The final stage of the 15 Open qualifying process is set up to be the most exciting because there is an added element of wondering if more at-large bids will become available at Far Western or not when the older ages convene in Reno the last weekend of the month?
Currently, there are four at-large bids available in the division. There are three bids in play in 15 Open next weekend, but as of now there are nine teams entered with bids. We’ll see if any of the nine pull out considering they are already qualified. That would change things obviously, but the field would need to get down to five qualified teams in order to guarantee all three bids are awarded.
Even if a few don’t come and there ends up being six qualified teams, there’s still a chance not all three bids go out. If all nine come, it’s possible no bids go out. There are plenty of interested parties. At the top includes highly-ranked teams in No. 6 AZ Sky 15G, No. 10 Alamo 15 Premier and No. 19 HJV 15 Elite. None of the three have secured bids and won’t be in Reno, so the more at-larges the better their chances of making the Open field this summer.
With the way things sit, 25 teams from vballrecruiter.com’s 15s Top 50 National Rankings have qualified to date. There are four more unranked teams which have also earned their bids, with the remaining seven to be decided in the coming weeks. Here’s the full list of qualified teams (with where they qualified):
- 1. Skyline 15 Royal (Red Rock)
- 2. Mintonette Sports m.51 (Sunshine)
- 3. Boiler Jrs 15 Gold (MEQ)
- 4. Madfrog 15 Green (Red Rock)
- 5. TAV 15 Black (Red Rock)
- 7. Austin Skyline 15 Royal (Sunshine)
- 8. Legacy 15-1 Adidas (Northern Lights)
- 9. SCVC 15 Roxy (SLC)
- 11. AP 15 Adidas (Northern Lights)
- 12. NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami (Big South)
- ***
- 13. Hou Skyline 15 Royal (Northern Lights)
- 14. Wave 15 Brennan (Big South)
- 16. Arizona Storm 15 Thunder (Lone Star)
- 18. Dynasty 15 Black (Lone Star)
- 20. Pohaku 15-1 (Show Me)
- 21. Elevation 15 Tony (MEQ)
- 22. AVC Cle 15 Red (Windy City)
- 24. Aspire 15 Premier (SLC)
- 26. Tribe 15 Elite Cardinal (Sunshine)
- 30. SG Elite 15 Rosh (PNQ)
- ***
- 31. Academy 15 Diamond (NEQ)
- 32. GP 15 Rox (Big South)
- 34. Michio 15 National (Windy City)
- 37. Team Pineapple 15 Black (MEQ)
- 40. Club V 15 Ren Reed (SLC)
- *Metro 15 Travel (NEQ)
- *Vision 15 Gold (PNQ)
- *Mizuno Long Beach 15 Rockstar (PNQ)
- *Premier Nebraska 15 Gold (Show Me)
*unranked
There are not many remaining ranked teams without a bid attending Far Western. As of now, the short list includes:
- 15. Forza1 North 15 One
- 38. AZ Rev 15 Premier
- 39. Coast 15 Luis
As for the remaining ranked teams that will need to rely on an at-large, that list features:
- 6. AZ Sky 15G
- 10. Alamo 15 Premier
- 19. HJV 15 Elite
- 23. Top Select 15 Elite
- 25. Drive Nation 15 Red
- 28. TAV Houston 15 Adidas
- 29. A5 Mizuno 15 Bob
- 33. Triangle 15 Black
- 35. Tstreet 15 Curtis
- 36. WPVC 15 Armour Black
- 41. Actyve 15 Black
- 42. Sunshine 15 Westside
- 43. Jupiter Elite 15E
- 44. MKE Sting 15 Gold
- 45. High Tide 15 Elite
- 46. MAVS 816 15-1
- 47. MN Select 15-1
- 48. TVC 15 Black
- 49. Northern Lights 15-1
- 50. HPSTL 15 Royal
We know not all can be selected. The team that’s going to play a big role in qualifying looks to be Forza1 North 15 One. Forza North, at 10-10, owns one of the better records against the Open field and would be among the favorites to receive an at-large from this perspective. That’s why Forza North’s time in Reno is important, because if Forza North qualifies outright it takes one of the top at-large contenders out of the picture and opens the door for another presumably.
Among the favorites along with Forza North for an at-large – based on qualifier finishes and record against the field – include AZ Sky, Alamo, HJV and Top Select 15 Elite. AZ Rev 15 Premier is another at-large candidate but doesn’t have as strong as a case, so AZ Rev could really help itself by qualifying in Reno next weekend. Below, we look at some of the at-large candidates and where they might stack up.
— AZ SKY 15G (11-5) (5th Red Rock; 21st Lone Star)
W: SG Elite; Madfrog (2x); Club V; AZ Storm (2x); Aspire; Boiler Jrs; GP; Hou Skyline; TAV
L: TAV; Aspire; SCVC; NKYVC; Hou Skyline
— Forza1 North 15 One (10-10) (5th Red Rock; 5th Salt Lake)
W: Long Beach (2x); SG Elite (2x); SCVC (2x); Wave (2x); Dynasty; Team Pineapple
L: Wave (2x); GP; Skyline; Aspire; AP; Dynasty; Hou Skyline; NKYVC; TAV
— Alamo 15 Premier (10-15) (4th Big South; 9th Lone Star; 9th Red Rock)
W: AP; Madfrog (2x); TAV; Hou Skyline; AZ Storm (2x); AZ Sky; Metro; GP
L: Hou Skyline; Madfrog (2x); AP; Skyline; Boiler Jrs; Pohaku; SCVC (2x); AZ Storm; Legacy; Austin Skyline; NKYVC; Wave; TAV
— HJV 15 Elite (9-13) (15th Windy City; 9th Lone Star; 23rd Red Rock)
W: AP (3x); TAV (2x); AVC Cle; GP; Team Pineapple; Pohaku
L: Austin Skyline (2x); Hou Skyline (2x); AP; Dynasty (2x); Boiler Jrs; Madfrog; Pohaku; Wave; GP; SG Elite
— Top Select 15 Elite (7-5) (7th Sunshine; 5th Big South)
W: Tribe (2x); Pohaku; SG Elite; GP; Legacy; Academy
L: Austin Skyline (2x); Dynasty; AVC Cle; Mintonette
— AZ Rev 15 Premier (2-4) (29th Lone Star; 15th Red Rock)
W: AZ Storm; SG Elite
L: Mintonette; Austin Skyline; SCVC; Hou Skyline
— Triangle 15 Black (2-5) (27th Lone Star; 5th Sunshine; 5th Big South)
W: Metro; AVC Cle
L: Legacy; Mintonette; Tribe; Hou Skyline; GP
— TAV Houston 15 Adidas (2-6) (14th MEQ; 17th Lone Star)
W: Austin Skyline; AVC Cle
L: Austin Skyline; Mintonette; NKYVC; Team Pineapple; Skyline; TAV
— A5 Mizuno 15 Bob (3-12) (15th NL; 9th Big South; 13th Sunshine; 13th SLC)
W: Elevation; SG Elite; Long Beach
L: Hou Skyline; Pohaku; NKYVC; Austin Skyline (2x); Skyline; AVC (2x); Michio; AZ Storm; TAV; Vision
— Drive Nation 15 Red (0-14) (17th Red Rock; 13th NL; 25th Lone Star)
W: n/a
L: Wave; Madfrog; AZ Sky; AZ Storm; Legacy; AP (2x); Hou Skyline; Austin Skyline (2x); Skyline; TAV (2x); Aspire
