All-Campus IRL Tournament Study (The Teams)
Drafted by Sam Selle, Proofread & Edited by Dana Dixon and Emmanuel Cureton
TLDR: Read the “In summary” points at the end of each team analysis
Disclaimer:
I would like to start by addressing the fact that I have bias and, specifically in this article, a positive bias towards the southwest. I’ve tried my best to objectively analyze the teams these amazing GMs have put together, but since that’s impossible please take these thoughts with a grain of salt. (Also, consider the fact that I’m personally on Tate’s team in more ways than one 😅 and the nature of this draft is fantasy).
Intro:
From the perspective of a graduating senior who loves thinking about the what-ifs in quidditch, the concept of an All-Campus tournament is very enticing. I wanted to share my thoughts on how this theoretical event would play out if it were to really happen. We’ll first take a look at the individual teams categorized into tiers. Next we will focus on a few select matches that are particularly interesting in my mind. If you’re asking yourself, “What draft?” or, “How did it even work again?” skip to the bottom and read the explanation before starting from the top. If your attention span isn’t long enough to read all the way through, read the TLDR above.
Hope y’all enjoy and remember, quidditch is both a sport and a community
Note: All players and teams when listed are alphabetical by first name/word. Then second name/word if necessary. You may also notice the use of “aspiring” in place of “young” and “established” in place of “old”. I did this with the intention of testing out some new terminology as both “young” and “old” have fairly negative connotations in the community. Lastly, when ranking these teams I tried to equally weigh both the proven success of the players and teams drafted as well as the ability of a GM to present a systematic and well thought out team.
Quidditch Strategy Terminology:
For those new to the sport of quidditch, here are some terms used in this study and what they mean.
2-2 Defense/Zone: A style of defense characterized by a chaser guarding one side hoop and the keeper guarding the other two hoops. The other two chasers play closer to the opposing ball carriers while staying between the hoops and their opponent. Beaters in this formation often stay by their hoops and only look to beat if an opponent gets to close.
Man-to-man defense: A style of defense characterized by a keeper guarding the hoops and the three chasers playing close to the opposing chasers, while staying between their opponent and the hoops. Beater positioning is often independent of this defense.
Press: When a defending beater(s) sees an opportunity to beat the opposing ball carrier. This can possibly result in a turnover if the opposing ball carrier is beat and a friendly quaffle player retrieves the ball.
The Teams: Categorized using cross-country terms cause why not?
The Frontrunners: Kellan’s and Tate’s Teams
The Regional Champs Team-Up (Kellan Cupid): As the new Madonna, Kellan has decided to continue the tradition of placing his alma mater in its rightful place, he also makes a nod to UTSA 😁. Jokes aside, this team is scary. With a first line of the southwest regional champs UTSA (Carlos Prado, Matt Blackwood, Tyler Zreet) headed by the one and only Daniel Williams, backed up by the northeast regional champs NYU (Antoine Giron, Kate Martinez, Kellan Cupid, Michelle Loree, Seamus Slade) along with some other key talents (“cough” Finn McGarghan, Justin Dewick, Kayse Bevers, Shaniah Carroll “cough”) Kellan has made a very strong team. I discuss below why I think specifically top southwest teams currently have an edge over other top teams.
Suffice it to say that they’re athletes to begin with who are then taught quidditch by the best of the best, and UTSA is one of those top teams. NYU on the other hand is an interesting decision strategically, but it makes sense when you consider we’re all going to favor our own teams. While I think NYU is extremely sound defensively, they have shown to struggle to pull games out of range before SOP against other top teams. This is normally fine because Kellan Cupid and Seamus Slade are clutch, but you don’t always get the chance to be clutch (Ex: The Atlantic Challenge). Note: the Atlantic Challenge was an exhibition between Harvard, Maryland, NYU and Tufts where NYU played two out of three of their games out of range and ended the tournament with a record of 0-3. What I find most interesting about his team though, is that both these teams play very physical defense and so it’s possible that Kellan could mix and match if he sees fit.
In summary, Kellan’s team is very scary, both for the other GMs and myself. (I hate playing against the 2-2).
Texas (Tate Kay): In more ways than one, Tate’s team is built around the word Texas. His first line is almost exclusively composed of Texas Quidditch players (Aidan Parsi, Jack Wang, John Anderson, Josh Johnson) and the other members of his first and second lines are majority from the state of Texas (Carsyn Dietz, Ian Quncy, John Alvarez, McKenzie O’Neal, Meghan Orsak). The literal three exceptions to this rule are Isabel Moran from Michigan, Noah Rindock from Maryland, and Tessa Mullins from Emerson. He even called Maryland “The Texas of the North” when talking about how his second line mimics that team. With that being said, there’s a reason Tate decided to stick to his home; Texas is really good at quidditch.
Texas Quidditch has long been known for recruiting exceptional athletes with sports backgrounds and teaching them to play quidditch. These raw talents get trained by some of the best players from the club scene. Aaryan, Augie, Erin, Hallie, Josh, Kaci, Marty and Simon (to name a few) often visit or are regulars at their Friday night practices. These college students have the privilege of scrimmaging on a weekly basis with these legends and are given feedback on an individual level as well as from a team standpoint. Other top programs in the state of Texas have a similar structure which is why Tate picked from them once he ran out of Texas Quidditch players.
Tate has a ton of options for winning during SOP. He has the Johns, John Alvarez and John Anderson, who are both experienced seekers in their own right as well as McKenzie, an extremely fast seeker. The question I have though-- will he stick with the core of Texas beating (Jack Wang, Richmond Kneeling, Sam Selle), run Tessa and Meghan (who both play SOP minutes), or some other combo?
In summary, Texas is scary and good at quidditch.
The Elites: Naresh’s and Sena’s Teams
OG Fantasy Tournament Champs (Naresh Edala): I secretly wish I’d been picked by Naresh to be on his team (don’t tell Tate), because his team revolves around chaos beating and fastbreaks. Imagine how scary it would be to go against the intelligent, yet chaotic, beaters of Emmanuel Cureton, Kobe Kendall, Kylie Mintzer, Rachel England! More importantly, with lock down point defenders like Christian Cortez, Davis Roe, Daniel Belton, and John Sheridan, his defense will create offense. Both in his 2-2 line lead by Emmanuel Cureton and Kylie Mintzer as well as his THC style line lead by Kobe Kendall and Rachel England. If this team gets enough momentum during a match, they will steamroll any of these teams with their dynamic style of play.
However, I think his team has a weakness. The problem that I have with this team is the fact that the modern 2-2 meta was developed in large part to counter chaos beating and fast breaks. It gives beater pairs a crutch in the form of a respawn button next to them (You can see how much I love the 2-2 here). Also, the 2-2 makes it almost impossible to drive on because its chasers can both play help defense and cover the hoops at the same time. These factors hinder Naresh’s team and, to finish it off, when you consider the fact that this style of play is heavily dependent on beaters, he better hope they don’t get tired.
There is a bright spot though, he has one of the most versatile seeking crews. His seeker line up not only includes Christian Cortez, Daniel Belton, Leo Fried, and Thomas Jaworski, but also Maya Hinebaugh. If he wants to pull quickly he can go Christian, Daniel, Leo, or Thomas, but if he needs to stall for a bit Maya is there to let him run his big boi line and then sneak a pull once they're in-range! Also, if all else fails Kobe can pull to save the day. 😁
In summary, Naresh’s team will go up 50 points in 10 minutes if you’re not ready.
Style Matching and Chemistry Masterpiece (Sena Morimoto): If this draft was about who was the best draftsperson, Sena would win hands down. Unfortunately, that’s not the case, and we need to analyze the team he’s created, not the GM. In the words of the great Raghu Achukola (I know him as Rags!), “The picks that have always made me the most impressed are the ones that are just like, oh, of course you’d go there because looking at the team, how could you not? That was the obvious choice.” In my opinion this is what Sena’s team is. He went out of his way to collect top tier talent and pairings of players who have great chemistry. I’m talking about Luke Meissner, Baldemar Nunez and Kat Hayworth, Darian Murcek-Ellis and Laura Levin (and don’t forget about the one-man army Connor McIntyre). He helped his team out with some extremely physical seekers (Aidan Phipps, Connor McIntyre, Jayden Gilstrapn, and TJ Generette) that can bully any snitch runner. It’s very easy to see how stylistically his team fits together despite being from across the country (he obviously did his research) and how many options he has. Maybe he has Luke and Kayse do their signature pass and score, maybe he gives the ball to Connor to drive and draw the beat, or even just wait for Baldemar and Kat to blow up the defense.
My biggest concern with Sena’s team is how slow paced this team is compared to the rest. Most of his players have a very patient style of play which serves him fine during offense, but makes it much harder to be out of range before SOP starts. This problem grows when you consider how athletic engage beaters are usually favored for SOP (I don't totally agree with this), and his beaters do not play that way. If his beaters can’t get his seekers any looks they won’t get the chance to show their skills. That’s not to say he can’t win SOP, just that his team may have to win the SOP coin flip multiple times in succession.
In summary, Sena found a team we never knew existed.
The Pack: Serena’s and Zeke’s Teams
The Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (Serena Monteiro): Serena and Tate must have made a bet before the draft about who’s region is best because they both stayed close to home for this draft. Just to clarify, that is to say Serena drafted almost exclusively from the northeast and mid-atlantic. She drafted top talents from NYU (Frank Minson), Tufts (Athena Mayor and John Parish), Maryland (Heather Farnan and Zain Bhaila), and UVA (Claree Kepplin and Matthew Cooper). It’s easy to see these players playing together, given how much time they spend around each other on and off the pitch, and with exotic talent like Dana Dixon, Hayden McClary, and Raeann Barnes, it’s apparent that this team focuses on brains above raw athleticism. My guess is that Serena will run her northeast talent first followed by her mid-atlantic neighbors for two very solid lines.
Now let’s pivot, when all things are considered the northeast was the strongest region this past season, but there’s an important distinction that needs to be made. While the average northeast (NE) team is more competitive than your average southwest (SW) or mid-atlantic (MA) team, I think the opposite is true for the top teams in these regions. When you compare the powerhouses of these regions this season:
o SHSU, Texas, & UTSA for the SW
o Maryland & UVA for the MA
o Harvard, NYU, & Tufts for NE
the biggest difference is that these SW and MA teams have a healthy dose of physicality when compared to the NE. I genuinely believe that in a few years the NEs passing-based offense will beat any raw power advantage, but they’re just not quite there yet.
In summary, Serena is ahead of her time.
All-Star Lineup + Michigan (Zeke Majeske): I’ma be honest, I wasn't the biggest fan of Zeke’s team at the start. Not because I don’t think it was good, but because he had the benefit of being first pick. I felt that the commentators basically handed him his first and last pick of each round for the first half of the draft on a silver platter (except that first pick, who even is this Tate guy?). That’s not to say he didn’t get good picks though, because Abby Potter, Ade Arjona, Allie Messenger, Mack Morgan, and even Tate Kay are ballers! He also made the decision to list all of his players as utility which made it even more confusing for me.😅 He did elaborate on why he did this though.
It should be noted that he redeemed himself when he created a 2nd line composed of Michigan players (Ellie Grifka, Tyler Thomas, Zeke Majeske) because that team is disciplined! The college scene this past season was framed as the SW, NE, MA, and Michigan. It's apparent from the public film they post (check out their amazing YouTube channel) and their results why he chose Michigan. This team is a modern sports-minded quidditch organization. He's also taken other Great Lake talents to pair alongside them (Nick Hoffman and Max Jolly are the real deal), but back to Michigan. After winning the regional finals against Ball State, Michigan was poised to make a run for the final four before COVID struck. If Zeke can find a unifying factor for his first line, he can rest a bit knowing his college's team will hold their own against any other 2nd line.
In summary, while I fear Zeke bribed the commentators, he created a solid team.
Playing Spoiler: Fiona’s and Kobe’s Teams
The Carole Baskins (Fiona Wisehart): Personally, I had the hardest time following Fiona’s draft plan out of all the GM’s. It felt like she switched directions several times, but I think I was just reading it wrong. Fiona has created a very fast team that loves to fast break. Just imagine how hard a line of Ellie Lisec, Hayden Boyes, Joe Goulet, Renn Leber flanked by Fiona Wisehart and Michael Chenevey would be to stop in the open field! Honestly, I’m not even sure what her first line is because all of her players seem to fit that style of play so well.
However, as I elaborate on above, I’m afraid that in the current 2-2 meta that her team will have a hard time getting up and running. Despite this concern she made sure to have a backup plan: top tier seekers and chaos beaters. Given the dynamic beating styles of Bradley Himes, Fiona Wisehart, Michael Chenevey, and Tess Acosta, and the clutch seekers in Hayden Boyes, Henry Baer-Benson and Maddison Jordan it’s quite easy to see how, if the game is in snitch range, there is a very real chance of her team pulling to win. Or in other words, they might, “Pull a Rochester". For the aspiring audience, at USQ Cup 11, Rochester pulled off a massive upset against the heavy favorites of Texas Quidditch to win nationals! There is a very real chance of Fiona’s seekers pulling the snitch out from her opponent's nose if herteam is in-range at SOP (Also, RIP Texas 11).
In summary, make sure to get out of range of her team before SOP or you'll regret it...
The Future of College Offense (Kobe Kendall): At the start of the draft I was like, “That’s cool Kobe, but you’re going to get wrecked when you go against good defense.” The longer I thought about it the more I felt like no college defense was going to be able to stop the precision and coordination of the team he was constructing. For his first line he specifically chose extremely quick and agile players who also have great awareness, passing skills and positioning (Elijah Phipps, Ian Scura, Mel Kite). Along with probably the highest IQ beater pair in the draft, (Justin Van Ligten and Serena Monteiro) who can consistently create opportunities for their team to capitalize on, this makes for a well oiled scoring machine. I’m personally a fan of the idea of Mel Kite appearing out of nowhere and tapping a pin-point accurate pass from Ian Scura for a quick and clean score. Kobe then rounds out his team with some established southwest players (the collective age of Eric Reyes & John Molina alone 😁) and some newer talents from the region (Averie Messenger, Cameron Villamil, Caroline Tao).
I think where his team will struggle most is on defense. It’s no secret that in the college meta physicality prevents goals, and while his second line has it, his first line does not. If his first line can score twice as often as their opponents though, it won't matter. While his beater line is extremely intelligent, their play styles don’t lend themselves to outright winning against equal opponents. They won’t lose a matchup because they are too smart for that but neither will they outright win it. If we’re being honest though John Molina’s heckling skills are more than enough to generate at least a few wins.
In summary, Kobe has seen the future, but we’re in the present.
Conclusion:
If you made it this far and actually read what I had to share, I want to personally thank you. I genuinely love quidditch and want to help it grow as both a sport and a community. Sharing my thoughts in my own way (like this article) is how I'm trying to do that. Like a lot of things in life I couldn't have done this alone. I was supported by both friends and the community as a whole. Specifically, I’d like to shout out Dana Dixon and Emmanuel Cureton for proofreading and editing as well as everyone who helped share this article!
Tournament Outline:
This fantasy tournament, the All-Campus Cup, was hosted by The Eighthman. Over the past 2 months the draft has captivated the aspiring community’s attention and has shown that college students know how to think strategically. Logistically, using a serpentine draft style, the 8 college or recent college graduate GMs create teams of 14 players. They must follow the rules of USQ Rulebook 13 in terms of both hypothetical play and gender balance. Also, to be eligible, a player must have played in the 2019-2020 USQ season for a collegiate team. Each week the draft goes through 2 rounds of drafting until all teams have been drafted. The GMs would then have a theoretical month of training time to develop chemistry and strategies on their teams. At the end of the month, the teams would play in a tournament to decide the champions!
In reality, a public vote is held in tandem with an unbiased group of analysts. Each GM has a paragraph to talk up their teams as well as a video where they defend their team on the theoretical pitch!
