Recognizing the next set of top performers of the 2024 season.
June 12, 2024 by Patrick Stegemoeller, Alex Rubin and Emmet Holton in Awards with 0 comments
Each year, Ultiworld presents our annual College Awards. Our staff evaluates the individual performances of players from throughout the season, talking to folks around college ultimate, watching film, and look at statistics, voting upon the awards to decide those to be honored. The regular season and the college Series are both considered, with extra emphasis for performances in the competitive and high-stakes environment at Nationals.
Our All-American teams recognize the top performers across the division. While previously we have closed our Awards with our First Team and Second Team, displaying the top seven and next seven players who had the best seasons, they have been moved up in the schedule.
- Player of the Year
- All-American First Team
- All-American Second Team
- Offensive Player of the Year Award
- Defensive Player of the Year Award
- Breakout Player of the Year Award
- Rookie of the Year Award
- Coaches of the Year Award
D-I Men’s All-American Second Team
Tobias Brooks (Colorado)
Coming into college with as much buzz as any rookie in recent memory, Brooks could easily have shrunk on an already deep, talented Mamabird team. Instead, he submitted one of the most impressive individual performances at Nationals – not just for a rookie, but for anybody. After an up and down season for Colorado defined by near misses against top competition, Brooks’ transcendent Nationals performance led the team to their first semis appearance since the departure of Alex Atkins.
Calvin Brown (Cal Poly SLO)
A meandering six-year college ultimate career started in the crucible of a national semifinal as a rookie handler, wove through COVID and an ACL injury, and ended just this past season with a remarkable do-it-all performance as SLO reached the first national final in team history. To get there, Calvin Brown performed this season like a distinguished scholar of ultimate. Knowing just when to bait a block or just how to unleash the kind of throw middle school kids joke about trying, Brown was a singular force as a multidirectional object. That he did it all with unflagging joy and energy only augments those massive contributions.
Dexter Clyburn (Cal)
Put this on the wish list of stats we wish were widely available in ultimate: usage rate. Even without the hard numbers, we can feel pretty confident Dexter Clyburn would be right up at the top of the college division. It seemed like every possession for Cal ran through their ball-dominant handler, as he shouldered an immense burden that was only heightened as his team was beset with injury problems. But the additional responsibility brought out even more from an already great player, and these stats we do have: 8G/15A/11D(!!!) at Nationals.
Mica Glass (Oregon)
After a dazzling 2023 campaign that saw Glass win Rookie of the Year, he took his polish and production to a new level in 2024. Wielding one of the biggest arms in the collegiate ranks, Glass’ heat-check hucks were must-watch television all season. But far from a volume shooter, the Ego sophomore was a steadying force for a youth-laden team. His excellence in the offensive backfield was paired with an improved all-around game that saw him beating top defenders deep and locking up opposing stars on must-score D points.
Wyatt Kellman (UMass)
Kellman was great when playing, but he seemed even greater on the sideline. Kellman’s injury issues were a turning point in UMass’s season, and as he was hampered down the stretch so too were Zoodisc. But when healthy this season he played at a PotY level, highlighted by his evisceration of North Carolina at Smoky Mountain Invite. That may have been the single most dynamic performance of the season, and raises a wistful “what if” for UMass as they assess a season that started with such promise.
Paul Krenik (Minnesota)
When a huck goes up to Henry Ing, many players will put on a good show of trying to wiggle into position and maybe make the 2023 Player of the Year think about how he will jump. In the last moments of a back-and-forth double-game-point game at Nationals, Krenik instead ran step for step with Ing to challenge the play as Minnesota broke for an important rebound win. There wasn’t one thing Krenik could call his superpower, but his prowess at initiating an offensive motion, moving the disc around a mark, and locking down even the biggest threats in the country as a matchup defender were some of his best attributes in an All-American season.
Adam Miller (Georgia)
After bursting onto the scene at the shadowy mind palace that was 2021 fall Nationals, Adam Miller’s game has aged like fine wine. Previously an impact play merchant who would overcome deficiencies in technique with doses of concentrated whupass, Miller has evolved into a rock solid O-line handler who can be relied on to run one of the best O-lines in the country. Melding his explosive playmaking ability with high-level reading of the field and a wonderful sense of timing made him one of the most impactful and important offensive players in the division.
