Public Roster Observations

Today was a historic step in the right direction for quidditch. The team rosters of all attending teams were made public beneath the IQA logo on an IQA website. Featured at the bottom of the snazzy new World Cup VII teams pages, the posted rosters both answer and raise questions. 

In the past, I've always gone through captains to obtain roster news. However, I've learned that trying to put together a sophisticated breaking news article on roster news is often spoiled by a leak on social media. In addition, information that's leaked on blogs like The QuidKid before it is officially approved can unfortunately impact official decisions. 

Now, I hope, my readers can understand 1 ) why  I am so happy that the shroud of secrecy around roster news has been lifted and 2) why I didn't contact captains to confirm any of the information discussed. I am assuming (perhaps incorrectly...and please tell me if my assumptions are incorrect) that the rosters made public on iqaworldcup.com/teams are somewhat accurate.

So let's get started! Here are seven observations I had from browsing through teams' rosters.

1. Florida's Finest has replaced Brendan Frisella with former Ball State and Team USA seeker Tyler Macy. Leaked to The QuidKid as a member of Florida's Finest back in September, Macy has not appeared for the Flamingoes yet this season and will be making his Florida's Finest debut at World Cup VII. Frisella, a former Southern Miss utility star, was added to the Florida's Finest roster during the winter. Playing spectacularly at Swamp Cup, Frisella missed key snatches against USF in regulation and overtime in the quarterfinals of the Southern Regional Championship. While we can't be sure that Florida's Finest's seeker situation has improved or worsened before seeing Macy in action, having a second, reliable seeker to the rotation behind Austin Clooney ensures that utility player Sean Pagoada can focus his attention on beating with the snitch on the pitch.

2. NAU, one of the teams hit with suspensions due to violations of the IQA's Fair Play Policy, only has 16 players listed on its roster. While captain Cooper Davis is notably missing, many of NAU's major pieces look ready to go in North Myrtle Beach including seeker Porter Marsh, beater April Gonzales and many familiar names in the chasing game. NAU faces a tough pool play schedule with matches against Emerson, Ball State, SHSU and QC Pittsburgh. However, NAU will not be the only undermanned West team expected to be in contention for a bracket play spot...

3. The Santa Barbara Blacktips have a 16 player roster registered with matches against NYDC, Austin Quidditch, Michigan and the Badassilisks looming. The Blacktips are known for being carried by their first string players, but for a team with such high hopes and a tough schedule, a 16 player depth chart could be difficult to overcome. In addition, the Long Beach Funky Quaffles have 15 players scheduled for their World Cup debut, 16 names are listed for the Utah Crimson Fliers and Stanford will be bringing a team of 17 players.

4. A move already known to many in the Midwest, Alex Scheer, formerly the captain of Toledo, will be playing for Missouri. Scheer will be an important offensive weapon and playmaker alongside Josh Ebbemeyer and Dan Shapiro for Missouri as they look to notch a victory over either the Gee-Gees, Tufts or LSU to advance to bracket play. 

5. Penn State chaser Jason Rosenberg, who broke his foot in October, has been left off Penn State's World Cup VII roster. Sources have informed me that Rosenberg had surgery on his foot, which has kept the physical chaser off the field at Turtle Cup, MARC, Cocoa Cup and now, World Cup VII. As a result, Penn State is much more reliant on beater Scott Axel defensively and its offense is less physical.

6. The rosters of the NYDC Capitalists and Lone Star QC, which have fluctuated over the course of the season, look pretty much as I expected them to. NYDC keeper John Gaffigan is scheduled to return to the Capitalists' roster after missing the Beantown Brawl and Capitol Cup. All four of LSQC's winter transfers, Craig Garrison, Mathieu Gregorie, Chris Scholtz and Jacob Wilson are listed on the 21 man roster, as well as captain Mollie Lensing, who has spent the majority of the spring quidditch season in Scotland.

7.  Saving the greatest amount of roster shuffling for the end, out of the three Kansas stars that the IQA Editorial Team reported would miss World Cup VII (Colby Soden, Jordan Callison and Keir Rudolph), Soden and Callison are not on the roster but the most lethal weapon for the Jayhawks, seeker Keir Rudolph, is. Rudolph confirmed with the IQA (me) that he would miss World Cup VII, and although I can only speculate, it was very strange to see Rudolph's name on the list. Veterans from World Cup VI's Elite Eight Kansas squad, Hai Nguyen and Doug Whiston will be taking spots on the team.