MSU has arguably the best club dodgeball programs in the country. The players, who have earned the accolades without equal recognition, only want to do one thing: win.

“From day one, we came in here looking for national championships,” senior captain Alec Deen said. "I think that's just been our goal. Day in and day out. We don't really look for the recognition. We just want to play it to win.”

MSU does not financially support the team. However, despite their lack of formal sponsorship, the team remains focused. There's a lot that goes into the day-to-day.

“I don't think people realize how much goes into these sports,” Head Coach Becca Nguyen said. “Especially getting no funding from Michigan State, or no help with travel or anything like that. We're self-traveling. We're self-funded. We drive ourselves to and from games and tournaments. We pay for our lodging. We rely solely on parents, friends, family to get us to those places.”

Although a club sport, players say dodgeball is just as competitive as other sports on campus, if not more so. The men’s “Pinch” team has only 18 starting roster spots, and the women’s team only has eight. The Dodgeball Club as a whole is 80 members total, making it difficult to earn a traveling spot with the team.

“I’m most looking forward to getting our get-back on Akron and winning Nationals this season,” junior captain Allie Pohl said. “We didn't get it last year, but that's gonna push us extra hard this year, and we're not leaving without that trophy.”

Players and coaches said many fail to realize how dynamic the game of dodgeball is. It's similar to other sports with its emphasis on offensive and defensive strategies and formations, and the team watches film to study its opponents.

The brutality of the sport is also underappreciated, Nguyen said.

“Headshots are huge,” Nguyen said. “You have players throwing 75 miles an hour with an eight-and-a-half-inch rubber kickball and hitting you in the head with it. It's just like a big hit in football, like nothing hypes a crowd up more than just a huge hit or a diving catch.”

The Spartans have become one of the most dominant college club dodgeball teams in the nation over the past year. The team’s first championship season in 2023 didn't include a single loss; it is one of the best single-season performances in the history of college club dodgeball.

The second championship in 2024 was won in dominant fashion, but with a tougher task. Every team had a target on MSU’s back, players said, especially Grand Valley State which is the most decorated college dodgeball team in the nation.

With such an intense and electric sport to be showcased, players and coaches said the MSU club dodgeball team deserves greater recognition.

“It took building the culture,” senior assistant captain Ben Hackman said. “Our culture has been building for the past four or five years, and I think we finally have built that culture where the success is expected, where everyone is driven to get to that goal of winning the national championship.”