Roster Reactions 2022: South Division
Austin - Annika Kim, Fiona Wisehart, Naresh Edala
PC: Austin Outlaws
The defending champs return to MLQ with only 14 players returning from last season’s roster. However, many of these new players on Austin are not new to the program or to the coaching style of Head Coach Augustine Monroe. Many of them, such as Simón Arends, Missy Ghoddossy, and Brittne Walker have played on Outlaws in years past. Jaida Newhouse, who is new to the Outlaws, has come off of her first quidditch season, in which she played for Texas Cavalry.
Some of the noticeable absences include chasers Andrew Axtel, Marty Bermudez, Kenny Chilton, Sam Haimowitz, Valerie Quintanilla, and Davis Roe. The Outlaws have also lost a whopping seven beaters— four of them current or former Team USA players. Jackson Johnson, Tate Kay, Hallie Pace, and Cole Travis, all played huge minutes for Austin last year, particularly during snitch on pitch.
The Outlaws have picked up Bailee Fields (Team USA) and Kasye Bevers (Team USADA). They have also indicated on their roster that famously physical defender, Kaci Erwin, may be playing minutes at beater similar to her role with Cavalry this past USQ season. The pickup of Cameron Ogilvie is a major get for a team that lost the number of beaters that they have. Ogilvie, a Texas State product, was famous for people mispronouncing his last name and being the most underrated beater in the 2019-2020 season. Arends will also shore up any of the questions about beater depth after playing beater primarily for Cavalry this past USQ season. Jack Wang and Kyzer Polzin will look to continue to be dominant forces when on the pitch and will be key to their chances of repeating. While we know they can handle the pressure with their performance in the USQ season- it’ll have to be seen if they can replicate that success in the MLQ season without veteran beaters to fall back on as a safety net.
Returning to the roster is elite seeker Josh Andrews. At MLQ Championships last year, he caught four out of snitches — the most out of any seeker that weekend. Andrews’ seeking has consistently been key for Austin to win in-range games. However, this year their pickup of Swathi Mannem gives them flexibility to let her defensive seek while this vaunted quaffle line runs up the score. Mannem, who played heavy minutes at seeker for UT this season is a first year player who shined in her role and allowed for UT to run the pace during SOP. This combination of Andrews and Mannem could be deadly for Austin to control pace of play.
Even with all of these changes Austin should still come out of the South Division with the #1 seed. While learning to incorporate younger players into the rotation might lead to growing pains not usually seen by Austin- they have the talent and system set up to repeat as South Division champions.
Prediction: 11-1
Kansas City - Jessica Abbazia, Ian Goodspeed, Naresh Edala, Fiona Wisehart
PC: Kansas City Stampede
This should be an exciting season for the Kansas City Stampede. After a breakout performance last year with a 5-7 record, they are in a prime position to fight for the 2nd seed in their division. They have all-new leadership with Head Coach Adam Heald, Assistant Coach Katie Branstetter, and Manager Austin Pitts. In the always competitive South Division, their vision and leadership will be critical to build off of last season’s success.
This season’s team is built from the cream of the crop of Midwest quidditch talent, starting with Darien Murcek-Ellis. Enough can't be said about possibly the most athletic quaffle player in the sport right now. He was the best player for Stampede last year, with a Quaffle Player of the Week honors after his 17-goal performance in a League City sweep. He is joined by several Creighton teammates on the squad with Lauren Curry, Matt Gulick, and Sena Morimoto returning as well as freshman beater Max Chang and former Monarchs keeper/seeker Joe Goulet.
MLQ newcomer, Robbie Wallace is a huge get for this Kansas team— this former Mizzou star was the soul of their attack and the anchor to their quaffle defense. Similar to Creighton, Wallace also has teammates joining him at the MLQ level. Sydney Boeger, Justin DeWick, and Vincent Reyes are all returning to Stampede this summer.
DeWick, along with assistant coach Branstetter, will be leading the Kansas beaters this year. Their play and their leadership will be key as they face a tough battle for the 2nd place spot. Soldados, Kansas’ primary competition, is returning very strong beaters to their roster. New to this roster is Mizzou alum Brenna Duncan. Duncan is returning to quidditch after a stint playing football. This tough-as-nails beater will be a much-need boost to Stampede's beater depth.
So how will the team fare this coming season? Well Kansas has historically struggled against Austin and San Antonio, and it’s likely they will face the same difficulties this year. Last season, Kansas went 6-6 for snitch catches, but they will have to do better than that to beat Austin and Soldados. Given that they have only two listed seekers (Goulet and Brian McClannahan), that may be a difficult task.
Overall, it will be essential to develop team cohesion so that new and old players alike can work together. Despite these obstacles, we’re looking forward to seeing how this team rises to the challenge.
Prediction: 7-5
League City - Fiona Wisehart
PC: League City Legends
The League City Legends are off to an exciting start with a lot of fresh faces. 53% of the roster are MLQ rookies and 40% are coming off of their first quidditch season. Head Coach, Ashton Jean-Lewis, says “[My not-so-hot-take is] we’re in a generational change for quidditch. A perfect time for new contenders to rise up. Younger club players have stopped funneling to the same teams and decided to branch out on their own. This is a season of opportunity if there ever was one.”
Some key returning quaffle players include John Alvarez, Hayden Boyes, and Kody Marshall. Alvarez played for the San Antonio Soldados last season but in prior years had been a key member of the League City Legends. Marshall is a true veteran of the game and has won several championships during his tenure. Boyes is a very fast and agile player with an incredible shot. Look to him to be one of the Legends primary point defenders and leading scorers this season.
Last season, the Legends were not afraid to switch strategies on defense (including a match defense, a 2-2 zone, and a 1-3 zone). However, they struggled to lay hits at times, something that head coach Jean-Lewis said would be a priority this season. On offense, the Legends looked most comfortable when running fastbreaks. In the half-court, the Legends usually looked to drive and dunk or drive and dish, which worked fairly well. However, they ran into trouble when playing teams successful at preventing fastbreaks and drives. For them to improve upon their record this season, they will have to become comfortable passing around a defense.
Frequently at the helm of the fastbreaks was Cullen Friday, who is not playing MLQ this summer. Friday has been called “the fastest player in quidditch.” Last season, he regularly drove through entire defenses single-handedly. He will be a significant loss, but the Legends possess many drivers, so if they elect to keep their same playing style, they will have players to fill that role. Another notable loss for Legends is Haley Dupré. Out of all of the 2021 Legends, Dupré perhaps played the most minutes. Despite this, Dupré was constantly booking it on the field to secure loose balls, cut into open space, and closely cover her marks on defense. Scrappy and smart, Dupré’s shoes will be tough to fill this summer.
Two rookies to watch this summer are Mallory Hughes and Olive Jim-Daniels. Hughes, a chaser from the Sam Houston program, is coming off of her first quidditch season. She has great instincts and was a clear standout at the Legends tryouts. Daniels is also a chaser and her incredible athleticism sets her apart. As a team, the Legends have always been very aggressive on offense, and Daniels loves to play that style.
Returning to the beating squad is starting beater Kevin Raber. Raber, an engage beater, is extremely quick and has a great arm. He was key to opening up driving lanes last year and retaining him is huge for the Legends, especially since they have lost a number of beaters, including Ralf Mandujano and Baldemar Nunez (now on San Antonio Soldados). Legends have also lost free beater Mel Brown. Brown is an aggressive and athletic player. She is unafraid to be physical and frequently raced opposing beaters to loose balls.
The Legends are facing an uphill battle this season. The Austin Outlaws are shaping up to have a familiarly strong showing. The San Antonio Soldados, while having a similarly small number of returning players as the Legends (Soldados have 11 returners, Legends have 10), have a stronger beater core and Miguel Esparza, one of the best keepers in the game. The Kansas City Stampede has picked up a number of Creighton players, coming fresh off of their first finals appearance. Curse, the lowest ranked team in the South last season, has retained the most players in the division at 18 (Austin has the next highest at 14 returning players).
That said, this is the season for upsets. The parity of the league in the last few seasons has been unprecedented. After playing Stampede and Curse in two closely contested series (losing to Stampede and winning over Curse), Legends won a game against Soldados in a stunning upset. The Legends are a passionate, hard-working team of underdogs. That could take them pretty far.
Prediction: 3-9
New Orleans - Handell Quiros, Naresh Edala
PC: New Orleans Curse
There might not be a team more built to upset teams this summer than New Orleans. With 18 returning players, the most in the South division, this Curse team is ready to make a run at taking a series or two from teams during the season. With a 1-11 record last year and the league worst quaffle points against per game (145.0) the foundation is set for improved performances all around. Watching Curse progress through the season last year saw the team become a tough out for everyone they played as they were just a few goals short of taking games multiple times.
With an entire year of development together over the summer and the added benefit of having a club team during the USQ season in the Gulf Coast Gumbeaux, this New Orleans team should have an easier time having strong finishes to games, helping them take the games that they could win. The addition of Bryan Cascio as their non-playing head coach will only help their cause. The ability to have someone on the sideline that can make the adjustments and help control the pace of the game can take pressure off of Joshua Mansfield and Sarah Kneiling whose beating has primarily taken that role in years past.
P.J. Mitchell will have to continue being a difference maker in the quaffle game for Curse to help with a division worst offense last year at 67.5 goals per game. Sarah Yanofsky, a returner, is coming off of a national title with THC Heat in the USQ season and will be instrumental in their ability to bolster a 3-7-2 snitch record from last season. This Curse team was showing they were a tough out towards the end of last season and will look to carry that momentum this summer and shock teams that aren't ready for the bayou heat.
Prediction: 3-9
San Antonio - Naresh Edala
PC: San Antonio Soldados
The 2021 season ended in disappointment for the San Antonio Soldados. It isn't often that a semi-final run can be marked as an off-year but for a team that took a game from Austin in a super series last year, it was a disappointing ending to the short-rostered Soldados.
There are some familiar faces returning to this Soldados team with 2021 MVP Miguel Esparza and Mel Kite coming back in the quaffle game. Returning with them is their reigning national champion teammate and beater Daniel Williams who will look to replicate their USQ success. However, they will have to do so without long-time stalwarts like Luke Langlinais and Connor McIntyre alongside 17 other departures from the 2021 season. The biggest losses stemmed from the beater game with Jess Markle, Kylie McBride, and Ryan Nawrocki not returning to MLQ this summer and losing Bailee Fields to cross-state rivals Austin Outlaws.
However, they are back again with championship aspirations with a new coaching staff brimming with an influx of young talent. Ian Crowe was the best quaffle player for an extremely young Texas State team. Consistently making the hits on defense and growing as an offensive threat will be useful skills for a San Antonio team that needs young talent to step up. Christian Cortez joins the team after a dominant run at University of Texas San Antonio and will continue to lead his team as the assistant coach alongside Maya Hinebaugh who last played for Skyline Quidditch at US Quidditch Cup 2022 and was consistently a dominant force on the field. Her rise in the beater game will be instrumental in the Soldados’ ability to offset the losses of the aforementioned beaters. Also, the pickup of Baldemar Nunez and Katherine Hayworth will give them an established duo that can be key towards keeping up with the beating prowess in the South division.
The key for this San Antonio team will be to build off their 8-3-1 snitch record from 2021 and Jay Stewart and Craig Garrison will be key to replicating their success from last year. However, this San Antonio team has an abundance of seekers that can really unlock the true potential of this team. Their ability to throw Cortez, Hinebaugh, Williams, Kris De La Fuente, and Eric Reyes at snitches provides flexibility that other teams just won't be able to match.
Bradley Himes and his coaching staff built this team to compete now with the assimilation of young talent and veterans, but the number of new people in this program will only bolster their championship aspirations for years to come. However, that comes with growing pains and how quickly this team can take that youth and foster growth will dictate whether they will fight for that #1 seed out of the South.
Prediction: 9-3
