(4) Roberto Valera, Attacker, Cal: 56 goals and 56 assists last year to lead the MPSF in points. Great shooter and facilitator. Will play the 2.
(9) James Rozolis-Hill, Center, Harvard. Might be the most talented American center in college. 109 goals and 20 assists last year. Potential 2028 Olympian
(16) Robert Lopez-Duart, Attacker, USC. 87 goals as a Freshmen at LBSU. Pure scorer and should have a big impact at USC. Will play the 1/2 side.
(21) Reuel D’Souza, Attacker, UOP. Took last year off to be on the Canadian National team. 47 goals and 38 assists in his Sophmore season. Another great assist man who can score. Cutino finalist in 2023. Will play the 4.
(28) Zach Bettino, LH Attacker, USC. Had an oustanding Freshmen year (24 goals, 29 assists) and should play a huge role in the starting lineup this season. Will play the 5.
(33) West Temkin, Goalie, Stanford. While the Stanford goalie situation is murky, I think West will eventually be in the cage at the end. Potential Olympian in 2028.
(40) Adam Wright, Coach, UCLA. The best coach in the college game IMO. Finally got one for the UCLA women this year as well.
(45) Gray Carson, Defender/UTL, UCLA. Outstanding defender and can put one in the cage from the 3 if needed (14 goals last year). Can also post up and play center. Love his versatility.
I generally like to go against the grain on the NCAA pick (I had UCLA last year). I’m going to switch that up and say UCLA wins but I really want to pick Stanford. That is my final with UCLA squeaking it out by a goal.
COY: Has to be Wright if I’m picking UCLA
NOY: Ryder Dodd, no brainer
Cutino: This is impossible to predict given there are so many possibilities. We could even see 5 finalists this year. I think Pozaric will get one spot given the power of the East coast coaches in voting. UCLA will have to have one spot. Could be either Dodd, Larsen, Kenney. I will go with Griggs. Stanford will need a pick and I will give the slight edge to Painter over Pittman. Pittman is my Stanford MVP though. Other deserving candidates who should be in there: (Valera, Cassabella, D’Souza).
This would be a really balanced team with a deadly 6 on 5. Kenney and Ohl are both great passers, can facilitate as well as finish. Hard to beat a 21 side of Larsen and Casabella. Martin is really talented. He played more perimeter at Stanford but I think he’ll play center at SC behind Miller. Leyson would get the best out of this group.
Although UCLA clearly had the best offseason recruiting and in the transfer portal and returns 5th year players Kenney, Larsen, and Griggs, I’m sticking with my pick of Cal to win it all. Filling the holes Papa and Weinberg left will not be easy. But they still have a ton of talent, enough depth, and a wild card in Kolak. If he is an immediate impact elite player like Casabella and Valera were as freshmen that would be huge. Everist will find a way to get this team back to NCAA finals and win it all again.
How did nobody pick Avakian? Guy is going to be the starting center on Cal. Always center depth out there in a 6 team draft. The 4th string center for UCLA got picked over him
I’m going to pick UCLA, but I am going mix it up a little bit and say they beat Pacific in the final. We know Graham stacks years with later redshirts, and this is a massively talented team with the depth to beat anyone in the country. UCLA has too much firepower to be stopped though. I’ll say UCLA over Pacific 13-8.
Team that will do better than expected:
I really like Pepperdine’s roster. I’ll predict they finish as the 6th best team in the country and win a game in the ncaa tournament.
Cutino:
I indicated my favorite to be Casabella in the other thread, and I’ll stick with that pick. I’ll go with him, Roko Pozaric, and Griggs as the finalists.
COY: Adam Wright, UCLA
Newcomer: Ryder Dodd, UCLA
Don’t think those two picks need much explanation.
This was an awesome draft. The collegiate ranks are loaded right now with the last of the Covid eligible players. Should be a really fun season.
technically Brankovic is eligible for NOY, so Ryder may not be a runaway favorite depending upon how Brankovic performs. It will all come down to how Wright uses Ryder and I am fascinated to find out. If it was me I would slot him right into the Vergara role and let him rip. As we know though, you have to fall in line at UCLA first and foremost. So we’ll see!
I’m also interested to see how much Castillo plays. When you said UCLA’s 4th string center got picked were you talking about Szecsi or Castillo? They have so many good centers I honestly don’t know how Wright will get them all playing time. I actually thought Carson was their 1st string center. I wouldn’t be surprised if to start the season Wright has Ryder, Peter, and Bode all starting.
Szecsi is the #1 and was a steal. Castillo is listed as a UTL because he probably isn’t going to play much center I would imagine. They should redshirt him to be honest.
I think Brankovic is more likely to get the keys to the offense earlier than Ryder. That could make a difference. UCLA has never been the heliocentric team that USC can sometimes be. Adam Wright spreads out playing time and the roles of the offense in the early part of the season. That could definitely mean that Ryder, and their other talented freshman, don’t have the counting stats that players on other teams will. I think about how Wright eased in Liechty last year and he essentially split time with Sherlock on 4-5 side.
But if it is about talent alone, Dodd is the best newcomer in the league unless Cal’s european import or Brankovic really get off and running.
Brankovic is like 23 years old so he is a man. I would expect him to have a big year. Wright likes to feature the freshmen early then he starts to dial them back some. Sherlock was very good, i thought at times he was the best lefty option. Their line 1 and line 2 is going to be crazy this year. Hope the chemistry is good, that is the hard part.
In terms of newcomers, keep an eye on Andras Toth at Fordham. He could have an outsized impact on a Rams team that I think will strongly outperform that preseason ranking at 14.
To finish up my draft, here are my predictions for the year:
National Champions - UCLA -Too much talent and depth and coming off last year will be hungry. Can ease the fatigue on the Dodds by easing them back into things without a huge dropoff. Have the Bruins beating Stanford in the final based largely on the strength in the net of those two teams’ goalies. Cal will miss AW a lot and it will impact how they play. You can’t come back on teams like they became used to if you aren’t getting the stops on the defensive end.
COY - Always seems to go to the Coach of the champs so…Adam Wright it is.
ROY - Brankovic - I picked Ryder #2 over all and his impact will be there especially in big moments but I predict Brankovic will have stats as a focal point for the Trojans that puts him over the top.
Cutino Award - no idea as I agree there could be upward of six guys in serious consideration - I don’t want to just echo the picks of others so my guesses are: Painter, Brankovic and Chase Dodd with Dodd winning it.