Change is Good
Last year when I published the "2nd Annual SFA VolleyBlog All-WAC Teams" I wrote that readers could check on my method of team construction in the "11th and final rendition of my Southland All-Conference picks". Times change and that is evidenced by Stephen F. Austin's return to the SLC and also my decision to dovetail this post into one that mimics the conference structure for the first time.
This is the 14th year I have done this exercise and I have made repeated arguments for creating actual teams. Typically, I would pick a first, second and third team that each had minimum positional requirements so that, for instance, the "first team" was actually a playable team on the court. I've tried to make justifications for why I thought this is best in the past and I still believe in those arguments. However, through the years I've seen just how many different ways this can be done and how virtually every method has its pros and cons.
So, like SFA coming back to the Southland, I've decided to change. Adaptability is a skill. I'm willing to change.
Similarities and Differences to How the Conference Makes Official Lists
Let me explain the similarities and differences in my methods and those that you will see that generate the official lists later in the week:
First, coaches nominate a list of players. I find this totally unnecessary and this is one place where I have chosen not to yield. What this means is that the pool of players that can receive official votes is dictated entirely by the coaches themselves. Sorry, coaches... that's too much power and it can occasionally be abused. I say the player universe that we can choose from should be all rosters on all teams.
That's basically the only main difference in how these picks will be made, because now what happens is that the coaches rank 21 players from the submitted nominees and the votes are tallied up. The top 14 vote getters receive first team honor and the next seven are awarded second team. A coach cannot vote for their own players. From these votes the top vote getter at freshman, setter, libero, and newcomer are determined and given those special awards. A coach of the year is chosen and of course, the top vote getter overall is the player of the year. Each school submits one list which is meant to be a representation of both that school's coach and sports information director.
I'll make a 14/7 pair of lists like mentioned above and I'll also throw in a few "just missed" athletes because honoring players is good and I wish that the conference had an "honorable mention" section Below is a disclaimer section (this is important), my lists, a statistical breakdown of "stat pros" and "stat lows" and then my overall methodology for full transparency.
The "stat pros/lows" is something that I started while doing this in the WAC because when people would ask me why I made certain choices I was almost always answering those questions with something from this section. So, I decided to just start publishing those statistical rankings to aid people with getting in my head about these things.
As the folks here at SFA can testify, I keep spreadsheets of data on every starting player in the conference on my laptop that I use while I call matches. Those spreadsheets include statistical rankings for every key player in the conference and how they compare to other players at their respective positions.
Disclaimer Section!
(Yes, I need this. My history in the Southland dictates this is necessary) This post was published BEFORE the official All-SLC teams were announced by the conference. I do this independently and DO NOT discuss my picks with coaches or representatives from the institutions beforehand (including SFA!!. Believe it or not, but years ago I got accused once or twice of actually influencing the voters because I would publish the lists before the coaches turned their rankings in. I found that claim absurd, but started publishing the list the day or two before the league announced the real winners so that the voting would be over or ending.
I have called on ESPN+ or on radio a match involving every team in the league this year. I have personally called and/or watched each team in the league play entire matches multiple times. Based on what I do for a living, statistical analysis weighs HEAVY in making my picks. But, I've been calling collegiate volleyball for a decade now and so the "eyeball" test is in here too. But just know.. numbers/stats are what will always drive me.
2024 SFA VolleyBlog 1st Team All-SLC (14 players)
Stat Lows:
- Originally had Allison as Freshman of Year, but Holtman's "Stat Pro" list flipped me by an inch. Gotta be one of these two.
- Logarbo's stats surprised me. Not someone I originally thought would make this list.
- McKelvey is a personal favorite. I'll write a post about players like this soon.
- Thought there were a lot of average liberos w/ basically none really as standouts.
- We need to honor strong players on non-tournament teams (Castro, Benjamin)
- Jade Smith is among the national leaders in the defining stat for her position. The conference should recognize such. Actually fine with her as Libero of Year if chosen.
- It's a struggle to compare 5-1, 6-2 setters. (i.e., Gonzalez, Baumert vs. Flynn, Duplechein, Richardson)
- Player Most Likely to Make Official List Not Appearing Here: Leah Stolfus, TAMUCC or someone like Tilman from my "just missed".