These three defenders put forth awesome and impactful seasons.
June 16, 2025 by Calvin Ciorba and Josh Katz in Awards
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 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 spring. 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
- All-American First Team
- All-American Second Team
- Defensive Player of the Year Award
- Offensive Player of the Year Award
- Rookie of the Year Award
- Breakout Player of the Year Award
- Coaches of the Year Award
- Full Awards Voting Breakdown
D-III Men’s 2025 Defensive Player Of The Year
Max Zwerin (Lewis & Clark)
Max Zwerin proved he was more than a one trick pony in his final year with Lewis & Clark, making a seamless transition to the D-line and earning the DPOTY award in the process.
Like any elite team, Bacchus had a number of defensive schemes and looks they could turn to, depending on the opponent and/or the weather. At the heart of all of those plans was Zwerin, who could always be counted on to keep up with and keep out the opposition’s best players.
Watching his tape is like watching a coaching clinic on how to play defense, such is the precision he demonstrates. He rarely sprints on defense, not for lack of effort, but because he never needs to. His positioning is consistently excellent, as is his understanding of the other players out there, allowing him to stalk around the field like a lion on the prowl. And on the occasions where he kicks into second and third gear, his closing speed shuts down open windows in the blink of an eye, often forcing a pump-fake and a reset from a surprised thrower. When a throw does get put up in his direction, he’s as good a bet as any to reach around or over his matchup for a block, as evidenced by his team-leading eight at Nationals (a number that was also good for a tie for fifth in the division). No matter what question opposing offenses were asking, Max Zwerin was ready with an answer, making him an easy pick for our DPOTY award.
First Runner-Up
Louis Douville Beaudoin (Middlebury)
Louis Douville Beaudoin is not the most physically imposing defender. He’s not winning his matchups by baiting throwers into seemingly open looks, before leaping in front of an unsuspecting receiver. Rather, LDB wins on defense by doing all the little things well. He leverages his body to force his matchup into less advantageous spots. He subtly poaches off for a second or two to make throwers second guess themselves. He sets a steady mark on the disc and keeps his hands active. To top it all off, his pulls are sublime, constantly putting opposing offenses behind the eight ball.
Second Runner-Up
Cameron Lowe (Rochester)
One of the surprise stars of the 2025 season, Lowe was an integral part of a Rochester squad that finally broke through past prequarters. Lowe has an innate ability to stay locked in on his cutter matchup the entire point, practically breathing down their neck until someone makes a bad throw or he gets a block. Lowe’s ten blocks accounted for the second most at the tournament, and most for teams that made the bracket. With one more year left in his college career, Lowe will certainly be a name we watch in the 2026 season.
