Recognizing the top seven performers of the 2024 season.
November 11, 2024 by Jenna Weiner, Zack Davis and Graham Gerhart in Awards with 0 comments
Ultiworld is pleased to announce our annual Club Awards, starting with the All-Club First Team and Player of the Year finalists 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. This year, with an uneven regular season, the postseason emphasis is perhaps greater than ever. 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. The seven players listed here are finalists for the Player of the Year.
Player of the Year Award
All-Club First Team
All-Club Second Team
Offensive Player of the Year Award
Defensive Player of the Year Award
Breakout Player of the Year Award
Coach(es) of the Year Award
Club Awards Voting Breakdown
Snubs and Superlatives (Coming soon)
All-Club 2024 First Team
Anna Thompson (Fury)
Worlds was a small reminder of just how much takeover potential Anna Thompson has – and Nationals solidified it. Fury were the best team in the nation from start to finish this year and Thompson was pivotal to that success. In a team filled with the highest caliber of on-field IQ, no one seemed more assured with the disc in hand than Thompson. When folks call Fury a dynasty program, it’s partly because of all the titles, and partly because players like Thompson are ushering them into the next generation of future hall-of-famers.
Carolyn Finney (Fury)
For a resurgent Fury squad, Carolyn Finney was back to her scintillating best this season. She wheeled and dealed and danced through opposing defenses, and played with an energy that belied her experience. There are few players better at picking apart a defense at pace than Finney, and she showed that time and again this season as Fury flew down the field with her whirring in motion at its center. On a Fury team whose foundation is layered continuity and consistency, Finney was emblematic of their title-winning season — a venerable veteran who returned to once again contribute in all facets of the game, back and better than ever.
Claire Trop (Scandal)
Few players have had as illustrious a career as Trop by the time they retire, let alone by their 25th year. From teenage phenom to World Games gold medalist, there isn’t much left for Trop to prove. Still, a second POTY award in as many years is a testament to the way Trop continues to find new heights. Scandal were a little less reliant on Trop in 2024 and yet she still left her mark on the division in every possible way. She led her team in points and assists at Nationals and brought DC back to the edge of a national title. When the Monstars arrive to steal the talent from the best ultimate players in the world, they’ll be visiting Trop’s house first.
Kaela Helton (Flipside)
Sometimes statistics can lie, but sometimes they can tell the whole story. At Nationals, Kaela Helton led the division in assists with 29, nearly triple her next closest teammate.1 She also scored 10 goals, good for third on the Flipside leaderboard at their hometown Nationals, and added six blocks just for good measure. Against a comparatively paltry nine turnovers, it meant Helton led the most important tournament of the season in plus/minus with an astounding +36 margin,2 Those statistics paint a picture of one of the best all-around players in the division, and so Helton has rightfully earned her place as a First Team All-Club selection for a third straight year.
Lindsay Soo (Phoenix)
On a team with a lot of flashy young talent, Lindsay Soo is a solid force of consistency. Their year has been punctuated by clean handling skills and lockdown defensive play. In spite of being a player that often finds themselves with the disc in the back field, Soo led Phoenix in goals at Nationals with 10 to go along with six assists. On the other side of the disc she was able to log six blocks. The most impressive stat however, is their mere five turns on the weekend despite being the go-to reset when they’re on the field. Soo’s playstyle amplifies and elevates everyone around them and is the cornerstone for Phoenix’s success.
Manuela Cárdenas (Molly Brown)
The tone of the game shifts when Manu Cardenas is on the line. On defense she has cutters looking over their shoulders for her flying bids – and handlers breathing a sigh of relief when she’s marking someone else. On offense you’d be hard pressed to find someone running sharper routes and making cleaner throws. It’s increasingly clear that regardless of what league she’s playing in, Manu will compel her team to the top of the table – PUL, WUC, or Club, it doesn’t matter. Molly Brown will always have a chance at a title with Manu on the roster. 2024 marks her fourth-consecutive All-Club selection.
Sarah Jacobsohn (6ixers)
There’s nothing Sarah “Bear” Jacobsohn can’t do for the Toronto 6ixers, both with the disc and without. She’s a dire threat downfield and often uses her athleticism to routinely make plays that many others in the division can only dream of, and that’s just on offense. On defense she’s a black hole, warping the field around her with the pressure she exudes and sucking in any disc that has the misfortune of being near her. Jacobsohn tallied an eye-watering 10 blocks over the course of Nationals to accompany her 15 goals and 14 assists. 6ixers were a hair away from completely upsetting the Nationals pecking order, and a huge part of the reason they got so close was Jacobsohn.
