Honor Roll: 2023 Dean's List


August 7, 2023
By Evan Lepler

Compiling the "Honor Roll" each week is, admittedly, an inexact science. 

I watch A LOT of ultimate every weekend, but it’s impossible to see everything. Statistics are informative and helpful, but also imperfect and occasionally misleading. Furthermore, even if everyone could see every point and digest every number, reasonable minds inevitably would still disagree.

I try to value winning. Of course, it also matters who you beat. I strive not to be completely swayed by certain stats without putting them in context, but sometimes the numbers are indeed overwhelming.

Obviously, it’s inherently troublesome to craft individual praise in a team sport. There were several circumstances during the season when a particular team delivered a brilliant all-around victory, but maybe the success was too widespread and balanced to elevate any single person. While others may see it as a disrespectful snub, I often view it as a true team tribute if no one person receives rave reviews after a marquee result or two-win weekend. 

There’s also the dynamic that I select seven players every week, regardless of whether there were five games or 15. Some weeks there’s more competition than others, so there’s no doubt that considerable elements of good fortune and happenstance are involved in who gets recognized each week. 

With all that said, here’s a compilation of all the individuals who earned a spot on the Honor Roll over the past 14 weeks. While there are definitely some noteworthy names that are absent, it’s also a decent snapshot of the best players in the league throughout the 2023 season.

First, here are five facts and figures:

  • Seventy different players earned a spot on the Honor Roll during the 2023 season, including the first round of the playoffs. 

  • There were 20 different players that were on the Honor Roll multiple times.

  • A truly elite group of four players made the Honor Roll more than twice. 

  • The Carolina Flyers had seven different players earn honors; no other team had more than five. 

  • Four teams—Detroit, Madison, Montreal, and Portland—never had an Honor Roll appearance. 

On to the distinguished selections! 

The Five-Timers Club

It makes sense that Jeff Babbitt and Ryan Osgar each made the Honor Roll five times. They are arguably the top two MVP candidates, frequently putting up big numbers and always emerging victorious over the course of the season. 

Three-For-All

  • Christian Boxley, DC Breeze
  • Quinn Finer, Colorado Summit

This duo of dynamic cutters each received three Honor Roll nods during the season. It’s interesting to note that neither Christian Boxley nor Quinn Finer finished among the top 15 in plus/minus for the entire season, however they each had their fair share of spectacular performances for winning teams. 

Twice Is Nice

  • Travis Dunn, San Diego Growlers
  • Thomas Edmonds, DC Breeze
  • Brett Hulsmeyer, Atlanta Hustle
  • Pawel Janas, Los Angeles Aviators
  • Jordan Kerr, Salt Lake Shred
  • Jeremy Keusch, Indianapolis AlleyCats
  • Garrett Martin, Seattle Cascades
  • Sean McDougall, Los Angeles Aviators
  • Jacob Miller, Salt Lake Shred
  • Keegan North, Indianapolis AlleyCats
  • Xavier Payne, Indianapolis AlleyCats
  • James Pollard, Philadelphia Phoenix
  • Max Sheppard, Pittsburgh Thunderbirds
  • Andrew Sjogren, Chicago Union
  • Evan Swiatek, Austin Sol
  • Max Trifillis, Philadelphia Phoenix

These 16 players all made the Honor Roll two times apiece. Among this group, there are three AlleyCats and two players from the Aviators, Phoenix, and Shred.

Solo Selections

  • Lukas Ambrose, Los Angeles Aviators
  • Matt Armour, Austin Sol
  • Alex Atkins, Colorado Summit
  • Ty Barbieri, Toronto Rush
  • Sam Berglund, Minnesota Wind Chill
  • Bret Bergmeier, Minnesota Wind Chill
  • Tobias Brooks, Carolina Flyers
  • Justin Burnett, Atlanta Hustle
  • Simon Carapella, Boston Glory
  • Travis Carpenter, Indianapolis AlleyCats
  • Dexter Clyburn, Oakland Spiders
  • Sean Connole, Salt Lake Shred
  • Alex Davis, Carolina Flyers
  • Antoine Davis, New York Empire
  • Dylan DeClerck, Minnesota Wind Chill
  • Ryan Drost, New York Empire
  • Jace Duennebeil, Salt Lake Shred
  • Khalif El-Salaam, Seattle Cascades
  • Mark Evans, Austin Sol
  • Jacob Fairfax, Carolina Flyers
  • Walker Frankenberg, Oakland Spiders
  • Liam Haberfield, Atlanta Hustle
  • Mac Hecht, Oakland Spiders
  • Kyle Henke, Austin Sol
  • Jonny Hoffman, Salt Lake Shred
  • Cole Jurek, DC Breeze
  • Keenan Laurence, Oakland Spiders
  • Ben Lewis, Houston Havoc
  • James Lewis, Toronto Rush
  • Suraj Madiraju, Carolina Flyers
  • Brendan McCann, Boston Glory
  • Wyatt Mekler, Chicago Union
  • Steven Milardovich, San Diego Growlers
  • Elliott Moore, Austin Sol
  • Sean Mott, Philadelphia Phoenix
  • Jonathan Nethercutt, Colorado Summit
  • Dean Ramsey, Atlanta Hustle
  • Andrew Roy, DC Breeze
  • Liam Searles-Bohs, Carolina Flyers
  • Cody Spicer, Colorado Summit
  • Jake Steslicki, Chicago Union
  • Colin Sunde, Boston Glory
  • Austin Taylor, Atlanta Hustle
  • Ray Tetreault, Boston Glory
  • Tristan Van de Moortele, Minnesota Wind Chill
  • Brandon Van Deusen, Los Angeles Aviators
  • Bryan Vohnoutka, Minnesota Wind Chill
  • Joe White, Carolina Flyers
  • Alec Wilson Holliday, Dallas Legion
  • Sol Yanuck, Carolina Flyers

Obviously, these 50 players are a pretty good encapsulation of the league’s finest talent, along with a handful of guys that perhaps had one truly standout weekend during the 2023 season. Maybe the most intriguing aspect of this list, though, might be the handful of previously recognized All-AUDL talent that is not included. Ben Jagt, Rowan McDonnell, and Jack Williams all had solid, if not splendid seasons for winning teams, but none of these First Team All-AUDL stars from a year ago received an "Honor Roll" appointment in 2023. 

There’s also one massive and inconvenient reality that half the league might appreciate mentioning: great defense is wildly undervalued in terms of weekly headlines. Among the 70 players on this list, only 17 saw more action on the D-line than the O-line this season. The fact remains great offense is often easier to quickly identify than excellent defense, as the latter can require more detailed and time consuming film study. That’s definitely something I will try and keep in mind moving into the future, as I think it’s clear that more defenders deserve the benefit of the doubt. 

Dissecting the "Honor Roll" by team, here’s the number of different players that made it from each team during the 2023 season.

  • Flyers: 7 players
  • Hustle: 5
  • Shred: 5
  • Sol: 5
  • Wind Chill: 5
  • AlleyCats: 4
  • Aviators: 4
  • Breeze: 4
  • Empire: 4
  • Glory: 4
  • Spiders: 4
  • Summit: 4
  • Phoenix: 3
  • Union: 3
  • Cascades: 2
  • Growlers: 2
  • Rush: 2
  • Havoc: 1
  • Legion: 1
  • Thunderbirds: 1
  • Mechanix: 0
  • Nitro: 0
  • Radicals: 0
  • Royal: 0