East Lansing’s most recent national titles don’t belong to a sport in the NCAA, but to the Michigan State University Dodgeball Club. 

Both MSU dodgeball teams — open (coed) and women’s — brought home national championships this past month while competing in the National Dodgeball Club Association. The women’s team (19-1) secured its first-ever title on April 12, and the open team (20-0) earned its title on April 29.

Both teams shared a similar path to success, as each fell short of the national championship last season, losing in the final round. The defeats instilled humility and reinforced a focus on what they can control — lessons they carried into this season.

The championships build upon the club’s standard of success. The open team now has three national titles (2023-24, 2026), while the women’s team earned its first in its three years as a program. 

Both teams are coached by married couple Rebecca and Kevin Nguyen, who have years of competitive dodgeball experience. The club emphasizes learning the game and its strategies at the start of the school year before competition begins.

Last season and this season

Like every sport, winning becomes more difficult with each victory. Success makes it easier to take the foot off the gas or ignore areas of improvement. The open team experienced that struggle last season, losing to Miami (Ohio) in the final round of the NCDA tournament. 

MSU’s mindset was overly confident, and the team eventually let up, shocking itself when it gave up an early lead, and was unable to recover. 

“If anything, that loss is part of our success from this season,” said Jake Smith, future president and head captain of the team. “We were so much hungrier going to the nationals. We repeated it over and over and over again. ‘It doesn't matter how bad another team is. We're not underestimating them. We're going to go out there, play our game, our strategy, and we're going to show them what we are.’”

That mindset was displayed the night before the championship game. The team ended the night cracking jokes and watching film on its opponents before a self-imposed midnight curfew. The next day, No. 1 MSU took down four straight opponents, including No. 2 Ohio State. It was a tight contest that MSU trailed at one point but ended in a 4-2 win.