CRL is filled to the brim with talent this season, and every team that qualified for League Play earned their spot over hundreds of other skilled teams who competed. Every team that advanced from the Qualifiers deserves their spot in League Play, and we’re excited to see how they perform in the next five weeks as they attempt to qualify for the Playoffs. This season, CCA took a poll in the official CCA discord asking members of the community to rank the teams who qualified for League Play from 1st to last based on their performance in previous seasons. In this article, we will discuss the top 5 community power rankings from each region, and analyze these teams based on their rosters and past performances.
East
1. Northwood
In 1st place by a wide margin and an (almost) unanimous vote was Northwood Blue, and for good reason. Northwood University established their Collegiate Rocket League team a few seasons ago, back in the Spring 2020 season. While the original roster didn’t make it very far that 1st season, Northwood came back with a brand new roster the following season, Fall 2020, consisting of three of the best CRL players we’ve come to know and love today: “Buddy,” “Pirates,” and “Noxes.” This roster achieved 1st place in the Fall 2020 season under the team name Northwood University. The following season, Spring 2021, that same roster were able to make it to the National Championship yet again, achieving 4th place overall. In Fall of 2021, Northwood University had enough talented Rocket League players to split into two teams, Northwood White and Northwood Blue. Noxes split off to the Northwood White team, where he was joined by players “tcorrell” and “LionBlaze” who are both insanely talented players as well. Buddy and Pirates split off to Northwood Blue, where they were joined by “hockE,” a player who proved to be a gifted 3rd man, achieving 8th most assists per game and 10th most demos per game out of all CRL players that season. Northwood White achieved 1st place in the National Championship last season, with Northwood Blue achieving 3rd place in the Conference Playoffs. Both teams did exceptionally well, and this season, Northwood Blue has turned into one incredibly stacked super team consisting of the OG Northwood players Buddy, Noxes, and Pirates, as well as hockE and LionBlaze. This is why Northwood Blue is ranked so highly on this list, as the past performance of every single player on their team speaks for itself.
2. Stockton:
Stockton have consistently been a top team in almost every season they’ve played in. Last season, they were able to achieve 4th place in the East Conference Playoffs, but were unable to advance to the National Championship. However, their roster consisting of “TopCheese,” “Dark,” and “Busse” were definitely a threat to any opposing team, especially TopCheese, who had the 3rd most shots per game and 8th most goals per game overall for that season. This season, TopCheese and Busse have returned to play for Stockton, adding player “Dripinho” to the roster. Stockton did well in the qualifiers, and the community seems to agree that they will be one of the most deadly East teams moving forward.
3. St. Clair Saints Gold:
This Canadian team consisting of players “Spoods,” “Comp,” and “Jay” have done well since their roster’s formation in the Fall 2021 season where they placed 8th overall in the East Conference Playoffs. Spoods had the 10th overall most saves per game last season, and this team has continued to impress through their performance in Qualifier #1 this season where they swept their way through the Grand Final to qualify for League Play.
4. Seton Hall:
This team consists of players “tone,” “Stokelyy,” and “Froze” who were able to rank 5th place in the East Conference Playoffs last season. Stokelyy placed 1st in average points and shots per game overall last season as well as placing 4th in overall saves per game. Seton Hall is most definitely a top team this season, and they are highly anticipated going into League Play.
5. Akron Zips:
Anyone who’s been following CRL for more than a year or two knows that Akron has always been a top CRL team. They took the National Championship 3 seasons in a row from Spring of 2019 to Spring of 2020, then took second place to Northwood Blue in Fall of 2020, and took 1st place again in Spring of 2021. Players “Buzz,” “Reticence,” and “.tristn” were the power team that won Akron all these Championships, however, last season, .tristn graduated and Reticence took the backseat, acting as sub for the team with new players ”Fal” and “Knight” taking the wheel. At the beginning of the Fall 2021 season, Akron were unable to qualify for League Play since they were a new roster with relatively little experience playing with each other. However, they were able to find their bearings later in the season in 3rd party tournaments. Fal proved to be an insanely gifted player, and this season, Reticence has returned to the core roster and will have Buzz and Fal by his side. This season is sure to be fruitful for Akron U, and we’re happy to see them return to form.
West
1. Columbia College
The 1st place power ranking for the West region was Columbia College. Last season, Columbia College came in third place overall in the National Championship, while coming in 1st for the West Region. Their stacked team consisting of players “Cryptic,” “CrowsShinyWings,” “CosmicFlippy,” and sub “cam.” played phenomenally all season, and were able to make it as far as they did through their high-level mechanics and amazing team plays. Cryptic ranked 1st in the League for goals and 8th for shot accuracy, while CrowsShinyWings ranked 9th for shot accuracy and 2nd for demos per game, CosmicFlippy ranked 1st overall for assists per game, and cam. ranked higher than top 10 in all of these categories as well. This season, CrowsShinyWings and cam. have switched places, with cam. being a part of the main team and CrowsShiny Wings being a sub. This switch doesn’t seem to have slowed them down, and they’re still playing incredibly. It will be interesting to see if this switch has any other effects down the road.
2. UNLV:
The University of Nevada Las Vegas was another top West team last season, where they ranked 4th place overall and 2nd place in the West region. In fact, they ranked 1st in League Play last season, and weren’t overtaken by Columbia College until the National Championship. This team consisting of players “NytroDryft,” “Garenn,” and “TheWheat” truly is world class, with Garenn ranking 2nd place in goals and shots per game last season and TheWheat ranking 5th in assists per game.
3. LSU:
This roster consisting of players “ayjacks,” “BrohnB,” and “Ravenyyte” hasn’t had the best of luck in the past, only making it as far as the Loser’s Quarter-Final last season. However, they seem to have turned it around this season, showing that they have the potential to be one of the best teams in CRL.
4. UTA:
Arlington is a team that has consistently placed in the top 10 West teams in multiple CRL seasons, including the Fall 2021 season. UTA consists of players “Adverse,” who ranked 8th overall in shots per game last season, “Samba,” who ranked 2nd overall in saves per game, and “Nava,” who ranked 6th overall in demos per game. UTA is able to play great defense and hold immense pressure on their opponents, which is a likely reason for them placing so high in the community power rankings.
5. Ottawa University:
This brand new roster consisting of players “Nitrovity,” “Taos,” and “Otis” proved themselves in Qualifier #1 this Spring Season by making a major comeback after getting knocked down to the Loser’s Bracket in the Winner’s Final against SDSU Red, then proceeding to climb back up and beat SDSU in both the Grand Final and Grand Final Reset. The Braves certainly have the potential to go a long way this season, especially if they can consistently hold the determination they showed in Qualifier #1.
What’s Next?
League Play has begun! So make sure to tune in here over the next 5 weeks to see how these teams do, and how accurate the community’s power rankings were.
