November 6, 2023 by Alex Rubin and Laura Osterlund in Awards with 0 comments
Ultiworld is pleased to announce our annual Club Awards, starting with the Club Player of the Year in each division. While we consider both regular season and postseason performance, because of the nature of the Club division, we weight success in the Series and at Nationals above all else. The Club Awards are voted on by Ultiworld reporters, contributors, and editors.
Our All-Club teams recognize the top performers across the division. Our First Team and Second Team display the top seven and next seven players who had the best seasons. As our voting process is ordered, the top vote-getters for All-Club honors function as the ordered list in our Player of the Year voting — our highest individual award.
Player of the Year Award
All-Club First Team
All-Club Second Team
Defensive Player of the Year Award
Offensive Player of the Year Award
Breakout Player of the Year Award
Coach(es) of the Year Award
Club Awards Voting Breakdown
Snubs and Superlatives
2023 Mixed All-Club First Team
Jade McLaughlin (Fort Collins shame.) Player of the Year
If there were any questions about who the most un-guardable woman-matching player in the mixed division is, Jade McLaughlin can make a strong case. It didn’t matter which defender her opponents threw at her — teams tried a lot of different players with no luck — or how many times they had to try to change up their defense, she simply could not be contained. She always seemed to take the option for a deep cut, which was for good reason as she always put on a show in the downfield space with her always impressive grabs. When working through her cuts and getting open, McLaughlin had the catch radius in all of the critical moments that allowed her to come down with contested grabs and be the hero her team needed at any given point.
For more on Jade McLaughlin, check out the Player of the Year writeup.
-Laura Osterlund
Henry Ing (Philadelphia AMP) Player of the Year First Runner-up
Whether leaping for an emphatic sky or powering through yet another in-cut, there is little doubt that Henry Ing is one of the most dominant players in the game. Despite playing in AMP’s depth-heavy rotation, Ing stood out as a singular force whenever he stepped on the field. A legitimate difference maker on both offense and defense, Ing was trusted in a variety of positions with a breadth of responsibility and aced every test. The 2023 D-I Men’s Player Of The Year already has made the leap from college to club superstardom and it’s just a matter of time until he finds himself on an award podium at this level too.
-Alex Rubin
Robyn Fennig (Madison NOISE) Player of the Year Second Runner-up
In this world, only three things are certain: Death, Taxes, and Robyn Fennig being the most skilled thrower every time she steps on the field1. There’s a reason why she is returning to our podium after winning it last year2. However, there is more to Fennig than her perfectly placed, mind-bending throws; throughout the season, Fennig has shown that she is one of the most versatile players in the game right now. She took rotations on O, D, and flex lines, she played some points as a cutter and took over the deep space, and like her namesake, she soared vertically and horizontally. On the field, she plays with grit, determination, assertiveness, and a whole lot of heart. She brings that same commitment to being supportive of her teammates.
–Laura Osterlund
Owen Westbrook (Fort Collins shame.)
With player of the year Jade McLaughlin and Matty Russell taking the lead downfield, Westbrook was the offensive pacesetter in the shame. backfield. With powerful, touchy, and creative throws in his arsenal, Westbrook brought whatever shame. needed to the table, navigating the other pups on his line to a score like a sheepdog in open pasture. With hucks, hammers, and the occasional every-other zig-zag up the field, Westbrook was the motor under the hood of shame.’s sports car of an offense.
-Alex Rubin
Genny De Jesus (New York XIST)
It’s hard to believe that a year ago, Genny De Jesus was flying under everyone’s radar. Not anymore. Despite players on other teams picking up on the fact that she is a major threat, especially in the deep space, that did not seem to faze her. On offense, she practically ran circles around every single defender. If the playing field was a school, then De Jesus would be the professor, as she did not cease to teach everyone around her lessons on how to become the most open player and easily collect scores. Gaining separation was her game and it didn’t matter the how or against who. On a team that prides itself in having strong women-matching players, the fact that De Jesus proved she could stand out above the pack for a second year in a row is a testament to her power as a player.
–Laura Osterlund
Travis Dunn (Arizona Lawless)
Although Travis Dunn has been in the game for a while, he is relatively new to making waves in the mixed scene. Lawless came to Nationals this season with guns a blazing and in their making it to the quarterfinal can be attributed in part to Travis Dunn3. Not a lot of people can lead the division at a single tournament in goals and assists, and Dunn’s stat line is that of a frisbee legend: 17G and 26A4. Anyone who played against Dunn all season will tell you, the dude knows how to ball. Whether that’s beating his matchups deep, swooping in with wide open under cuts when they inevitably try to take away the long runs, or posterizing his opponents in the air, Dunn can do it all. Even when his defenders gave him the free unders, Dunn still would decide to make a deep cut to the end zone and get open all day long.
-Laura Osterlund
Conor Belfield (Seattle BFG)
Belfield is a unique figure in the mixed club scene. As young, defense-first D-III product, he doesn’t exactly stand out just looking at the BFG sideline. Yet, as soon as he sees the field it’s easy to tell what a difference maker Belfield is. His 11 blocks led the mixed division at Nationals (nobody else reached double digits) and he wasn’t just taking easy matchups. Tasked with either covering the opposing team’s premier MMP threat or covering the most ground as a deep defender in BFG’s zone, Belfield took on a lot of responsibility and mastered his role as the leader of the division’s toughest defense. Of course, he was an every-other-throw threat after a turnover as well as the first D-line player to cross over to the O-line in must-hold situations. BFG reached the semifinals in all three TCT tournaments this season, and Belfield’s consistency and excellence propelled them far into the bracket each time.
-Alex Rubin
especially on universe ↩
fun fact: Robyn is the first player in the mixed division to win POTY and be on the podium the following year ↩
after all, it was his cut and catch in the prequarter that won the game for the Arizona team. ↩
stats don’t lie ↩
