Reigning National Champions Final Justice Remain On Top to Start the 2025 Season
To say the National Dodgeball Association’s 2025 season is off to a whirlwind of a start would be the understatement of the century. The Executive Board would once again like to take the opportunity to thank every single member of our league who attended our season opening event (not advertised as Grand Rapids, if you weren’t aware) for their patience, flexibility, and energy.
This tournament could only be described as an absolute banger. While, yes, the defending National Champions, East Lansing Final Justice, took home the medals at the end of Saturday, this tournament is hardly a story of chalk and the status quo. Final Four stalwart, Grand Rapids Kraken, was dispatched by intercity rival, Grand Rapids Dynasty. While Detroit Omertà made the championship match, they didn’t get there without overcoming a second half score of 3-3 against upstart Queen City Royals. And in the championship match, defending National Champion Final Justice narrowly squeaked by the aforementioned Omertà in overtime.
Frankly, this tournament had everything you could want in a dodgeball tournament; drama, unpredictability, and of course the intensity and competitiveness you’ve come to expect from an NDA event. Let’s dig a little deeper into each bracket team’s performance, shall we?
Naturally, we start with the champs. With the addition of Colin O’Brien, FJ took an undefeated record into the finals, despite dropping a point in each match of the day. Once there, boy did they get a fight from Omertà. Not only did it take overtime to earn the victory, Final Justice also needed to overcome an early 2-0 deficit. Overcome it they did, with massive contributions from the last two NCDA Player of the Year's, Matt Barriball and Nick Fedewa. Time will tell if Final Justice can continue their winning ways in Chicago this June and make it four consecutive tournament victories.
Moving on to the runners-up in Grand Rapids. While Omertà has yet to feel the weight of gold around their necks in the National Dodgeball Association, a lot can be said about their growth and consistency. They’ve really locked in since their narrow first round exit last July (losing 5-4 in overtime to eventual winners, Final Justice, mind you), and have made the championship match at the last three events they’ve attended (Youngstown '24, Nationals '24, Grand Rapids '25). The momentum is favoring Omertà overall, and boasting some of the top players in the league, it seems inevitable that they bring home their first NDA tournament victory this season, the question is when?
Are we witnessing the resurgence of Grand Rapids Dynasty, or is this a flash in the pan? Both are valid questions after Dynasty, despite missing three core players from their roster in GR, made the semifinals this past tournament, handing rival Grand Rapids Kraken an uncharacteristically early exit in the first round of the six-team bracket. While Dynasty noticed the absence of All-NDA player, Colin O’Brien, they seemed to shrug it off quite well, hanging in tough with Final Justice in the semifinals, before ultimately falling 4-2. While Dynasty is undoubtedly in a phase of uncertainty, they made clear a declaration that they aren’t going anywhere, as long as tournament standout Ryan Ginsberg has anything to say about it.
Expect to hear a lot more about the Royals going forward, as this team is [finally] legit. While the Royals are primarily comprised of University Cincinnati Dodgeball Club players, alumni, and coaches that provide their Queen City name, they’ve made strategic additions to their roster from the outside which could prove to be difference makers in the long term. In particular, with adding Alden Prohaska of Ohio State and Cole Ginocchio, recent graduate of 2025 National Champion Miami University, this team has its eyes set on gold. Much like Detroit Omertà, it feels inevitable that the Royals cement their place in NDA history, as tournament victors sooner rather than later.
There’s a lot to be said about Kraken. They had one of the highest core player attending rosters of the entire tournament, only adding one free agent in (former Kraken stalwart) Ray Franklin, yet were soundly defeated by Dynasty. With that being said, don’t expect this team to become complacent and accept their current position in the pecking order. Fully expect Kraken to be in the mix for gold at NDA Chicago. The last time they missed the championship match at two consecutive tournaments, they won the national championship the next time they stepped on the court.
While the Streetsboro Spiders were quickly dispatched by the Royals, this team has proven they are on the come up, and will be competing in championship brackets for a long, long time. The Spiders have quickly shown themselves to be a mainstay in the National Dodgeball Association, advancing out of pool play to the championship bracket in over 50% of the tournaments they’ve attended. While they have struggled to advance in bracket play, it does feel like they’re bound to upset someone soon and make their first final four in team history this season.
New this year, the NDA will be awarding an All-Tournament Team, featuring 8 standout players to highlight their performance at each event. The Executive Board along with feedback from all the attending teams’ captains will craft the list of the 8 players consistent with the caliber of excellence exhibited throughout the tournament. It goes without saying that a tournament this competitive should feature an All-Tournament team that was just as competitively contested. The following 8 players are the All-Tournament Team for NDA Grand Rapids 2025.
