this is easy and they could go in so many different directions.
Without further ado, here is a look at Team USA solely from my perspective and opinion. I have no horse in this race beyond wanting the best USA team possible. Please also note that I have no say in the actual team being selected and I wish everyone competing at the combine best of luck.
The First Tier
1. Nate Kreiter
This former USA team captain led Team USA to a silver medal in 2014 and a gold medal in 2015. Nate is one of the best foam players in the country and arguably one of the best clutch players in dodgeball (there’s a reason he was ranked the second-best player in all of dodgeball). Playing on the left corner, there is no better player to play that position than him, with talent, smarts, patience and discipline to boot. His ability to lead a team makes him a strong choice to once again be the captain of this team.
2. Eric Stone
Another second former Team USA captain, Eric has been the captain of this team the last two years. While their finishes have been less than ideal in two fourth place finishes, it hasn’t been because of his play. Eric is another person that can make the claim that he’s one of the best foam players in the US. Furthermore, he went on to win almost every foam tournament he played in this year. Similar to Nate, Eric plays one of the best right corners with talent and discipline, essential traits for any corner.
3. Andrew Ketchum
Still the most feared arm in dodgeball, even in foam, Andrew has a great case to be on this team. He was a member of the 2015 USA team that took gold, and played a significant role as the “hammer.” In addition to his power, he’s got great hands and instincts, making him perfect for the middle position. The strength of his arm is so great that he doesn’t need to go all the way up to the line, which helps protect him and give him more time to avoid counters to the thrower, a popular foam strategy that paved Malaysia’s way to Gold in 2017. Big advantage Ketchum and USA.
4. Derek Johnson
The first player to not be a former member of Team USA in any year. If Derek doesn’t make this team, something is seriously wrong, especially considering he was just crowned Tournament MVP of the National Dodgeball Festival. He brought clutch catches and throws left and right playing on Oh Hi! with the other four on this list. He is a perfect addition to Team USA as he plays middle as well as almost anyone in dodgeball. Lastly, like Eric, he has won almost every foam tournament he has played in this year. Winning matters, period.
I believe those four players are shoe-ins to make the team as their play and résumé, at least for this year, speak for themselves.
The Second Tier
The nomenclature “Second Tier” means nothing more than basing the decision process as a second tier. It should not be construed as meaning that players’ skills and what they might bring to the team are necessarily less than the players above. For that reason, these players are listed alphabetically by last name, and not in order or capability.
The following five spots will be extremely difficult to choose from. Players who I think (again, just my opinion) up for the final five spots are the following:
Ish Blanco — Part of the 2015 Gold Medal USA team, he’s played at the highest level year in and year out. He makes a great case to be on this team as his clutch play speaks for itself (without his clutch hit against Australia, Team USA would not have gone on to win their only Gold Medal).
Dillon Clark-Oden — One of the strongest foam players on the West Coast. He’s been there before and plays a great middle with both a great arm and great catching. He’s also a true team player, which will be critical for this squad. His teams have won a lot this year and he’s a big reason why.
Cody Foley —As the returning Tournament MVP from the 2017 WDBF, he has a great case for being selected. He provides the team with a solid backup left corner to Kreiter. He also brings a complete foam game with accuracy, catching prowess and the ability to play without a ball.
Tim Fullerton —One of the best captains in all of Dodgeball. Also has one of the best strategic minds in the game and can motivate players to buy in to a game plan and put egos aside for the greater goal of winning. While foam isn’t admittedly this 8.5" veteran’s preferred style, that shouldn’t deter the selection committee from adding an overall great player.
Brody Johnson — He’s been the hottest players in Dodgeball these past seven months, putting on a series of clinics in foam. He’s provided big catches and solid hits from the middle position, which bodes (pun intended) well for him making the team. Will it continue at the combine and in sufficient quantity for him to make the squad?
Vince Marchbanks — One of the best all-around players in the game. His competition to make the team is both Tim Fullerton and Eric Stone as both play his position. But he’s a great foam player, a former USA Gold medalist and among the best team players in the game. Vince has proven time and again that he’ll do whatever it takes for his team to win, even at the expense of his own game.
Justin Payan — Payan is Ketchum’s competition for the best player in the middle position. As the best 8.5" player in the country, acknowledging that foam is not his best style really doesn’t mean terribly much. He’s still an absolutely great player who’s been on this team many times in the past. His knack for coming through in the clutch when the pressure is at its greatest cannot be overappreciated.
Isidro Perez — He may have the most raw talent in foam of any of the players in this tier. He was a Team USA member last year and was a one-man highlight reel at times. If he can find a little more consistency at the combine, especially in high pressure/big moments, he definitely could make this team.
The Third Tier
The “Third Tier” is comprised of great players no doubt, but unfortunately, in my opinion, they are less likely to make Team USA this year, because their talent may not match up with their experience (or vice versa), or their preferred position places them up against some other players listed above who may be slightly better for a variety of reasons, whether based on skill or “intangibles” (this may boil down to an individual simply being more likely than most to come through in the clutch and propel their team to victory).
Since the home country has needed to provide two teams to make an even ten teams for Round Robin the previous two years, the players most likely to make the USA B Team (or what will most likely become “Team Los Angeles”):
Three players from the top tiers will unfortunately not make the main squad and will likely join with six players from the third tier, listed below:
The Fourth Tier
Finally, again, a big congratulations to all the players invited to the Team USA combine. Here are the rest of the forty players who have earned a chance to represent Team USA in the WDBF. While I see their chances for selection as lower than the others listed above, there’s no denying that these players are immensely talented and a huge part of the future of the sport on a national and international level.
Justin Ashby
Kevin Bailey
Miles Brodie
Scott Bronson
Kris DeJesus
Shade Dern
Jalen Gardner
Miles Garner
Jonathan Harper
Eli Hashimoto
Miki Hashimoto
Jake Hebert
Mikael Koiv
Devin McManus
Colin O’Brien
Tyler Steffy
Joe Tats
Nicholas Vanegas
