2016 was another great year of wiffleball for the SWBL and the sport in general. With the offseason in full swing and Season 15 upon us, let’s take a look back at the SWBL and the recognition received from the National Wiffleball League Association (NWLA) in 2016.
Every year, the NWLA has many opportunities for leagues around the U.S. and Canada to be recognized in many ways including: the National Tournament, the National Hall of Fame, Team Rankings, National Teams Lists, the Annual Wiffy Awards, and much more. Here is a list of the SWBL accomplishments with the NWLA in 2016:
NWLA 1st Annual Regionals Tournament
-A team consisting of Sam Skibbe, Gus Skibbe, Spencer Bogad, Chris Meador, and Peter Leicht attended the regional in Minnesota. The SWBL had already automatically qualified for Nationals but left Minnesota going 3-1-1, and finishing in the second tier for the Nationals pool play draw.
NWLA 5th Annual National Tournament
-SWBL Cardinals finished in 2nd Place, our best finish of our career in the tournament. Jackson Crosley joined the team this year and was one of the best pitchers at the tournament, finishing with 3 shutouts, 2 of them were no-hitters. Spencer and Jackson led the tournament in pitching strikeouts and Sam Skibbe led the tournament in Home Runs, RBI, and Hits. The SWBL squad finished 8-3 on the tournament, just one inning away from forcing a final deciding game against OCWA in the Championship round. Congrats to OCWA on another fantastic year!
NWLA 2016 Hall of Fame Class
-Congratulations to Gus Skibbe who was selected to this year's 2016 National Hall of Fame Class. Gus was selected alongside many other big name wiffle stars.
NWLA Rankings (Top 25)
-Phillies finish 3rd in the National Team Rankings, our highest finishing ranking to date.
-Rockies finish 22nd in the National Team Rankings.
-Royals finish 24th in the National Team Rankings.
-Athletics finish on the bubble in the National Team Rankings.
-SWBL Website finishes 5th on the National Website Rankings.
NWLA National Teams Lists
-Gus Skibbe: Third Team Hitters
-Sam Skibbe: Third Team Pitchers, Second Team Hitters
-Jackson Crosley: Third Team Pitchers
-Spencer Bogad: Third Team Pitchers, First Team Hitters
-Kyle Cornell: Second Team Hitters
-Jim Stout: Second Team Rookies
-Jay Peters: Third Team Rookies
-Evan Close: Third Team Rookies
-Chris Meador: First Team Fielders
-Brian Kenney: Second Team Fielders
-Scott Pohle: Third Team Fielders
NWLA Wiffy Awards
-Spencer Bogad: National and West Hitter of the Year
-Spencer Bogad: West Player of the Year
-Chris Meador: National and West Fielder of the Year
-Jim Stout: West Rookie of the Year
-Sam Skibbe: National Commissioner of the Year
-National Photo of the Year: Bended Bat
-National Play of the Year: HR Off Farkas
Congratulations to all of our NWLA honorees in what was a very successful year of wiffleball. I am one very proud Commissioner, and I cannot wait to see what 2017 has in store for the SWBL!