CASR Columns contributor

The final preview of individual teams for California Roundnet’s (CASR) and Portland Roundnet’s (PDX) College Roundnet Western Series (CRWS – pronounced crews??) is here.

Voters of the CRWS panel felt confident enough about the A Teams competing this fall that there were only two UNKNOWN votes for the eleven teams included in the original poll. The B-Team rankings and the C-Team rankings had 26 and 56 votes of this variety, respectively.

And yet, for having the most confident expectations (good, bad, and some a little ugly), the teams in this tier may have the most to prove of any of the three groups we’re covering.

Many are made of players returning but to new places. With multiple club founders graduating, members throughout this list will be expected to fill the shoes of the players they were mentored and led by for years.

How will this new wave of leaders perform? Will they step up?

Results

Cal Poly repeats as the top Squad for the A Team rankings, following their election as the top B Team and second-best C Team in the past two days. Though much has changed for the Mustangs, the expectation that they remain the best team in the west – and one of the best in the country – has not.

Despite a top-two finish in each of the B- and C-Team rankings, Grand Canyon fell to 5th in the A-Team rankings, highlighting their biggest obstacle to a CRWS ‘ship: their talent at the top. Their depth is unmatched against anyone not named Cal Poly, but how their A-Team performs against some of the top-overall talent in the west is a big question mark for the ‘Lopes heading into the season.

As we highlight each of the top-ten ranked A Teams in the region, let’s reverse the order and start at the bottom of the rankings.

I changed the orientation of my bed every few months growing up. Switching things up is in my blood.

Of the ten teams to come, the rankings made way for four tiers: the Ageless, the highly-Anticipated, the Aspiring, and the Available.

Note: For some teams that were added to the rankings late, I extrapolated what their score would be expected to be if the other panelists had edited their votes. Shoutout to my 7th grade Algebra teacher and the concept of proportions.

The Available (No. 9 USC, No. 10 Nevada)

This tier is a duo of two young teams with incredibly high upside. For them, there is tremendous opportunity Available for them to proceed into the upper echelons of the SouthWest section for years to come. No. 9 Southern California (49 points) and No. 10 Nevada (46.2 points) should be teams with partners who mesh well. If they play together the whole season, they have a chance to progress up these rankings steadily.

No. 10 Nevada Franz Castillo/Jack Stinson (46.2 points, C-)

Nevada has a new top team in Franz Castillo and Jack Stinson who are each making a name for themselves on the NorCal roundnet scene. Both residing in Reno, the duo mesh well thanks to Castillo’s break upside on defense and an incredible roundnet IQ that makes every aspect of his game more efficient than the average. Surely, this gameplay compliments Stinson’s hard-hitting tendencies and his growing arsenal of serves well.

Stinson is the founder of the Nevada roundnet team and has been a staple of the Spikeball Roundnet Association’s SouthWest section since the club’s inception in 2019. He has shown signs of promise, steadily performing better at each SRA Sectional he attends, but a true breakout has yet to be seen for the junior.

Castillo, on the other hand, is one of those guys that just has it. Watch him play a game and you’ll see that under the hood of his funky gameplay and calm demeanor is a player made for roundnet.

He reads the defense exceptionally well on offense – which makes hitting much less strenuous on his body than normal – and the offense exceptionally well on defense to get the most improbable of defensive ups.

Watch out for his cat-like reflexes and ability to generate soft-touches like a 7-foot middle blocker does in volleyball this season.

No. 9 Southern California Warner Curtis/Anthony Winney (49 points, C)

Southern California’s Warner Curtis and Anthony Winney haven’t played much on the college roundnet scene, but have made names for themselves nonetheless. For a club like USC’s that has struggled to grow, Curtis and Winney could be just the core Trojan Roundnet has wanted and at this point needs to build around.

Curtis is new to the Trojans’ club but is known as a solid role-player. He makes few mistakes in any aspect of his game but generates few breaks due to a lack of service pressure. Winney, an incredibly strong server, is quite the opposite – which could be a good thing for the two, whose strengths may blend well together. He can go left or right and his funky fakes often put the receiver on skates as they fear being beat by his mind-bogglingly wide, quick cuts.

If Curtis develops serves even half as lethal as Winney’s and Winney cleans up the rest of his game, look for these two to jump in the next rankings.

The Aspiring (No. 6 Chico, No. 7 UCLA, No. 8 NAU)

I almost named this tier “The Ascending,” but that may not be the case for some of these teams unless they continue to put in the work that got them onto their A Teams in the first place. Most of the members are either making their first appearances on storied college roundnet teams – like No. 6 Chico State (57.2 points, but this was extrapolated from 5 votes) and No. 7 UCLA (54 points) – or in the case of Northern Arizona (52.8 also-extrapolated points), returning to a new team looking to continue its growth.

No. 8 NAU Luke Bruce/Andrew Stevens (52.8 extrapolated points, C+)

Northern Arizona’s Andrew Stevens and Luke Bruce represent the core of the new team and are both returning for their senior years. They hope to make their mark on the college roundnet before graduating this year and set the stage for the Lumberjacks’ club to be self-sustaining after they leave.

Stevens has made great strides since COVID-19 shutdown the college roundnet scene, playing with Warren Foote of Cal Poly SLO and Dylan Bricker of Grand Canyon and qualifying for the SRA’s Premier division with Bricker with a 3rd-place finish at the Utah Roundnet Association’s Lake Tahoe Cup on July 31, 2021.

Bruce reportedly hasn’t made the same progress as his batterymate due to playing less than Stevens and not travelling enough to face high-level competition in a tournament setting. Nonetheless Stevens had good (?) things to say about him, striking a comparison between Bruce and Curtis of USC.

“Luke is really experienced and is extremely solid defensively and in the fundamentals,” Stevens said. “I would say that he is probably close to the same skill level as Warner Curtis, maybe a bit lower: solid cut and jam but nothing that will hard carry a game.”

Whether this is props to Bruce or a diss on Curtis’ game, expect the No. 8 Trojans and No. 9 Lumberjacks to settle this one on the CRWS court.

No. 7 UCLA Cory Chilton/Will Foote (54 points, C+)

Hey, that’s me.

UCLA’s Cory Chilton and Will Foote are similarly matched up to the two teams that fell immediately below them in the rankings in terms of their dynamic. Foote, like Curtis and Bruce, is a role player who hasn’t adjusted to the serving meta and needs to improve his spin rate and expand his serving arsenal if he and Chilton hope to have a chance at the podium at any CRWS events. Even still, his current peak and floor are pretty similar as he doesn’t make many mistakes while setting or hitting and has enough chemistry with Chilton to be in a spot that can create some defensive touches every now and then.

This is weird talking about myself in the third person, so onto Chilton.

Chilton is a strong server that took the fundamentals of my serving – in terms of stances and some serve-selection philosophy – and made them that much better. His speedy jams often come to a point on the body that are awkward to return that make breaks easy to come by and runs that are almost to be expected. Chilton could clean up his setting a little bit and add some multi-dimensionality to his hitting, but teams are unlikely to get defensive touches on us when we’re rolling on offense – largely due to the difficulty of defense in the current meta.

No. 6 Chico State Jake Howhannesian/Dylan West (57.2 extrapolated-points, B-)

Chico State’s Jake Howhannessian and Dylan West are both new to the college roundnet scene but many are expecting to do well – even if not as well (immediately) as some of their Chico-predecessors like quasi-coach and multiple-time SRA National Champion, Skyler Boles.

Howhannesian progressed a lot during the COVID-related shutdowns and was the quickest of all the Premier players in this tier to qualify for the division with his 2nd-place finish at the URA’s SoCal Classic on June 26, 2021. He’s the best player at Chico and could be the best overall player in this tier, as his competitive results have shown.

West, however, didn’t progress as much as Howhannessian during the shutdowns and will have some ground to make up if this duo hopes to live up to the Chico name.

“(West) just found a cut serve and has good defense,” Howhannesian said.

The Wildcats should be an exciting team and club to watch as more members in the community meet them. They also reside in a convenient spot in far-north NorCal that should allow them to commute semi-easily to both SRA Sanctioned CRWS tournaments this fall, at Oregon on October 23rd, and Cal Poly SLO on November 6th.

The Highly-Anticipated (No. 3 Washington, No. 4 Oregon, No. 5 Grand Canyon)

This tier belongs to Washington’s (70.4 points) Evan Denny and Malachi Espinola, commonly known as Rain or Shine and commonly feared for their shared serving prowess that is indicative of the serving meta at the highest level of roundnet. They are joined by No. 4 Oregon (68 points) and No. 5 Grand Canyon (63 points) who are both great teams that are hoping to make a leap onto the individual podium but are currently expected to be on the outside looking in.

No. 5 Grand Canyon (63 points, B+)

Grand Canyon’s Bricker and Trey Bowman are expected to team up barring a leap in progression by incoming-freshman Ryan McCargar and have a chance to hop on the podium this season.

Bricker is Stevens’ typical partner when they play as “Hot Jam” in non-college tournaments and features wide cuts and plays good body defense that vaulted them onto the podium and into Premier in Tahoe. The rest of his game is solid all around and should pair well with Bowman who’s been a highly-skilled player on the college roundnet scene for a while.

Bowman is a strong server and rarely makes mistakes which is why he often makes the podium at tournaments he attends, including many Colorado-based tournaments this summer and 2nd in the Premier division at SRA’s Rock Hill Tour Stop.

If these players mesh well together, it’s not unlikely that they finish top-three in multiple CRWS events and lead Grand Canyon to an overall-Squad championship.

No. 4 Oregon Zach Duffy/Noah Saddik (68 points, A-)

When two of the best players in a large geographical region – college or otherwise – team up, like Oregon’s Zach Duffy and Noah Saddik are doing this year, they’re bound to find success.

While Duffy sent us quotes about the Duck’s B and C teams, he had little – specifically nothing – to say about the combination of he and Saddik that will headline Oregon’s Squad this season.

Perhaps that’s because Duffy’s repertoire in the SRA community as a whole speaks for itself. Voters certainly thought so, with only three teams being voted higher than the pair in the rankings.

Look for Duffy to become more of a threat from the serving line which would only make this team that much more deadly.

No. 3 Washington Evan Denny/Malachi Espinola (70.4 points, A)

Washington’s Denny and Espinola might be the biggest team to watch in the upcoming CRWS tournaments. They broke out behind the scenes at URA and PDX tournaments this year and last and burst out onto the mainstage when they rolled through the competition in Costa Mesa in June.

Their speedy progression mirrors that of some of the best of the game, and the duo could very well progress to that type of ceiling as they continue to play high-level competition. Wide cuts to the right and left and deceptive reverse cuts all have break potential. When teammates each have the serving abilities Denny and Espinola have, there aren’t many off-games for them as a team – even if one is off, the other’s on enough to keep them chugging.

Denny and Espinola could be the heir-apparents to Ryan Oswalt and Wa. Foote in the West. They definitely have the serving abilities to do so. The only question is if they can clean up the other parts of their game, the only current obstacle to their astronomical trajectory – a minor one at that.

The Ageless (No. 2 UCSB, No. 1 Cal Poly SLO)

Speaking of Oswalt and Wa. Foote, the duo have been forces-to-be-reckoned-with on the college scene almost since the moment they stepped onto it. Wa. Foote’s Cal Poly (75 points) and Oswalt’s UC Santa Barbara (73 points) received at least twice as many S-tier votes as any other A Team in the CRWS rankings. Their performances and longevity of success speak for themselves, with the duo qualifying for the Pro Division at the SRA Richmond Tour Stop together and making it as least as far as semi-finals.

No-one should expect either of these two teams to finish lower than second at any CRWS event they attend, unless they’re unlucky enough to face each other before the final round of bracket play.

No. 2 UCSB Ryan Oswalt/Nathaniel Schrag (73 points, S+)

Santa Barbara’s Oswalt and Schrag will likely be one of the best teams in college roundnet in the country, so the competition they face in the CRWS should not be too difficult for them.

Oswalt may be the best individual college player in the west and is one of the best on both the college circuit and the SRA Open scene. He’s got the largest arsenal of serves in the west that have tremendous break potential regardless of which one he goes to. Watch him at the service line and you’ll think it’s easy to get multiple aces a game, but you’d be mistaken. What Oswalt does when serving is special: to do what he does is difficult even if he makes it look effortless.

His partner, incoming freshman Schrag is one of the multiple freshmen on this list, but is far from being carried to the No. 2 overall ranking in the west. Schrag is an overall clean player who features low, fast serves that should get some breaks of his own. As a young player who already plays so cleanly, Schrag – who looks eerily like Oswalt when wearing a hat might I add – should quickly become one of the best players in the section if that’s what he wants.

No. 1 Cal Poly SLO Warren Foote/Kyle Lew (75 points, S+)

Do I really need to preview this team? Anyone that’s seen Kyle Lew play knows how good he is (possibly the best overall newcomer to the college roundnet scene) and everyone knows who Wa. Foote is. Their combination of Lew’s poorly-hid roundnet skills – he’s one of the best, if not the best, non-Premier player and should qualify for the division at the SRA California Tour Stop on September 8th with Jack Selby barring any unforeseen circumstances. Lew has powerful serves that can cut quickly and consistently and has athleticism that mirrors Wa. Foote’s that helped the Cal Poly Captain break out himself. He’s a hitter beyond his year-ish of experience and will likely be competing against the likes of Schrag, Denny, Espinola and Howhannesian for the best college player in the west when the current leaders of the guard graduate.

Wa. Foote is the other player competing for the helm of best college player in the west, and he’s been in the discussion for a while. He’s quick and runs down many unlikely defensive ups when he hasn’t already put himself in a good position to get an easy up. He’s probably known best for being left handed and hitting the ball harder than anyone that doesn’t live in Texas.

Wa. Foote broke out onto the SRA Open Scene with a 1st-place finish with then-Mustang Sam Buckman as “Three Crowns” at the SRA Salt Lake City Tour Stop in 2019.

In his time at Cal Poly, WA. Foote witnessed founder Jacob Payer and Buckman win the 2019 SRA Individual College Championship and helped defend that title in SRA’s and ESPN’s “The Lost Season” series in 2020 – the closest thing to a college championship we got last year.

It’s almost poetic then that after Payer graduated in 2020 and Buckman followed suit in 2021, that he’s left to lead the team that is searching for Cal Poly’s third college crown in as many years.

He’ll look to start that quest – formally at least – when the CRWS kicks off in October.

Unranked (Gonzaga, Oregon State, Pepperdine).

Gonzaga garnered three known votes in this rendition of the rankings, but didn’t make the second threshold that we’ve only had the privilege of enforcing for the A Teams, being a top-ten team. Oregon State and Pepperdine received two votes and failed to qualify for the rankings by both criteria.

You can contact Will with questions or comments on Instagram @will.foote.