2025 College Qualifier Previews: Garland
Author: Jack Levy
PC: Kielan Donahue Photography
Introduction
Saturday kicks off the start of this season's qualifiers in Garland, Texas. Normally, Southwest Regionals is one of the last places college teams can grab bids to nationals, but with the new format taking hold this weekend the southwest teams will be the first to punch their tickets to Virginia. For the past two seasons, Southwest Qualifiers has been a rollercoaster and this year looks to be no different. With the new shift of qualifiers starting in February, you might have missed the early season tournaments and need a refresher on the college teams as the road to Richmond starts tomorrow. Well look no further as we recap the first couple months of college quadball and preview Saturday’s action.
Baylor University
Baylor is returning back to the Southwest Qualifier after vying for a bid in the northeast last season. While they came up short of a bid in Boston, they were able to snag an at-large D2 bid in 2024. In Round Rock they were able to knock off a favored Michigan State and play a tight game against Cal, the eventual D2 champions. While Baylor hasn’t played in too many tournaments in the fall, they are gearing up for the second half of the college season. The Bears will look to continue their momentum from last season as they face some of their competitors closer to home.
Baylor is entering Southwest Qualifiers with one of the youngest rosters not just in the Southwest but in quadball. Just over a fourth of their roster is playing in their first quadball tournament ever, looking to gain critical experience before nationals. Fortunately, coach Jackson Vaughn, who you may also hear on the mic this weekend, will guide the young team. In the beating game Heather Hellwig, Mason Kearns, and Abigail Murschell will lead the way. The team is also bringing back vital chasers from last years’ run in Faith Edens, Jax Franz, and Ryan Kaiser. Entering Garland, Baylor will be looking to integrate their new players with their experienced veterans from last years’ D2 semifinal run. While a D1 bid is unlikely, the team is guaranteed to take a D2 bid and will look to use this tournament as a way to prepare for their season down the road in Richmond.
Sam Houston State University
After finishing third in the 2023 Southwest Regional and second in the 2024 Southwest Qualifier, Sam Houston State is looking to take home the qualifier crown. With a final-four run in 2023 and an early 2024 bracket exit, falling to the University of Virginia, SHSU is looking to bounce back and make a deeper run in 2025. This weekend, the team is facing their familiar in-state rivals, one of whom they’ve already played twice this year. Texas State was able to beat the Bearkats by 75 and 40 at Breakfast Taco. Sam Houston State will look for their revenge this weekend, as they piece together their new roster after some stars graduated last season.
Luckily, the Bearkats are bringing in a handful of players who are coming off some of their best summers in MLQ playing for League City. In the beating game, Gabi Lopez and Conner Mason played major minutes for the Legends and the pair will likely continue their large role in Garland. Lopez and Mason improved statistically, both in average dodgeballs and in stops, from 2023 to 2024. Their boosts over the summer will certainly carry over onto the field this weekend. In the chasing game, all eyes will be on Andrew Acosta. The young keeper is a strong point defender and scorer for SHSU. Acosta was one goal and two assists away from putting up a triple-double in his first MLQ season. The team is also bringing back some important pieces on last years’ team in Ashton Butler, Billy Nellums, and Elena Rodriguez. This weekend will give the Bearkats’ veterans a chance to shine while we get to learn about how their newer players look. Sam Houston State is entering Garland looking to leave with one of the two D1 bids and, hopefully, as the number one team in the southwest.
Texas State University
Texas State is looking to make a statement this weekend. The Bobcats have been searching to reestablish their dominance since the pandemic, and Texas State is on a clear path to rise back to the top this year. In 2024, the team shocked the quadball world at nationals when they upset heavy favorite Rutgers in the first round of bracket play. The stunning win seemed to be a sign of things to come for Texas State. They enter this weekend as the favorites to win the qualifier. The team has beaten SHSU twice and won in a golden-goal game against UTSA so far this season. They also only lost to Creighton by 25 points at Diamond Cup. For reference, they lost to them by 195 points at last years’ nationals. From finishing as the D2 runner-up two seasons ago, pulling off a shocking upset in Round Rock, and clawing their way as a clear top five team this season, Texas State has been a story of resilience. They are looking to carry that momentum into this weekend and put their diamonds up with a D1 bid and as qualifier champions.
Leading the squad is David Avila. The USNTDA chaser would be on everyone’s shortlist for MVP. Avila is an electric scorer, who can do damage in transition. He also has experience leading an MLQ team as a coach this past season for the San Antonio Soldados, where he put up 380 points on the season. Avila is hardly the only Soldado playing for Texas State this season as the team is bringing over four more San Antonio chasers from MLQ. Catherine Hay, who finished second in assists for San Antonio over the summer, is playing a critical role for Texas State this year. Also look for Anna Dickerson to see an increased role this season and play major minutes throughout the qualifiers. Texas State’s chasing depth goes well-beyond these three, both in MLQ experience and talent. Expect the team to increase the pace to establish their fast-paced tempo in Garland. The main question for Texas State remains in the beating game. All season Julie Picasso has led the Texas State beaters, bringing a summer on the Austin Outlaws to the college game. However, Picasso is not rostered for the qualifier, leaving room for more beaters to step up. Texas State will likely see increased minutes from their other MLQ-veteran Brandy Gomez, who played in Austin over the summer. This Texas State team’s talent and experience at a high-level gives them a great chance to finish first this weekend. The Southwest Qualifier is just the first step for this teams’ aspirations as they have their eyes set on raising the US Quadball Cup in Richmond. This weekend will tell the quadball world whether Texas State is a true contender come April.
University of Texas - Austin
If you started playing quadball before the pandemic, you likely think of Texas Quadball as a perennial powerhouse that was unrivaled in college. It all culminated in 2022, when we saw Texas complete an undefeated season and put together arguably the best roster in the history of college quadball. Since Salt Lake City, the Longhorns have not been the same championship powerhouse. However, just because Texas no longer holds a championship-or-bust standard, does not mean you should sleep on this team. In 2023 and 2024, the Longhorns proved that they are still a strong team that can take out someone of the heavy favorites of the quadball world. Last year at qualifiers they played tight games against UTSA and SHSU, and at nationals took down a Virginia team that ended up making the final four. While they haven’t had the same success so far this year, the Longhorns are looking to steal a D1 bid this weekend. Texas is no longer the championship-winning machine they once were, but that extremely high standard doesn’t mean they haven’t been successful in past seasons, and this qualifier should prove to be no different.
Leading the Longhorns’ 2025 run is Ella Jordan. The senior is coming off a summer of MLQ in Austin and has been a staple for the program. Jordan finishes as a top ten scorer on a strong Outlaw squad and will likely be one of the leading scorers for the Longhorns over the weekend. Another familiar face taking the field this weekend is Will Spencer. Spencer, also a former Outlaw, is known for solidifying the game winning catch in the 2022 national championship and is now an experienced veteran for Texas. While the beating game doesn’t have the same level of MLQ experience as some of their chasers, the Longhorn beaters can still cause trouble for opposing teams. Look for Hannah Cotten, Mason Schlatholt, and Tyler Shearin to play heavy minutes. While Texas certainly isn’t favored at this qualifier, they can leave Garland with a D1 bid if they can control the game at their pace, by slowing down teams that often play in high scoring games.
University of Texas - San Antonio
For the past couple seasons UTSA has been nothing but dominant. The Roadrunners won US Quadball Cup in 2023 and came in second in 2024. Back to back finals appearances and four USNTDA additions demonstrates just how strong this team has been since the fall of 2022. Despite their proven wins, this season raises more questions for UTSA than ever before. All four of their USNTDA players are now playing at the club level, and the Roadrunners went 0-2 at Diamond Cup. That being said, it would be a mistake to sleep on the team that has won two Southwest Qualifiers and played in the National Championship game twice in the past two years. While UTSA has certainly lost more major pieces than arguably other college team in the country, they still have phenomenal players ready to three-peat at Southwest Qualifiers.
The UTSA chasers, even with their major roster losses, still boast an extreme amount of experience. Out of their eleven rostered chasers, seven of them played for the San Antonio Soldados this past summer. Leading charge for the chasers is Emme Gouveia. The veteran Gouveia played a significant role for UTSA in their past two finals runs and is bringing two seasons of MLQ experience. Gouveia is a vital scorer for the Roadrunners and in order to stop UTSA’s efficient offense, opposing teams will need to slow her down. If defenses pay too much attention to Gouveia, expect Terra Robinson to capitalize. Robinson will likely be one of the leading scorers on the whole weekend. UTSA also has one of the strongest, if not the strongest, beater pair in the Southwest in Kyle Bryant and Javier Tijerina. If Bryant and Tijerina are dominant, they can take over games when they face opponents at the qualifier. Also expect Samantha Watson to see increased minutes coming off her first season in MLQ. If the veteran UTSA beaters can hold control, they can cruise to their third Southwest Qualifier in a row.
Must See Matchups
The eye-popping matchup on the weekend is a UTSA vs Texas State rematch. At Diamond Cup in early November, Texas State won 140 to 130. Everybody loves a next-goal-wins scenario where the beaters need to choose between quadball and the flag runner. When these two meet again this weekend, the quadball community will be gifted another nail-biter. For UTSA to win, they will need good ball movement to avoid one-on-one matchups against the Texas State chasers and find open cutters around the hoops. The Roadrunner veteran beaters will also need control to generate a high amount of scoring opportunities. UTSA has the edge in the beater game, and the more the beaters can get involved, the more likely UTSA can avenge their early season loss. Meanwhile, Texas State will look to score by speeding up the tempo. If UTSA settles into a half-court defense, Texas State will struggle to find scoring opportunities. However, if Texas State can get out in transition, they would be near impossible to stop. Control will be the name of the game. If UTSA holds control, transition goals for Texas State will be difficult to come by and the UTSA chasers can find scoring opportunities. If Texas State can hold control, their defense can generate a fast-paced game that gives their chasers plenty of scoring opportunities. Expect the stream to be teeming with viewers if these teams meet in the finals.
Another matchup that could come down to the wire is SHSU vs UTSA. Both SHSU and UTSA have beaters with plenty of MLQ experience, and control could be more split than it has been in years past. That being said, UTSA will look to push their beater strength. Questions also lay in the chasing game for both teams. UTSA and SHSU have plenty of talented goal scorers, but there is no doubt the teams will look different from last season. Both of these teams have lost their primary scorers from the three years and this matchup will highlight which chasers on each team are ready to take over a powerhouse offense. With dodgeballs flying all over the place and each team having strong finishers around the hoops, expect this game to be one of the highest scoring affairs of the weekend. The winner of this matchup might grab the final D1 bid, assuming Texas State takes the other one. An SHSU vs UTSA game will not only be close, but symbolic over the future of the Southwest.
Predictions
Champion: Texas State
D1 Bids: Texas State, UTSA
D2 Bids: Baylor, SHSU, Texas
