Nobody was better at helping get their team to the end zone.
November 14, 2024 by Graham Gordon and Calvin Ciorba in Awards with 0 comments
Ultiworld is pleased to announce our annual Club Awards. 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 Offensive Player of the Year, recognizing the individual, and two runners-up, who we felt had the most impactful and productive seasons helping their teams score. They set up goals, finished off points, and produced yardage at consistently high levels against the top defenders.
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
2024 Mixed Division Offensive Player of the Year
Aaron Bartlett (Ann Arbor Hybrid)
After becoming a known name to watch on Washington DC Truck Stop’s incredibly efficient O-line over the previous two seasons, Bartlett’s jump into the mixed division has seen him take on a much more disc-dominant role with great success. He would often be the initiating cutter for Hybrid, and few defenders could stop him from dominating the open side lane and getting the disc. Once he caught an under, there were few throws Bartlett wouldn’t take. That sort of command made him invaluable to his new outfit. Throughout Nationals, he consistently broke any mark thrown at him, and he often found exactly the right moments to control the pace and go every other. His excellence extended to not having the disc, as well: he knew when to create space for his teammates with the gravity he exerted on opposing defenses.
Likely from his experience with Truck’ non-traditional offensive system, Bartlett brought a creativity that opened up new lanes for Hybrid’s offense. Even in their mostly standard vert stack system, he was always looking for inside throwing windows that defenses had trouble anticipating and making unpredictable downfield cuts, especially in the very close flat-side space. His double-double (12G, 10A) at Nationals is impressive, but doesn’t even begin to tell the full story of how dominant Bartlett was for Ann Arbor all season.
– Graham Gordon
First Runner-up
Jade McLaughlin (Fort Collins shame.)
After winning the Mixed Division Player of the Year in 2023 and making team USA, Jade McLaughlin was primed for another year of dominance with shame. She proved she could get open at will on even the strongest players in the division, and did it time and time again. McLaughlin even upped her stats this year, hauling in a total of 18 goals – the second most in the division and four more than her total from a year ago. McLaughlins ability to shake her defender and catch anything that came her way made her shame.’s number one throwing target. Despite this high usage rate, she only turned the disc five times throughout the tournament. With that level of dominance and efficiency, it’s no wonder she found her way to the top of our awards discussion yet again.
– Calvin Ciorba
Second Runner-up
Erica Baken (Minneapolis Drag’n Thrust)
For most of the 2023 season, Drag’n Thrust ran somewhat amorphous lines, with the personnel shifting between tournaments and lots of players switching in and out of different roles. At Nationals, however, especially in their bracket run, Erica Baken was almost always the one trusted to pick up the disc on offense. Her consistency as a break thrower brought plenty of stability to the Minneapolis offense, and she worked seamlessly with players like Caleb Denecour and Jason Tschida to keep the flow moving when the Drag’n vertical stack stagnated. After a couple years away from the mixed division and some time to gel with her former teammates, Baken is back to being one of the top handlers around.
– Graham Gordon
