Recognizing the next top seven performers of the 2024 season.
November 13, 2024 by Alex Rubin, Graham Gordon, Laura Osterlund and Josh Katz in Awards with 0 comments
Ultiworld is pleased to announce our annual Club Awards, continuing with the All-Club Second Team. 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.
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. The Club Awards are voted on by Ultiworld reporters, contributors, and editors.
Player of the Year Award
All-Club First Team
All-Club Second Team
Defensive Player of the Year Award (Coming soon)
Offensive Player of the Year Award
Breakout Player of the Year Award (Coming soon)
Coach(es) of the Year Award (Coming soon)
Club Awards Voting Breakdown (Coming soon)
Snubs and Superlatives (Coming soon)
All-Club 2024 Second Team
Caleb Denecour (Drag’n Thrust)
If you were to talk to him about his own abilities, Caleb Denecour might bring up the word “washed.” However, his now five consecutive All-Club nominations1 and continuous ability to make big plays beg to differ. A true hybrid, his speed continues to make him one of the fastest players on the field at any given point, leaving his defenders in the dust. Meanwhile, his signature lefty inside throws are practically undefendable. And let’s not forget Denecour’s flying tree frog-like skills with the stickiness of his hands and the height of his hops (vertical and horizontal), and mastering the tuck and roll.
Khalif El-Salaam (Mixtape)
In seasons past, Khalif El-Salaam has stood out due to his speed and athleticism alone. Don’t get me wrong, he still resembles an astronaut: he soared through the air, was most comfortable in deep space as he ran his defenders to the ground, and seemed unfazed by gravity when pulling every single disc in his vicinity down. What made this season more impressive from El-Salaam was his exploration of new avenues in the handler space. With more assists than goals (9 goals to 24 assists), his throws were honed to elevated levels of touch and vision.
Liv Player (Sprocket)
On the surface, Player’s stats (4G/6A/2D/1T) don’t look like those of an All-Club caliber player. But watch any of Sprocket’s games from this year and it’ll quickly become apparent that she’s more than deserving of this selection. She’s a versatile defender with closing speed that gives her the license to poach off for just an extra second, clogging throwing lanes and stifling opposing offenses. And whether it was on the turn or after crossing over, she ran her mark ragged as a cutter, making it very clear she could impact a game in any number of ways.
Sam Rodenberg (BFG)
On a team as deep and talented as BFG, it can be hard to rack up large counting stats. No one passed that memo to Sam Rodenberg, as she finished inside the top 10 in the division for goals (with 12, which also led their team) despite playing fewer games than everyone else above her. Rodenberg was able to leverage her precise cutting with their innate field sense to be an excellent release valve and a key cog in the BFG offensive machine.
Sara Nitz (Hybrid)
Mirroring Hybrid’s rise to the top of the division, Sara Nitz burst onto the scene in 2021 as an athletic defender for an ascending Hybrid team. As Hybrid developed into a Championship worthy team, Nitz developed into a well-rounded All-Club caliber player. Her defense still turns heads of course, but her calming presence with the disc and penchant for a posterizing sky demonstrate her improved, dynamic play.
Travis Dunn (Lawless)
If this sport had a video game2, there’s no doubt Travis Dunn’s character would be a cheat code. Teams in the real-world mixed division planned their defenses around his superpowers, but few could hack it. His deep cuts proved fatal and no one could test him in the air. At Nationals, not only did Dunn once again reach the illusive double-double (13G/29A), but he also led the division in assists, more than doubling the next-highest amount of assists on his team.
Yuge Xiao (Slow)
There’s always a question of fit when a player switches from one division to another, but there is absolutely no question about Yuge Xiao’s talent. Her ability to break skilled marks, contain opponents on defense, and seamlessly stand out on a veteran team already full of talented players speaks to her versatility and skill. A few years removed from her appearance on the Breakout Player of the Year podium, Xiao earned her first All-Club spot by thriving in a new setting and becoming her team’s most reliable player.
More than any other player *solely* in the mixed division (unless you are counting cross-divisions, then Fennig has him beat by one year) ↩
Which, apparently, is coming soon and there’s a real chance that Dunn could be in it ↩
