Fast Takes with Fast Break: League City Legends
Author: Chase Contreras
PC: MLQ
League City Legends: Shooting for the Stars
After coming off of the worst season League City Legends have seen since their inception, the question coming into this season is- what now? Is it to find a new identity with a new roster or simply fix last season's problems and try to make a surprise run at champs that nobody expects? Last MLQ season, Legends had two players in the top ten for goals scored, but those same players in the top three for turnovers: Hayden Boyes and breakout rookie Great Usiaphre. With Boyes now taking control as Head Coach this season, will a change in leadership propel Legends to a new and improved record while eliminating high turnover numbers from across the team?
At their first series last season, against the eventual MLQ Champions the Austin Outlaws, there looked to be signs of promise and hope for the Legends, especially in the second game of the series with a catch by Mitchell Bauer, but at the end of the day the veteran heavy Austin came out on top, going 3-0 comfortably. Their next, and final, home series was where the Legends would pick up their only win of the season in Game 1 against a young and short-handed Kansas City Stampede. Following that win, the Legends were not able to capitalize on their momentum, and would also not be able to find a solution for MLQ rookie standout and USQ Creighton star Riley Usami, falling in the next two games and ending the series 1-2. In their third series of the summer, the Legends traveled to New Orleans where they would face a veteran led Curse team and would fall short in all three games, losing by a close fifteen points in two of the games. Losing this series took them out of contention for MLQ Champs, as even if they had beat the San Antonio Soldados, Curse would still have the tie-breaker for 4th place. The final series of the season would take Legends to San Antonio, finishing out the season going 0-3. Legends ended their season going 1-11.
Returning Players: 18
Ashton Butler (SHSU BearKats)
Mallory Hughes (SHSU BearKats)
Ashton Jean-Lewis (Southwest Alliance)
Brandon Kubena (Southwest Alliance) *AC
Sarah Stewart (Southwest Alliance)
Great Usiaphre (SHSU BearKats)
Hayden Boyes (SHSU BearKats) *HC
Aaron Price (Southwest Alliance)
Caleigh Duvall (SHSU BearKats)
Kyle Easter (Southwest Alliance)
Carlos Elarba (Southwest Alliance)
Gabi Lopez (SHSU BearKats)
Conner Mason (SHSU BearKats)
Kevin Raber (Unaffiliated)
Juan Acevedo (Southwest Alliance)
Chris Dorsey (Texas Hill Country Heat)
Chase Contreras (SHSU BearKats)
Jimmie Evans (Southwest Alliance)
New Players: 12
Madison Metcalf (Texas A&M University)
Billy Nellums (SHSU BearKats)
Raymundo Nuñez (Texas State)
Travis Ward (Unaffiliated)
Kiara Webber (Southwest Alliance)
Nathan Wilkinson (Unaffiliated)
Andrew Acosta (SHSU BearKats)
Dylan Mandel (Texas A&M University)
Christina Guckes (Southwest Alliance)
Baldemar Nuñez (Texas Hill Country Heat)
Swathi Mannem (Texas Longhorns)
Alec Webber (Southwest Alliance)
Breakdown:
College: 14
SHSU BearKats: 10
Texas A&M: 2
UT (Longhorns): 1
Texas State: 1
Club: 16
Southwest Alliance: 11
Texas Hill Country Heat: 2
Unaffiliated: 3
Notable Losses:
Morgan Acevedo
Grace Jester
Kennedy McFarland
Lisa Reisenauer
Jose Reyes
Mary Stewart
Eli Tice
Katie Whitney
Mitchell Bauer
Alex Kinsel
Shawnee Vaughn
Jackson Vaughn
The Season Ahead:
The first series of the year for these Legends is at home in Huntsville, Texas, and for the Sam Houston State University Bearkats players, on their home field, where they will face a veteran-led, but young, Austin Outlaws. This is nowhere near the same Outlaws we saw last year and other years past though, with notable departures in Josh Johnson and Michael Parada to the New York Titans, Miguel Esparza and Daniel Williams back to Soldados, and the retirements of Augustine Monroe and Kaci Erwin. Outlaws does have the addition of Jay Stewart, some young additions in their chaser core, and multiple pick ups in their beating core, so the Legends will have to redefine their game plan quickly if they wish to take games against a high expectations Outlaws team. In the first series of the season though, this Legends team might be the best bet and an early reality check that the South division is more competitive this season. With a core of players that have played multiple USQ and MLQ seasons together and know how to work with each other whether that be from playing together at SHSU or with SWA, this iteration of Legends has a yet undefined identity.
The second series of the summer for Legends finds themselves in New Orleans to face another veteran-led team, the New Orleans Curse. This Legends beating core will have their work cut out for them as they go up against arguably some of the best beaters in quadball- a veteran beater core of Josh Mansfield, Alex Pucciarelli, Sarah Kneiling, and Michael Sanders. With the addition of Baldemar Nuñez to lead the Legends beating core, they have the potential to break the curse and come away with a stronger showing than 2023 (swept by the short-handed Curse). Legends have always been regarded as one of the most physical teams in quadball, but so is Curse. Will the Legends this year be able to keep that same level of intensity while also being skilled enough to win these crucial games and better solidify their chance for a qualifying bid to championship?
The third series of the summer finds the Legends back at their launch pad to take on the San Antonio Soldados. Legends will look to take advantage of the loss of Jay Stewart, while also creating counters for the return of league leading scorer Miguel Esparza and top beater Daniel Williams. Experience against Curse will be a good preparation for another veteran beating core across Soldados- Kris De La Fuente, Javi Tijerina, Jess Markle, potentially Milena Sousa’s utility play. The biggest advantage Legends might have is a better distribution of chaser talent across all chaser lines with new rookie Andrew Acosta and Texas Longhorn Swathi Mannem- they’ll need to take advantage of Soldados’s holes in chaser depth to take the win.
For their last and final series before a hopeful return to MLQ Champs, the Legends will fly all the way to Topeka, Kansas where they will face off against a strong and young Kansas City Stampede. The Legends are going to have their work cut out with this strong and aggressive team led by very young talent out of Creighton, Mizzou, and respective other programs. This Stampede looks very similar to the one Legends faced last year at its core, yet boasts notable additions in Lauren Smith, Ryan Mehio, and Chanun Ong. These additions add even more depth to their beater core in Ong, physicality in Mehio, and off ball threats on offense and defense in Smith. As Stampede adds more toughness to their lines, Legends will need to use the veteran leadership that they have to their advantage if they hope to take more than just one game off of the Stampede this time around, for a potential series win.
Season Potentials:
Legends have the talent and leadership from their coaches and veteran players to make a strong run to qualify for MLQ Champs. In their first series of the year, they have the potential to take at least a game off of the Outlaws. While the Outlaws have a lot of high-level talent, Legends has shown an ability to distribute their talent throughout their depth. Outlaws may start off strong, but those players cannot play the entire game and leave an opportunity for Legends to take the advantage. If they can’t take a win from the Outlaws, Legends should look to get any kinks in their play out early so they aren’t struggling later in the season.
When it comes time to travel to New Orleans, Legends need to be able to travel well. Not only will they need to make sure they’re well rested, they need to bring a full roster that is ready to play. In the past few years, we have seen a much more physical team than expected in Curse. To defeat them, Legends need to come ready to play, give it everything they have, take quick subs, all while not losing skill wise with their lines. In previous seasons, the Legends have not done nearly as well as they would have hoped against Curse. This time they’ll try to sweep this Curse team and qualify for MLQ championship before ever meeting Soldados.
The San Antonio Soldados is going to be an exciting matchup for Legends, especially when it comes to the beater game. Legends beaters have always seemed to have a tendency to get sucked into playing dodgeball, not working with their chasers. While it works out in some situations, their beaters need to be able to communicate properly with their teammates and gameplan. Legends chasers love using opportunities created from beater exchanges to run, even when it's not actually ideal, which has led to unnecessary turnovers. To hang with Soldados this summer, the quadball and dodgeball game will need to be smart and communicative to negate turnovers as much as possible.
The last series of the summer for the Legends could be their make-or-break series depending on season standings. If they can either sweep Stampede, or get at least one or two wins off of this team, they have a high likelihood of making it to MLQ champs. This series is where Boyes could shine the most. As one of the most prolific up-top defenders and thrives on fast breaks, Boyes could create a high press defense to keep Stampede on their toes. Coming out hot, especially if Stampede is slow to rise, could provide an early lead for Legends. Their beaters will have to match the high energy of the younger Stampede beaters if they hope to give Boyes these looks.
Why They Will:
This Legends core has been playing with each other for years, whether that be in college, club or past MLQ seasons, there is already chemistry already built up in this group. Now adding long-time veteran and mentor Baldemar Nuñez to that beater mix, and the only place to go is up. The real question is, will SHSU beaters of “old” in Carlos Elarba and Nuñez be able to lead and develop these new SHSU beaters to also help the team in productive ways? In the past few years, the beater game is where the Legends have truly struggled the most. They have not been able to compete with high-caliber, more experienced talent across the South because they have been so young. Now that their beaters have a few years under their belt and have leaders to help them, this season could see a giant step in the right direction for their beaters. When it comes to chasers, the Legends have the potential to truly hang with anybody. They have all the pieces to do so. They have the facilitating ability in players such as Swathi Mannem, Brandon Kubena, along with players. They also have the slashing ability in space from Andrew Acosta, Hayden Boyes and others as well. Everybody on this team has the ability to finish on hoops, even when tightly guarded. Put all of these offensive tools together and they should be able to run a smooth offense that is efficient and eliminates turnovers. There is small room for error this year if they want to make a strong and healthy run to champs.
Why They Won’t:
Under Boyes, Legends is still very young, and while they have the veterans to help in every position, they do not have the berth of experienced and tenured players like other teams do in the South. This hinders them from really cracking down on certain weaknesses the team has struggled with in the past. Last year, Legends put up a whopping 172 turnovers to only 108 goals scored. Turning around their +/- turnover numbers is a necessity for them if they plan on competing in Maryland in August. Another weakness, their chemistry, falters consistently when it matters most. While there have always been glimmers of hope when it comes to running a smooth and efficient offense as a team, when facing in-game adversity they rush their game and make simple mistakes that they cannot afford. To really redefine their season, Legends will need to develop to be more methodical and patient if they hope to get out of the bottom of the South division this year.
Preview for this Weekend:
This weekend's series between the League City Legends and the reigning champions Austin Outlaws, will be closer than most people expect. With players such as Kasye Beavers, Sammy Garza, and Bailee Fields not being in attendance for the starting shootout of the season, it takes a little bit of pressure off of the Legends. Legends still need to come out at 100% to put themselves on the map, since Outlaws’s absences mean younger, less tenured players will be looking to step up in those spots and help the Outlaws maintain their status as MLQ juggernauts. Legends will be going into this weekend at full strength, looking to take advantage of a younger Austin Outlaws than they are accustomed to facing. Boyes will premiere his first series as Head Coach, with an untested Legends roster- but they’ll show us how competitive they can be before ultimately falling to the South division title holders.
Series Prediction: Austin Outlaws 2 – League City Legends 1
