The 2023 Western Ultimate League Awards were announced live at the conclusion of game one of semi-finals on Saturday, June 3rd in Seattle, Washington. Congratulations to all of our winners!
COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR
San Diego led the league in Offensive Efficiency and was second in Defensive Efficiency this season.
Congratulations to the coaching staff of the San Diego Super Bloom, led by Head Coach Angela Wells, with Assistant Coaches:
Benjamin Eto
Alisha Stoun
Jonathan Helton
Carlos Ruiz
Shar Stuht
Henry Argetsinger
Jeremy Cho
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Congratulations to Molly Robbins of the Utah Wild!
On her way to leading the league in blocks, Robbins was one of two players to record a block in all eight games. Any way you look at it, Robbins got blocks. She led the league in blocks, led the league in blocks per game, and was fourth in block rate among qualifying players - the only player to be top-5 in each of those categories.
Finalists for Defensive Player of the Year Were:
Avalon Igawa - LOS ANGELES ASTRA
Dena Elimelech - SAN DIEGO SUPER BLOOM
Kristen Pojunis - SAN DIEGO SUPER BLOOM
Molly Robbins - UTAH WILD
Rory Veldman - COLORADO ALPENGLOW
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Congratulations to Paige Kercher of the Utah Wild!
Kercher’s 3970 total yards led the league and were over 1,000 more than the next-highest total. She also tied for the league lead with 23 assists. Kercher led the league with 496 yards per game - almost 100 more than second place. Among handlers, she was first in usage and points played and fourth in offensive impact score, effective yards per turnover, and receiving yards per possession.
Finalists for Offensive Player of the Year Were:
Alex Diaz - SAN DIEGO SUPER BLOOM
Chip Chang - ARIZONA SIDEWINDERS
Maggie O'Connor - LOS ANGELES ASTRA
Paige Applegate - ARIZONA SIDEWINDERS
Paige Kercher - UTAH WILD
BREAKOUT PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Congratulations to Kez Gesell of the Arizona Sidewinders!
In her first WUL season, Gesell recorded 15 goals and 9 blocks and led her team with 1319 receiving yards. Gesell was her team’s fourth most-played player over the course of the season, playing in 44% of Arizona’s points. She was second on the team in goal rate, scoring a goal on 8.4% of the offensive possessions she played, and second in yards per reception, gaining an average of 12.4 yards on every catch.
Finalists for Breakout Player of the Year Were:
Abby Thorpe - COLORADO ALPENGLOW
Blair Messner - SAN DIEGO SUPER BLOOM
Kez Gesell - ARIZONA SIDEWINDERS
Molly Robbins - UTAH WILD
Raina Kamrat - OREGON ONYX
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Congratulations to Kaela Helton of the San Diego Super Bloom!
Helton was the only player in the league to record at least 20 goals and 20 assists, and she finished third in the league in total yards while recording 13 blocks. Helton finished third in the league in goals per game, third in assists per game, eighth in blocks per game, 15th in throwing yards per game, and fifth in receiving yards per game - the only player to finish in the top 25 in each category.
Finalists for Breakout Player of the Year Were:
Abby Thorpe - COLORADO ALPENGLOW
Jade McLaughlin- COLORADO ALPENGLOW
Kaela Helton - SAN DIEGO SUPER BLOOM
Kaitlyn Weaver - LOS ANGELES ASTRA
Paige Kercher - UTAH WILD
TRAILBLAZER AWARD
The trailblazer award recognizes someone who has put their heart and soul into the league. Their consistent investment in the sport of ultimate and the Western Ultimate League has made us all better players and people.
The winner of the Trailblazer Award has devoted the past three years to the Western Ultimate League. Without Felicia, the Western Ultimate League wouldn’t exist.
AWARD CRITERIA
For DPOTY, OPOTY, and MVP, players were ranked according to the following metrics and those rankings were aggregated to produce an overall ranking. The top 21 players were then nominated given the following constraints:
At least two players from each team
No more than four players from each team
Players must have played in at least five games
Finalists were determined through voting by WUL Players, Coaches, Staff, and members of the media.
Most Valuable Player Criteria
Points Played %
Usage
Offensive Impact Score
Effective Yards Per Turnover
Block Rate
Relative Offensive Efficiency
Relative Defensive Efficiency
Offensive Player of the Year Criteria
Offensive Points Played %
Usage
Offensive Impact Score
Effective Yards Per Turnover
Relative Offensive Efficiency
Defensive Most Valuable Player Criteria
Defensive Points Played %
Block Rate
Relative Defensive Efficiency