October 5, 2021

The inaugural recipient of the AUDL Defensive Player Of The Year is AJ Merriman. In just his second season in the league, Merriman helped lead a young DC Breeze defensive rotation,  allowing the fewest goals per game in the AUDL, and finishing fifth in takeaways. Merriman finished in the top 10 in the league in blocks, generating 20 in 13 games with the Breeze in 2021.