Its the episode you’ve all been waiting for: Best of the Best, Preseason Rankings and Freshman Watch List. Couldn’t be more pumped for this.
Enjoy!!!
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Another great episode Wes and Clay. I agree Fordham’s Freshman class is #1 but the player not featured in this episode or not chosen in the WPE draft is Oktavian Veklyuk. Of Fordham’s Freshman class, he is the only “for sure” starter to begin the season. He’s turning heads in the Bronx. He’s 6’7" with great legs and can release from any position. He’ll shoot over many defenders in the NCAA - I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t get 70 goals this year (barring injury). I believe his Freshman impact this year will be as significant as Luca Provenziani and Andra Toth’s in 2024.
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He’s part of freshman watch list!!! We are super high on him.
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Ryder Dodd the best American player of all time? Love him but let’s slow our roll on that one. He has a very long way to go before he can be mentioned with Tony Azevedo.
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seizure warning. Flashing center defenders may affect some viewers.
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In my defense, he was on my list to draft. The way the draft went prevented me from being able to take another right handed outside player. He is fantastic. Scored a bunch of goals in Serie A. I have heard his shot velocity is off the charts. Hardest shot on the team.
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Enjoyed the latest episode, BUT ranking O. Marcin over T. Anderson at Center is in my opinion, a major miss. Anderson is a game changer. Can Marcin beat Anderson up the pool? Probably. But once he gets there, you want no part of Anderson.
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eyyy WPEX shoutout from @WPWednesday!!
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I agree that T. Anderson should’ve been a 5-star. He was our best player at U18 Worlds, and in my opinion, Anderson/Krstic is a stronger center duo than Brown/Angelopolous & Gheorge/Schneider.
I also think it’s a travesty that Robert Lopez-Duart was not on the Best of the Best list. That’s a bad take. And closing out two national championship games is an impressive feat, but Tauscher is not a top-four goalie in the country. Mills, Herzer, Kovacs, and Pina are all better.
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Agree on Tyler. He’s, without question the best US center coming out of HS. I’ve watched him play head-to-head against Marcin and it’s not even close… so the WPW pick was a bit of a reach actually. I’m going to agree to disagree on Carrington. Defensive mobility and toughness have always been the question marks, and neither of those topics were raised. Will get exposed by speedy/strong attackers.
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Not that I want to pile on but there is an incoming CD from Israel joining Cal that should have been mentioned - certainly ahead of the kid from Fordham that he mentioned
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Tyler Anderson is the most dominant center I’ve seen in HS since Ben Hallock. His hands, IQ, and strength are elite. It would not surprise me if he made the 2028 team. He and Grayson Taylor are two of the best center prospects to come out of high school in quite some time. I see Hunter Coleman as more of a utility type/center defender with development.
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I think Wes (& Clay) are doing a lot for our sport, and I appreciate them. I don’t mean any disrespect to those named in his lists, but the bias for Euros and those that have played for LAAC is real. On one hand, I love that he supports his guys, but on the other hand, he’s losing credibility.
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These are hard choices to make with so many good players to choose from, and things could go so many ways. When it comes to the “Best of the Best,” Tico and M. Knightly don’t make my list. While Tico is very deserving, I’m choosing Duart or Provenziani over him on the left. And although Mitch Knightly has made huge strides in his game over the past few years, if I’m picking a lefty, I’m taking Nuzzo over him.
As for Tyler A., he has already played against NCAA teams at the Pacific Cup and, from what I remember, did really well. He probably should be a 5-star recruit over Oliver M. or Clay C. Most of the other guys on the 5-star list play U20, have played for their senior national teams, or play A1, so those all seem obvious. Only time will tell. Pumped to see how things play out starting Friday. Thanks to Wes and Clay for starting this dialogue.
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Our first player interview comes from Milo Joesph!
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Tyler Anderson kinda reminds me of another past USC Center - Lachlan Edwards
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I agree, reporters must ask the tough questions!!
Let’s see what this year brings…
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He reminds me of him too…
Would have been nice to have Fordham vs USC this year…
Maybe in the NCAA tournament…
Lot of fire power on USC…
If they play, the more disciplined team will win…
2 posts were merged into an existing topic: Compliance Questions
I think it goes without saying that Azevedo has accomplished more, having played for longer. I’m curious, how would you compare their careers leading up to their respective Jr years of college?
I’ll do my best to collect relevant accolades leading up to their junior year:
Tony:
- 2x NCAA Champion
- 2x Cutino Winner
- 2x Pan Ams Champion - Named Tournament Top Scorer, x33
- 4th at 2000 Sydney Olympics - Named Tournament Top Scorer, x13
- 7th at 2001 FINA World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka - Selected for World Championship All-Star Team
- 4x CIF Champion, 3x Player of the Year
Ryder:
- 2x NCAA Champion
- 2x Cutino Winner
- 1x Pam Ams Champion - Named Tournament Top Scorer, x28
- Bronze 2024 Paris Olympics - 21st overall scorer
- Silver at U20 Worlds - Named Tournament MVP… not sure if Tony even competed at U20
- 2x National League champion - 2025 MVP… no NL in Tony’s time
- 1x CIF Champion, 1x Player of the Year
You can certainly argue that they’re close, I do think it skews towards Tony. Being 4x CIF Champ + 3x MPV leading into being selected for the World Championship All-Star Team at 19 years old does tell a compelling story.
Perhaps you can argue that Ryder has more+higher finishes, with winning Olympic Bronze, however Ryder was not selected for the World Aquatics All-Star Team (Weinberg and Doube were selected).
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