Whether layout blocks or shutdown defense, these players made life miserable for opposing offenses
November 14, 2024 by Alex Rubin, Laura Osterlund and Calvin Ciorba in Awards with 0 comments
Ultiworld is pleased to announce our annual Club Awards, starting with the First Team All-Club 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 awards continue with the Defensive Player of the Year, recognizing the individual, and two runners-up, who we felt were the top defensive performers this club season. Whether through generating blocks, shutting down options, helping out teammates, or all of the above, these defenders stood out doing the tough work that too often go unrecognized.
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
2024 Mixed Division Defensive Player of the Year
Nathan Champoux (Ann Arbor Hybrid)
No stranger to a stand-out defensive season1, Nathan Champoux’s efforts have led to a winning season for Hybrid. But, thanks to the experience he gained at Worlds, this year was better than ever.
Meet Skunk 2.0.
In terms of defense, he did seemingly everything right, leading the division in blocks at Nationals (12) and was one of two players even to reach double digits. A tone setter in games, Champoux got the big blocks that helped his team win in the moments they needed him most. Those moments included several blocks in both the semifinal and final, and a strong defensive performance in the US Open final that hit its apex with a layout callahan. Not only did Champoux guard players2, he also guarded spaces. As he waited in the wings and hung out in the lane for an extra second, the Michigander forced those around him to attempt to outsmart him to get the disc in their hands. And even when it looked like they wouldn’t, he hunted down the disc to guarantee his opponents could not make a play on it. Whether by ensuring that the players he guarded did not get the disc, making it as difficult as possible for them to get rid of it on the rare occasions that they did get it, strategically using his poaches for his advantage, or laying it all on the line for a full-send bid, Champoux’s winning defense this season was the stuff of legend.
– Laura Osterlund
First Runner-up
Lukas Ambrose (Seattle BFG)
The name Lukas Ambrose was not quite known at the national level before this club season. However, as the UFA season started in April, his gravity-defying plays began to give him some well-deserved name recognition. So when Ambrose’s name popped up on an already stacked BFG roster, it became quite intriguing how he would play for a title-contending team. To say Ambrose made an immediate impact would be an understatement. He excelled in all parts of defense, taking the best matchups and locking them down while also making blocks in jaw-dropping fashion. His 11 blocks were only exceeded by Champoux’s 12 – and Champoux had the advantage of playing one more game at Nationals than Ambrose.
– Calvin Ciorba
Second Runner-up
Liv Player (Boston Sprocket)
It’s hard to be a defender in the mixed division. With many teams adverse to cross-matchup switching, mixed division defenders are often on an island where they have only their own wits to get blocks or cover an offense’s primary moves. Enter Liv Player, a fearless defender who will bait the offense into thinking they have an opening before slamming it closed with a layout block or a punctuating sky. Player combines athleticism dependable enough to stick to her matchup with her intelligence to appear in the lane to make a bid or time a jump at just the right moment to deflect a tall pass. Sprocket can credit many players for their rise to the top of the division, but Player’s improvement from a rotational defender into one of the best in the nation was absolutely a key element to her team’s success.
– Alex Rubin
