2024 Regionals Analysis Week 3

Buffalo: (26 Teams) ‘Hey Siri, give me a Buffalo Pun’ (MAIMD Ranking 25/30)
-2 teams in top 50, 4 teams in top 100, 7 teams in top 200

First In:
NYU A

Bubble:
NYU B
Wesleyan A
Cornell A
Binghamton A
Wesleyan B
Toronto A
Cornell B
Binghamton B

Initial Thoughts:
Hello, Buffalo! For our first Regional of week three, we’ve got a lengthy, varied Bubble, and a short, non-varied, First In list. You know what they say about Buffalo, though: take nothing for granted. Okay, maybe nobody has ever said that about Buffalo, New York, but it’s certainly true for the Buffalo Regionals. We don’t see a whole lot of certainty on the horizon for anyone who’ll be flying into the 6th largest city in New York State. Take our eponymous #1 and #2 spots, for instance. Last year, NYU B sailed through Chestnut Hill regionals with a 7-1 record, taking home the second place spot and a bid to New Rochelle. NYU A, on the other hand, just barely scraped through, securing the last available bid with just 5 wins after a brutal sweep from an 8-0 Wellesley squad and a heartbreaking +25,-2 split with Clark. Both teams went on to the New Rochelle ORCS, and, after one of the biggest scandals of the 2023 season, both teams went on to Memphis. This fall, they’ve been notoriously absent for much of the invitational season. So what does all this mean? It means NYU is a little bit of a question mark– but we think their two-team Nationals appearance means we can stave off asking those questions about their A team until March.

Just below NYU B in the Bubble is Wesleyan A—because the Cardinals, even more so than the Bobcats, are a bit of a wildcard. Wesleyan’s TPR saw a big drop off from 2023 to 2024 (from 25 to 81), with their older, more dominant years gradually fading out of recent memory and the threshold for AMTA’s TPR analytics. Wesleyan’s A team did make an appearance at ORCS last year, but it was on a bid from their B team, secured out of Princeton regionals– so it’s possible they have some depth that we’ll see come out of the woodwork here. On the other hand, Buffalo could see a repeat of last year’s B team bid, with Wesleyan’s spunky second squad outpacing its A team once again. At this point, it’s just too hard to tell. The Cardinals have walked away with some hardware this fall–double threat Alicia Paglia has been a regular on those east coast tab summaries–so we’re optimistic, but only the Buffalo judges will be able to make the final determination. An experienced team (like either NYU squad) could knock them off balance at this point, but we’re hopeful they’ll make it back to ORCS.

Cornell and Binghamton are in similar categories. Cornell A was in the middle of the pack on the bid list out of Owings Mills last year, followed by their B team with a close Honorable Mention– but Owings Mills was one of the few Regionals where a middle of the pack bid could come with just 5.5 wins. On the flip side, Binghamton A missed a direct bid out of Buffalo, but their B team held down the fort with the fourth bid out. Cornell and Binghamton are both headed to Buffalo with two teams, likely hopeful to not see a repeat of last year’s misstep. We’re optimistic it might be a good year to be a Bearcat or a Big Red–with competitors like double threats Andrew Ashinoff and Sahil Venkatesan making some hubbub in the fall, we know they’ve got at least some of the sparkle of star power on their side. We’ll see if they end February with two tickets to Cincinnati, or if they’re going to be spending the car ride home from Buffalo having some difficult restack-related conversations.

All in all, this region could give us a little bit of a toss up. The Bubble really is a bloodbath– anyone’s to say what’s going to happen below NYU. Best of luck to everyone competing!

Team to Watch: Toronto
Ice. Snow. Hockey. Extremely fast growing mock trial teams? This writer (also) doesn’t know a whole lot about Canada, but she does know math (ish) and that math shows that the University of Toronto’s mock trial success has been growing exponentially. Let’s take a walk down memory lane here. The True Blue’s first-ever AMTA season was 2019-2020. Just two years after that, in 2022, they eked out an ORCS appearance, making it out of the Stevenson-hosted online regional with a record of 6-2 and losses to only Howard and then-returning NCT champs UMBC. Toronto A took that hard-earned bid and were thrown into the fire of New Rochelle ORCS. In the first time these northerners went toe-to-toe with higher-level teams they came away with a 4-4 record to show for it. Last year, they missed out on ORCS (hurting our exponential improvement theory just a tad), but we still want you to keep an eye on them in 2024 for one simple reason: drive. Failure breeds success, and these Torontonians are making a lengthy trip down to New York to face off with the very teams that kept them from bidding last year. Nobody starts a mock trial team from scratch if they don’t care about the activity, so we know they’ve got passion. With a few years of AMTA under their belts, they’re accumulating experience, and heading to New York after dropping only to SUNY schools at regionals last year… let’s just say they’ve got a chip on their shoulder. We’ll see if they’ve channeled that energy into AMTA success. In a few years, Toronto could be a new force to be reckoned with on the circuit– or they could fade into the background, lost to the Canadian legal system. Either way, keep your eye on them this February–to see if revenge is a dish the True Blue will be serving cold.


Des Moines: (24 Teams) ‘We haven’t even read that book’ (MAIMD Ranking 9/30)
-2 teams in top 50, 4 teams in top 100, 8 teams in top 200

First In:
Northwestern A
Minnesota A

Bubble:
Iowa A
Northwestern B
Drake A
Cornell College A
Creighton A
Bethany Lutheran A
Minnesota B

Initial Thoughts:
“The sins of the Midwest: flatness, emptiness, a necessary acceptance of the familiar. Where is the romance in being buried alive? In growing old?” –Stewart O’Nan, Songs for the Missing.

While some might argue Stewart O’Nan’s Songs for the Missing is a book about the hopelessness and heart of middle Americana (including, perhaps, the author who wrote it), they would be wrong. Songs for the Missing, and by extension, the quote above, is about specifically the Des Moines Regionals. What is there to say about Des Moines but flatness, emptiness, and the necessary acceptance of the familiar. Iowa, once the Bethlehem of mock at the turn of the 21st century, has become the dumping ground for the sudden spike in power in the upper midwest bubble. Trust us–for these attendees, this regional looks familiar. For our east-coast elitist readers who may not know, there’s a cluster of teams in the Wisconsin-Minnesota-Iowa area that play what looks like their own invitational circuit. The same teams see each other at nearly every local invite (many of them corn themed) producing a distinctive brand of mock trial that frustrates anyone from the outside unfortunate enough to travel there. For a long time this Bill McGinnis-styled cadre of teams was content to play each other at invitationals and regionals, and then collapse if they got lucky enough as to get to ORCS and have to play literally anyone else (with the occasional exceptions of Middling NCT performances from Minnesota or Iowa). The power in the region for Regionals and ORCS was consistently shipped in from the outside. But recently, like Gatsby himself, we’ve seen a handful of teams dare to dream of mock beyond these great big cornfields. And as a result, this area has seen a spike in power. Macalester is suddenly good (or at least their A team is). UW mysteriously managed to go from Regional attendees to reliable HM placements at Nationals. And while Iowa and Minnesota haven’t been National Powers in the last few years, they haven’t fallen far enough to make up for the positive spikes elsewhere.  

While not all of these teams will be present at this tournament (some of them are at Madison), the surge in power in the region has shifted the sleepy Iowa balance. We are seeing mid to high tier teams that might ordinarily be sent to Madison (e.g., the Minnesotas and Bethany Lutherans) sent into what is usually a pretty pedestrian regionals in Des Moines. For many of these teams, this shouldn’t be too big a change. After all, Iowa teams and Minnesota teams are all part of the McGinnis bubble. They’ve seen each other before, they know what to expect, and they may even know each other's theories. The only change will be a few more hours on the road.

Where things get interesting is with our first First-In team. Northwestern is getting exported, not from the McGinnis bubble, but from the overcrowded Chicago area. Northwestern has been exported many times before, because of the aforementioned Chicago overcrowding. But historically they have been able to rely on a bigger gap between themselves and the local teams. Northwestern has not always fared as well when they have to play teams of similar skill levels in front of the local judging pool. See, for example, their struggles at the 2020 Cedar Rapids ORCS, or their 2021 online Regionals attendance. We still expect Northwestern to bid–with returner All-Americans like Claire Foltz and Rand Meyer it would be hard not to–but it may be harder to be the only outsiders in this region than they would expect.

Down in the bubble, alongside their Minnesota friends, we have the local Iowa bunch. Drake, Cornell College, and Creighton all bid comfortably last year. We want to highlight two of them. Drake has had an up and down invite season with 6-2 finishes at both Ole Open and their own tournament–but also a long string of three win finishes at other local tournaments. We suspect however that once they have ironed out their stacking and put power players like Natalie Hamacher, Leah Choi, and Grace Brinker together on one team, at least one bid for them is in the cards.

Another standout to keep your eye on is last year’s Team to Watch from this region. As you might know if you’re a desperate alum who dabbles in coaching, Cornell College is under new leadership this year after heavily advertising a full-time coaching position on their job boards. They recently hired Max Handler as their new head coach, who you may know as the former man behind the curtain for WashU St. Louis’ breakthrough to Nationals. Since Handler’s appearance for Cornell College, they have been practically spamming the invite circuit and collecting awards as they do. They have picked up a collective 11 individual awards, with particularly stand out performances from attorney Kaden Legore and witness Rachel Ruisch (three awards each). Despite the awards, however, their team finishes have been less than stellar. The highlight was a 5-3 finish at Rachter, but that was the only winning record we could find out of nearly a dozen teams sent into tournaments. At two tournaments (including the one hosted by their Coach’s former program) they posted 0-8 records. That gives us pause as to whether a full-time coach has really changed the game for Cornell–although ultimately the true test will come for them in Des Moines. We’re hoping that with maybe a little stacking, they can muster a better performance than what we’ve seen so far.

Ultimately, we hope Des Moines shakes some things up for a predictions group who are used to business as usual. Who knows? Maybe in those rolling waves of grain we’ll see some romance in being buried alive, instead of just a necessary acceptance of the familiar.


Team to Watch: Bethany Lutheran
Despite what many of us want to believe, most schools shockingly don’t consider mock trial a sport. Bethany Lutheran, however, is one of the few schools to look past the time honored tradition of ignoring the existence of mock trial. They’ve recently begun to offer students mock trial scholarships, and it certainly seems to be helping! Bethany Lutheran has historically been a fairly weak team, struggling to break even on ballots. But last year they suddenly started to consistently place within the top three at the invites they attended and won a bid to ORCS with a 6-2 record. Unfortunately for their prospects in Des Moines, their success seems to have been driven, in part by the outstanding efforts of their seniors last year. One of their witnesses, Adam Hoeft, won awards at every invite, and attorney Tristen Lindell awarded at every tournament. Both are now gone. But there's reason to believe that the success this program started last year will not just be a flash in the pan led by two star performers. They have taken on a more modest slate of invites this fall, but when they appeared at St. Olaf’s Ole Open tournament, where they went 5-1 against the local field before getting destroyed by USC (a Californian powerhouse who inexplicably hopped on a plane from sunny California to kick some midwestern mockers in the teeth in single digit temps). Teeth-kicking aside, Bethany Lutheran placed fourth at Ole Open and earned awards along the way for two of their competitors. If they keep up that level of performance, we don’t expect them to take out any of the heavy hitters at this tournament. But without too much bad luck they should be able to battle their way through the rest of the field and snatch a bid. We will close with a warning to teams that play them: beware Bethany Lutheran, but far more importantly, beware all loss. We wish them luck and look forward to seeing their run.

Jackson: (25 Teams) ‘2023 SEC Championship 2.0’ (MAIMD Ranking 28/30)
-1 teams in top 50, 2 teams in top 100, 7 teams in top 200

First In:
Georgia A
Alabama A

Bubble:
Georgia B
Auburn A
Georgia Tech C
Alabama B
Auburn B
Mississippi A
Georgia Tech D
Tulane A

Initial Thoughts:
While this regional might be considered the easiest on paper after some adds and drops moved them to spot #30, it might be more appropriate to call it by a different name: wonky. Let’s make one thing clear right from the start: there is a lot of talent at this Regional. We’re expecting 7 bids at this regional and if you look at the top 7 TPR teams, they’re all strong teams who consistently put up a fight at regionals and more often than not, compete at ORCS. Whether you’re looking at Georgia A, the 12th ranked team in the nation, strong A teams in Alabama and Auburn or the ORCS level B teams associated with those three programs, we’ve got a mix that we expect to put up a strong showing. Add in the lower level teams from Georgia Tech and Rhodes and some up and coming teams in Tulane and Mercer and there’s definitely some competition for those seven spots. The problem with this Regional, and ultimately what makes it the “easiest” isn’t the top—it’s the bottom. Out of the 26 teams competing, only 8 of them have a TPR. And even worse, of those 18, 11 are teams that either didn’t compete last year or earned 0 wins at regionals. Just to be clear here: there are more teams that didn’t earn a single win at regionals last year than teams with any type of TPR ranking. On average, teams at this regional won 2.75 ballots at regionals last year. That, members of impeachments, is going to make for some wonky results. At the bare minimum, you can’t have 11 no win teams at one regional so some of these teams are about to have the greatest weekend in program history. To break that down a bit more for anyone less familiar with Regional analytics than we are, rounds two and three are power matched. So when you have good teams beating up on less experienced teams, those good teams will end up playing each other in rounds two and three. Meanwhile when you have an abundance of underperforming teams, they’ll end up playing each other and someone has to win–meaning that there are going to be a whole lot of inflated records. That matters a lot for the power protected round 4 because an underperforming team with an inflated record might hand over two wins in a round that is supposed to be competitive, but in this case, is not. In other words, when programs like Georgia, Alabama, Auburn or Georgia Tech end up in high-high rounds against each other in rounds two and three, not only will they be knocking each other out, but it will also force all of these unranked teams to play each other. We would not be surprised if one of these favorites who consistently attends ORCS will get knocked out while one of the 18 unranked teams slides through and picks up a bid. For some teams, this regional will feel as hard or harder than ORCS. For other teams, we expect this regional to feel like a low-level invite. If you’re heading down to Jackson this March, hope for the latter, but prep for the former–and cross your fingers for the tab cards to fall in your favor.

Team to Watch: Alabama
What’s that in the distance? Echoing shouts, cries, clamors– a downright ruckus…. Can you hear it? The eerie, haunting Alabaman call. They’ve been waiting for us all summer, members of the jury, and they are so glad we’re finally here. Pledge season is over, and the And no, we aren’t talking about Alpha Delta Phi. We’re talking about Alabama Mock Trial. There is a Crimson Tide sweeping the courtrooms of the nation, and we don’t envy those who stand in their way. Let’s go back to 2018 Minneapolis. Alabama A is competing at NCT for the first time in years, excited for a new era in Alabama Mock Trial. But the Big Als are not so lucky. They only take ballots off a 2-9-1 WashU squad and the faltering 5-7 UC San Diego. And the next year, and the next, the Crimson Tide comes to a halt just short of the national stage. For five years, their season has come to a grinding halt at ORCS, and if there is one thing this writer is certain of it’s that Alabama is headed into the AMTA season with a chip on their shoulder and fire at their heels. So why pay attention at Regionals? Shouldn’t we start to care at ORCS? No, dear reader, this Alabama team is something to keep an eye on at every step of the way. They didn’t start the season out quite on top– they opened the unstacked season with a lukewarm 4-4 and 5-3 at Mocky Top. But it seems that the Big Als just couldn’t handle mediocrity– they’ve been bringing home hardware ever since. 2nd and 7th at Capital City, repeated awards for sophomore standout Keyton Kodatt and veteran senior Danny Braun, third place at Soda City… this squad is to be feared come Jackson. This regionals season, don’t just look for Alabama to bid– cross your fingers for a breakout season from this talented and ferocious team on the rise and out for blood. So roll on to victory, Hit your stride, You're Dixie's football pride, Crimson Tide, Roll Tide, Roll Tide!!

Madison: (24 Teams) ‘Frozen First In’ (MAIMD Ranking 5/30)
-2 teams in top 50, 5 teams in top 100, 10 teams in top 200

First In:
Michigan A
Wisconsin, Madison A

Bubble:
Macalester A
Michigan B
Loyola A
Macalester B
St. Olaf A
Carleton A
Iowa B
Wisconsin, Madison B

Initial Thoughts:
It’s too cold up here to waste any time, so let’s take the polar plunge right from the top. Newsflash! Michigan A will bid. Okay let’s be real. That’s not news to anyone. Coming off their 3rd place finish at last year’s NCT, Michigan has skyrocketed back into the upper peninsula echelon of mock trial. That means a bid from the Wolverines is all but guaranteed. I mean sure they’ve lost TBC semi-finalist Michael Wilson and they haven’t had quite the dominant series of invite wins they had last year, but none of that will hold them back in Madison. When you’ve got a double-threat core of Lucy Brock, Gordy Gwilt, and Roni Kane there’s no need to break a sweat in February.

Our other first in, Wisconsin A, looks a lot like Michigan at a glance. They’re both massive state schools by the Great Lakes with a rabid animal mascot. But if you look a little closer, you’ll realize the regionals story for the Badgers is not so simple. Instead you find a fascinating tale of revenge and redemption that’s about to add its newest chapter. That’s because a long time ago in a galaxy far far away (one year ago in Des Moines, Iowa) the nation was shocked when the circuit’s favorite ingénue, Wisconsin A, failed to bid from regionals. So what are they doing in our first in? Well like any classic character they were of course saved by their spunky counterpart: Wisconsin B. The B-Team Badgers picked up the pieces and paper mached them into an honorable mention in Memphis. While those results alone would be enough to earn a coveted first in spot, what’s more is that the streets are saying Wisconsin A is now stacked. So with the home field advantage and a Brady-Bunchesque blended family of their past two nationals teams we have a hunch this new chapter will complete the redemption arc.

Now that we’ve got our two NCT teams out of the way we can— oh you’re kidding, there’s another one? Truthfully Macalester A didn’t have quite the stellar results of our two first-in teams, but they certainly were competing in Memphis along with them. That’s why even though they’re a stalwart ORCS team who’ve recently soared even higher, we can’t put Mac as a first in due to the sheer level of competition here in Madison. But they’re at the top of our bubble for a reason—so don’t expect Macalester to be a flash in the pan. They’re coming off a second place finish at Cornshucker and are helmed by top performer Amarah Friedman who recently took 27 ranks at Badger the Witness.

A bit deeper into the bubble we have perhaps one of the most important teams to watch this weekend with Loyola A, who recently left Great Chicago Fire with a smooth record of zero ballots. There’s a lot to say about what the Wolves might be up to this fall, and we’ll be saying that all below.

Rounding out the rest of our bubble we have the B variants of the top teams here and some wild cards who we think will have some real upside in Madison. Macalester B bid from Des Moines last year and will be looking to repeat that newfound success. The Mac’s recent 1.5 out of 12 ballots at Badger The Witness does mean they’ve got some work to do, especially considering the stiff competition here. Speaking of stiff competition, Michigan B is often known to outperform their already terrifying A team come the AMTA season, and this year they’re led by Mike WIlson’s former TBC coach, Tiffany Crews. Similarly, while stacking may have made Wisconsin B look like Zac Efron post-buccal fat removal, if their nationals run from last year proves anything it's that this program is deeper than Efron’s cheeks. Unlike the other B’s, Iowa B isn’t joined by their A team here but if their recent pattern of bidding every other year continues, then it means they’ll be one to watch out for. Finally, Carleton A and St. Olaf A are looking to follow in the footsteps of their northern liberal arts counterpart Macalester and have a breakout year. Both teams took 5 ballots in Madison last year and are poised to surprise any team who underestimates them. Watch out for whoever bops to the top at this regional, because whether Madison is the start of something new or sticks to the status quo we’ll be scared of whoever breaks free.

Team to Watch: Loyola
All eyes will be on Loyola come week three of February. That’s because for Loyola, Regionals this year isn’t just about bidding to ORCs, it’s about bidding to NCT. As one of the co-hosts for this year’s national tournament (along with The University of Chicago) they’ll earn a host bid to Chicago if and only if one of their teams earns a bid from regionals. But unlike Rhodes who easily bid from regionals last year (and ultimately from ORCS too), Loyola A walking up to the AMTA reps to take a bid trophy is no guarantee. For the last three years they’ve lived life on the edge, earning exactly 5 wins at each regional tournament they’ve attended. Sometimes that’s been enough for the Wolves to bid, like in 2022, but more often that not it’s landed them right on the ORCS open bid list. But fret not NCT open bid hopefuls, for Loyola's chances are looking good this year. After a series of podium placements their fall season culminated in a strong third place finish at Cornshucker, awards for some of their standout competitors like Ava Savelkoul and Marin Ellington, plus a attendance at Great Chicago Fire that can only be described as a learning experience, and it seems like that extra drive to compete at their home field Nationals might be just the kick that Loyola needed.

Princeton: (27 Teams) ‘The Prince’ (MAIMD Ranking 26/30)
-2 teams in top 50, 4 teams in top 100, 6 teams in top 200

First In:
Tufts A

Bubble:
Tufts B
Haverford A
Hamilton A
Rider A
Princeton B
Seton Hall B
Hamilton B

Initial Thoughts:
Named after everyone’s favorite Machiavelli book, the Princeton regional answers the age-old question of whether it’s better to be loved or feared. For some of the teams in our bubble, like Princeton B and Haverford A, the answer may be to be loved. For others, the answer is to be feared. We’re of course talking about Tufts A.

At the start of the season, we declared that we were done with the Tufts bandwagon for 2024. However, we also mentioned their B team a 6th place finish over Nats—a finish led by old returners (may Max Mitchell rest his crop-topped soul) and some bright new talent. Looking at this year’s A team, five of the eight members of Tufts A are brand new. Returning as captains we have TBC competitor, nine-time-awarded, veteran captain Margaret Veglahn; as well as experienced competitor, captain, All-National, and award-receiver in his own right Cole Reese. This is firepower further reinforced by this year’s fresh blood: a few All-National sophomores, a few regional-champion captains, you know—the standard Tufts itinerary. But it hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows for the Jumbos. Their pre-season results have varied wildly—from 2-6 at Boston Tea Party to 8-1-1 at Havorford’s Black Squirrel Invite. How are we so sure that they’ll perform while at Princeton? Looking at the most recent, officially stacked team, Tufts A at GAMTI ran 7-5. Not a podium placement, sure, but against some of the most competitive teams in the country, that is a hefty amount of ballots. And it goes without saying, but the Princeton regional is not GAMTI. If they want it, we expect Tufts A to do very well.

That brings us to the bubble! And rather than a single soapy floating orb, think of this as one of those bubbles where there’s a kiddie pool and a hula hoop and you stand in the middle—very large and somewhat unstable. With eight teams listed above and seven bids to ORCS, at least one team above isn’t going to make it. Leading the bubble is Tufts B, which, like their A Team listed above, is a traditional force to be reckoned with. Last year, in the plot twist of the century, they didn’t make it out of Regionals—but then went on to place 6th in their division at Nationals (double plot twist?). That means this year they’ll be bringing back their old National talent. Will that translate to a Regionals bid for the beloved B team? You’d have to ask the Princeton judging. And while we’re on the topic of teams that have seen Nationals, we’d be remiss to not mention Hamilton and Haverford. Hamilton A is a team that saw the 2022 Nationals, but missed a bid out of last year’s regionals by a heartbreaking half a CS point. Unfortunately for the Alexanders(?), the last of Hamilton’s Nationals competitors graduated last year. Haverford, on the other hand, saw their 2023 Nationals, and is returning seven of their best. Notable among them is John Donovan and Ben Fligelman with shiny new GAMTI awards, Bella Salathé with a couple this season of her own, Chyane Sims with a perfect 20-rank Charm City gavel… honestly these guys have been winning a lot. Did we mention they placed third at GAMTI? Last year they left the D.C. regionals with a score of 6-2, and fought their way to a 4-7-1 finish in Memphis. This year we expect nothing less.

That brings us to the rest of our lovely bubble. Princeton, besides being one of the kindest teams on the circuit, is a consistently solid program. Last year their B team went 5-3 at regionals, made it off the open bid list (good karma?), and went 2-6 at the Santa Monica ORCS. With Princeton winning this year’s Bryant University Invitational, placing 6th at Yale, 3rd at UPenn (we’re not done), 4th at Seton Hall, 1st and 2nd at Boston College, this is a program that is not messing around. We’ll see how that translates to their B team, but win or lose, the PMT program currently stands as one of this season’s most successful teams.

We round out with Seton Hall, a program whose A team made it to Nats in 2023. How will that translate to their B? In 2023 Seton Hall B went 2-5-1 at the American Regionals, but with many of their competitors since moving up to A (or falling victim to graduation’s cruel embrace), it’s anyone’s guess as to who will fill the ranks next year. Dare we say… new talent?

All things considered, it's a shame that an underdog team winning by surprise is often called an “upset.” We at MockAnalysisIsMyDrug don’t find that upsetting at all. So to all the teams not ranked, the teams on their up and up, the teams not listed here—good luck. To the bubble teams and our lovely First In, good luck to you too. We wish you all the best.


Team to Watch: Rider University
If there is one team on this list deserving of the title “Good for the Plot',' it’s without a doubt Rider University. And before you jump to conclusions, no, this doesn’t have anything to do with a contentious mockcest between co-counsel. Rider’s story is instead something of an AMTA fairytale. A new program, only nine competitors, zero experience in the circuit. Is that a team you would expect to do well? Turns out it doesn’t matter, because at last year’s Princeton regionals, Rider ran a 7-1 record and placed third (by 2nd-place OCS tiebreaker). Not bad for a first try. Looking forward to 2024, the question becomes how replicable these results will be. Rider’s program has swelled—9 members to 16 this spring, but the captains that led them to victory in 2023 have since left. Now, the Broncs are led by senior Diorys Jiminez and sophomore Amanda Steele, a returning duo with an award each. And unlike their predecessors, this is a team that now has actual experience—a surefire plus when they’re put to the test this February. This season they’ve run 2-6 at Rutgers’ Scarlet Knight Invite and 3-5 at Seton Hall’s Pirate Invitational. The results don't inspire confidence, but neither does a completely fresh team, and that got them 7-1. So will this young team flash and burn out? Were they carried by their awarded senior/captain Camryn Curnuck? Or is Rider Mock Trial an infant great, a Chicago or Tufts or Patrick Henry, a program building to the upper echelons of the AMTA circuit? The world will have their answer on February 18th.

Providence: (28 Teams) ‘Super Bass on Pink Saturday’ (MAIMD Ranking 21/30)
-1 teams in top 50, 4 teams in top 100, 10 teams in top 200

First In:
Brown A

Bubble:
Connecticut A
Columbia A
MIT A
Wellesley A
U Mass Amherst A
Wellesley B
Holy Cross A
MIT B
Brown B

Initial Thoughts:
To quote revered philosopher and bard Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty, you may be the king but watch the queen conquer. Brown’s in. Let’s talk about more interesting things and let the queen take us through her greatest bars.

See, we become alive in the time of fear - “Fly”
Heading up the top of the bubble is UConn. We’re pretty confident that they’ll bid out of regionals, having done so with great success in the past two years, first at the aptly named Regional 4-I with 7 ballots in 2022, then at the less aptly named Connecticut Regionals at Connecticut College with 6 in 2023. Though they haven’t had such a huge invitational season ballots-wise, they’ve been stacking up awards across their teams and highlighting returners like all-national attorney Maeve Collins. They’ll join Moon and Nelson in New Rochelle.

The good advice I always hated, but lookin’ back it made me greater - “Right Thru Me”
Next up on the chopping block, Shakira’s neighbors, Columbia. After a no-bid HM in 2022, they roared back to the top with a 6.5 ballot bid out of the nation’s capital last year. Ask any Columbia competitor how they’re feeling about the season, and they’ll answer with “Got Mock?” and hand you a picture of Donkey from Shrek. We’re confident that strategy comes from their new coach - a little-known non-decorated attorney named Travis Levell Harper II. Watch out again for all-nationals Hermella Getachew and Lauren Seeger as they make morning waffles in Providence aided by Harper to get that bid.

All these haters mad because I’m so established - “Check It Out”
UMass Amherst’s anaconda don’t want none unless you got awards, hun. Just look at their invitational season. Awards galore at Mockathon and Rose Hill for veterans Aash Nanduri and AJ Houk, and their rookies are no different: Jay Seward-Dailey, Cody Chen, and double threat Sarah Lee all awarded with hefty numbers this invitational season. And, if history is any indicator of the future – which, my used auto parts dealer says it is – this team is gonna do it again. 8-0 in 2022 and 7-1 in 2023 with an unreal 8 individual awards across two teams is all good omens for what’s coming this year.

I am not Jasmine, I am Aladdin - “Roman’s Revenge”
Everyone, for some reason, loves to count out Wellesley. That’s until they get in a courtroom with them. People seem to forget that this was the team that eviscerated the BC regionals last year and took a ballot off of Harvard in 2022. And while they’ll surely feel the loss of All-National attorney Mira Kumar, who isn’t competing this spring, they still have the rest of the dream team that did it. The trio at this team’s head is studded with All-Regional Alaina Fox, All National attorney Clara Chambers, and All-National Double Threat Dhanya Srikanth. After winning records at two Top Five Tournaments this fall in Mumbo and BTP, Wellesley is going to set Providence just as badly on fire as they did Chestnut Hill just a year ago.

Combined with the B teams of some significant teams at this regional, we are sure that this will be a battlefield to the top. Call Providence regionals the Martin Marietta X-24B, because starships are meant to fly.


Team to Watch: MIT A
High heels on my tippies, Dolce and Gabbana that’s on my - “FTCU”
It seems like every year we are discussing just how much potential MIT has. They have earned at least one ORCS bid in each of three years, earning an honorable mention in 2021. We know that the school is full of talent. MIT is widely considered to be one of the best schools in the world. If things begin to fully come together for this team, we think most teams across the country should pay attention. Unfortunately, it has been hard to tell from this invite season whether this MIT team is the one that is going to put the country on notice. On one hand, all three of their unstacked teams have picked up ballots at each tournament, each of them going 4--4 once. And they’ve racked up a few awards, including Max Turner earning two attorney awards. On the other hand, the past two seasons haven’t exactly yielded the most impressive results either, but those teams still turned it on when it came to Regionals. Additionally, the invites MIT competed at this year have been among the tougher across the country (e.g., Harvard, Tufts, and Yale). What we’re trying to get at here is that any year now we expect MIT to figure out the formula. Stay tuned for the regionals’ result in February to see if this is the year.

Seattle: (19 Teams) ‘Just a skip, jump, and multiple plane rides away’ (MAIMD Ranking 12/30)
-2 teams in top 50, 3 teams in top 100, 7 teams in top 200

First In:
UC Berkeley A
Oregon A

Bubble:
UC Berkeley B
Oregon B
Portland A
Washington A
Oregon C
Reed A
Oregon D
Gonzaga A

Initial Thoughts:
Welcome to Seattle, the city known for its coffee, the Needle, and hosting the Regional competition that lets other west coast regional competitions not be inundated with the wrath of UC Berkeley. Other west coast regionals competitors thank their stars every year when Berkeley A gets shipped off to Seattle, and for good reason. Berkeley A is a horse you can always bet on to get consistently good results and make it to Nationals, so you can definitely bet on them to get out of regionals. Their results this fall have been reminiscent of their results from years past; results that establish them as a threat. Their most prolific results include an undefeated first place finish at AAMTI and a second place finish at GAMTI. They’ve also got Chris Ying, fifth year attorney extraordinaire. Ying has been racking up awards this fall to add to his already scintillating award cabinet, and he’s sure to continue that streak. Safe to say, Chris Ying and company are hungry for more wins, and they seem to have a bid to ORCS in the bag.

In the mix for top spot contention is Oregon A, boasting a team full of exciting talent. Devika Narendra and Rohan Menon, two attorneys who can tear you up with their opposite styles. While Narendra tends to be more performative with a commanding presence and strong tone, Menon provides a more subtle flair to the bench with a more matter of fact tone. There’s also Miranda Stone, witness who leads the team in career awards, boasting almost a dozen at this point, and Rose Gbaandor, who’s just as dangerous as a sympathetic witness as she is an opener. A good sign for them is that they are familiar with the Seattle judging pool, and were able to demonstrate success with said judging pool by placing first at Emerald City Open, the fall invite hosted by UW. Overall, they have an exciting team who should be able to tear through the Seattle competition to grab a bid to ORCS.

How the bubble plays out depends again on the programs we just talked about. There’s Berkeley B, coming off a first place finish at Anteater while also having swept for individual awards there. It will be interesting to see how they do at this regional, as they have a history of getting out, but not of dominating. In 2023, they got 5.5 wins. Before that, in 2020, they got 4.5 wins. The last two times that a Seattle Regional was held, they only made it out once. So, it remains to be seen if they are able to keep consistent with the quality we’ve come to expect with their program. Oregon B has the same history of bidding out in 2023 but not in 2020. They’ve also had an upward trajectory since they stacked. Oregon B went 4-4 at AAMTI, but quickly made progress by placing second at Portland’s Thornhill Throwdown. All signs point to them having a good showing in Seattle, and we expect them to do just that. Another team to watch out for is Portland A. Portland has had a quiet few years after making Nationals in 2021, but this past fall season has looked better for them. Their program placed at Oregon’s Frohnmayer invitational and at UC San Diego’s Wlodarczyk invite as well. They have a star in Amelia Christensen, who’s won three attorney awards and one witness award, and the rest of her teammates have appeared on tab summaries as well. It remains to be seen whether they can continue this success from the fall season into a Regionals bid.

Overall, Seattle shapes up to be an exciting regional competition to track and observe, because it boasts a field mixed with strong, consistent teams, as well as upcoming programs who are becoming worthy contenders in themselves. Good luck to everyone competing!

Team to Watch: Oregon C
In 2023, Oregon as a program did something unusual. They had three teams get bids from the same regional. In 2024, Oregon has an opportunity to do a very funny thing by repeating this feat. By no means should the letter after the university name fool you, Oregon has a deep program that has quality running through each stacked team. Take for example their 2020 results at the Seattle Regional; it was their A and D teams getting bids to ORCs. Or take their results from 2023; three bids with A, B, D, and the first honorable mention being their C team. Something is in the air in Eugene, because Oregon finds absurd success like this regularly, and their C team this year is promising. Seven out of ten members have won awards already, but the place where they falter is with ballot wins. Their stacked C team has been to two Pacific Northwest Tournaments in Emerald City Open held by UW and Thornhill Throwdown held by Portland. Their records were 4.5 wins and 4 wins respectively. Now, we expect the judging pool to be similar at Seattle given region similarity, and taking that into account, neither 4 nor 4.5 wins is enough to get a bid. That being said, there is an entire winter invite season ahead of Oregon C to hone their content and skill to be able to create an open bid. We know a lot of teams are betting on their ability to do so, so I guess all there is left to say is Sco Ducks!

St. Louis: (26 Teams) ‘The Land of Misery…M…M…Missouri (MAIMD Ranking 22/30)
-2 teams in top 50, 3 teams in top 100, 7 teams in top 200

First In:
Chicago A
Chicago B

Bubble:
Miami A
Wash U B
Miami B
St. Louis A
Rhodes C
Missouri B
Washburn A  
Wash U C

Initial Thoughts:
Oh my god, another Midwest Regional. Here it is, the write-up you’ve probably read close to a dozen times (if you’re one of our readers who reads the whole thing, straight through–and if you are, bless your soul). St. Louis looks a whole lot like any other Regional that happens in the Midwest–one or two big-name powerhouses at the top, and then a more competitive middle-of-the-pack field that gives the region its relatively higher ranking. Even St. Louis, our by-the-numbers easiest Midwestern Regional, is still a fair deal rougher than what an easy Regionals looks like a couple of hours east or south.

Here’s the obvious part: Chicago’s going to be fine. Thanks to the gift of their host bid, the only hurdle the Maroons face to guarantee a Nationals attendance is bidding out of our easiest Midwestern Regional (also the Regional Miami is attending…what a funny coincidence). Unless Farnsworth and Mothersbaugh intend to let a half-unranked Regionals field keep them out of a home team advantage for the National Championship their senior year, we figure they’ll be looking to bid, and bid comfortably. Fear Chicago A. As for Chicago B, think of them as a smaller, spunkier version of this year’s A team lineup. Chicago B teams usually function as the cauldron for stewing up whatever Sam Jahangir will be dishing out on the AMTA community next season, so if you hit them in round be sure to write down some names so you can say you ‘knew them when.’ If the tab cards say you’re pairing up against Maroon, get ready to match up against tinier, more feral Sam Farnsworth, Anderson Lynch and owner of UChicago’s single brain cell (slash Rookie Rumble Champion) A.J. Palacios.

Here it is…the sentence we’ve been waiting to write since we started Mock Analyzing five years ago. At the top of our Regionals Bubble are the Redhawks of Miami, Ohio. Contain your schadenfreude, dear reader. While it is, undeniably, super super fun to dance on the grave of the now-former program holders of the longest unbroken NCT attendance streak, we warn St. Louis attendees that such epicaricacy may be premature. True, Miami A stands underneath a titanic shadow cast by #thelegacy of former Miami accolades, but just because the Redhawks’ TPR isn’t great doesn’t mean they are not good. Miami’s roster is standout for a different reason than most this season. While they have a couple of more decorated competitors, like All-National Expert Julia Robinson and double All-Regional Attorney Kathryn Morris, for the most part this team is all-around solid, not a lineup of high heights and low lows. What that means is tough to say–if their invitational record means anything, it’s certainly a good method for turning mediocre midwestern fields into a well-crushed pulp. If Neal Schuett doesn’t get his NCT-winning sparkle back then winning might once again just be only a goal…not an outcome

While no one in the rest of the bubble can manage to boast they kept a NCT attendance streak that extended into the double digits, there are some other names here that aren’t ones to sleep on. WashU, for instance, is a program that runs deep and tends to wind up their February with more than a few ORCS bids under their belts. While we haven’t seen what the Bears B or C team looks like this season–they tend to scramble their pre-season teams and stack late–if they’re returning last season’s all-regional Ally Mediratta and Varnika Kailash, we figure they’ll be just fine. Similarly, if the Redhawk’s absurd invitational streak this fall tells us anything, it’s that their stacked B, whenever we get a chance to see it, might be in a position to break through as well. Beyond the teams we traditionally tend to give attention to when it comes to Regionals–the B and C teams of well-established programs we just usually see a bit more of–we want to give a shoutout to the two lesser known names in our bubble: Washburn and not-WashU St. Louis. While the Ichabods (or trialin’ bods, as they call themselves on their instagram) don’t tend to make much noise in the fall season, they did secure a clean 6-2 bid to ORCS last year and Attorney Jacob Howell has been racking up fall invite awards to prove they intend to make it happen again. As for the…Billikens (strangest mascot we’ve seen since the banana slugs), we’ve got a whole lot to say about what might be happening for them down below.

Team to Watch:  St. Louis A
For a moment, picture yourself at WashU’s Danforth Campus. It's a cold February evening in 2023 and Joshua “The Loop” Leckrone is standing at a podium announcing earned bids to Geneva ORCS. Northwestern, Vanderbilt, WashU, and Notre Dame, all walk up and grab their trophies, walking away one step closer to being in the top 48 in April. While this may seem like a distant dream created by a rather intelligent and charismatic story crafter, this is very much a reality for so many schools who attend the St. Louis regionals. But the title of this Team to Watch isn’t “every team that doesn't bid out of the St. Louis Regional. No, one team in this Regional isn’t quite like the rest. St. Louis University, nested in the Gateway to the West, is a team that has had a rather interesting pathway over the last few years. As a quick recap of SLU’s regional record: in 2019 they fail to gain an earned bid to ORCs, 2020: they go 7-1 at regionals, 2021; they leave regionals with a record of 6-2, 2022; they one up themselves leaving regionals with a 6 and a half wins, and finally 2023; STL leaves regionals with just 3 ballots. The commonality between St. Louis University’s wins and losses? They win online and they lose at home. In 2019, they left their own Regional with an Honorable Mention, and in 2023, they left WashU’s campus with just three wins. So what makes this year different? Simply put, the St. Louis regional is a whole lot easier. No Northwestern, Vanderbilt, or Notre Dame, which means St. Louis University will have a cleaner path to the finish line. With stars like Alex Berkley and all-regional attorney Shruti Punnachalil, we are willing to bet that St. Louis University may just have a shot to leave St. Louis with a trophy and…ultimately come back because they live in St. Louis and obviously wouldn’t leave. Who knows what the future holds for the Billikens (again, just a fascinatingly absurd mascot), but if they want to break their home field curse, 2023 is the best chance they’ve had in years to do so. We’ll see if they’re up for it.

Tallahassee: (26 Teams) ‘Capitol Carnage’ (MAIMD Ranking 17/30)
-1 team in top 50, 3 teams in top 100, 9 teams in top 200

First In:
Florida A

Bubble:
Furman A
South Carolina A
Furman B
Florida International A
Miami A
Florida D
Florida International B
Emory C
Stetson A

Initial Thoughts:

Thirty seconds.
The lights rise on a desolate jungle encased in concrete. The cornucopia, a shrewd recreation of the old world’s judicial capital, glimmers with a sinister yet inviting glow.
Twenty seconds.
Silence dominates the air. The type of silence that consumes. Without interruption from Mother Nature, only the shrill sound of camera lenses focusing, priming for the tributes' arrival, cuts through the quiet.
Ten seconds.
Down below, the tributes say their final goodbye. They are unaware of what awaits above, but they can speculate. It’s the fourth Quarter Quell, and the gamemakers are sure to put on a show of misery.
Five. Four. Three. Two. One.
The tributes ascend from the depths with a sea of emotions. Underdogs from the lesser districts cower in the presence of the Careers, those trained for this exact moment. Here in Tallahassee, it’s sure to be a bloodbath.

While we may be joking with the Hunger Games references (Tallahassee is the Capitol City after all), we are serious when we say Tallahassee is a toss-up– with one exception. In this gauntlet, you might as well view the University of Florida A as residents of the Capitol (similar to Snow, they’re always landing on top). Coming off a 6-6 record at Nats and led by program president David Ott (who seems to have taken our preseason hope seriously, earning three awards this fall), it would take nothing short of a revolution to keep the Gators out of Greeneville. Don’t discount their little brother, Florida D, either. Hoping to extend Florida’s three-year streak of perfect bids, we’re sure this team will be reminding those unfortunate enough to step into the well with them that even the smallest gators have teeth.

Next up come our “career tributes” of Districts 1 and 2, Furman and South Carolina. While no one is really sure what happens within the walls of Furman University, somehow, they always come out relatively successful. (We’ve even heard rumors that the Paladins have their tribute candidates study at an academy starting at age ten to prepare for the Games). Narrowly missing Nats last year with a record of 5-2-1 at ORCS (our condolences), we figured Furman would be back with a vengeance. Unfortunately, it seems the loss of TBC competitor Marra Edwards has hit Furman hard, with the Paladins failing to earn a winning record at any of their fall invites (again, our condolences). On the other hand, South Carolina’s winning records at CUBAIT and Charm City are a much-needed indicator that the cocks can operate without the powerhouse duo of Ben Wallace and Gabby Worshek that carried the team in years past. Led by president Salomon Campos-Rice and MAIMD-proclaimed best character witness Naomi Uchida, we expect to see South Carolina establish dominance early in the arena, and ride that momentum all the way to Chicago.

From District 3 come the Panthers of Florida International University. We won’t discuss much here, as you can read about them in our team to watch below, but just know that FIU has yet to drop a ballot in Tallahassee this season, and we wouldn’t be surprised if that streak continues.

From District 4 comes absolute silence in the form of the University of Miami. Let us be clear, these are our Florida friends, not those pesky Redhawks from Ohio. Unfortunately, the training scores for Miami aren’t in yet: only showing up at one (sad excuse for an) invitational this fall, the Hurricanes’ record at Golden Panthers leaves a lot to be desired. We instead must look to last year’s performance: a narrow open bid to Greenville ORCS before going 3-5 and… the future isn’t looking too bright. But, hey, they split with Furman, so I guess they have a leg up on at least one of the other tributes? Regardless, Miami could end up being a silent assassin in Tallahassee if they kick it into high gear this spring. It’s a gamble, and luckily for District 4, this writer loves to sponsor the underdogs.

From District 5 comes Emory C. While not as formidable as their older and wiser counterparts heading to Columbia, let’s not act like talent doesn’t run deep. Emory C nearly made it out of Columbia last year, and their A team put up a record of 6-6 at Nats, the same record as our favorite litigators, mind you. While they may not strike fear into the hearts of competitors quite like other southern powerhouses on this list, Emory C serves as a landmine within the arena, likely to become the downfall of another team here in the bubble. And, if they happen to snag a bid while they’re at it, let’s just say we won’t be surprised.

Finally, from District 6 (sorry Districts 7-12, we aren’t expecting a Katniss Everdeen to arise this year*), come the Hatters of Stetson University. With a fall invite season wavering between records of 3-5 and 5-3 and a spring performance of an open bid to Greeneville before burning out in style (are you starting to see a pattern here?), Stetson joins the ranks of mediocre Florida tributes who will act like crabs in a bucket when gathered in Tallahassee this Spring. Will one of them be able to escape this year? Probably not! But let’s be real, we don’t watch the games for the victor—unless it’s Finnick Odair—we watch them for the slaughter!

With only seven tickets out of the bloodbath and twenty-eight tributes clawing for them, we look forward to the chaos that will ensue once the canons go off. Happy Hunger Games! May the odds be ever in your favor.

*If you’re curious, the most recent Katniss was definitely Dillard.

Team to Watch: Florida International University
We know what you’re thinking. Out of all of the tributes to keep an eye on: from the war-hardened vets to the comically inexperienced, why pick one painfully in the middle of the pack? I mean, sure, both of FIU’s teams made it to ORCs last year, but at what cost? Two 5-win records and an open bid? And sure, their B team may have coasted into a record of 4-4 in Greenville last spring, but let’s not forget that neither team took a ballot off of any schools with a record above 2-6. But don’t let our hesitancy discourage you: the Panthers have been training hard. Since the “reaping” in Greenville, FIU has yet to put up a losing record this fall, with their most impressive kill being a perfect 8-0 record on their first visit to Tallahassee for FSU’s Capitol City Invite, besting the pre-stacked teams of fellow tributes such as Florida, Stetson, and Emory. You see, FIU has won in this arena before, and we expect them to enter this battlefield with a sense of comfort and familiarity. Armed with six fall award winners and team hardware to boot, FIU may be the Mockingjay of this year’s Quarter Quell, provided they don’t find themselves the victim of one of the career tributes or landmines discussed above. With this field, FIU could find themselves anywhere between the ultimate victors and the disappointing first kill. All we know is, that regardless of which side they fall on, a massacre is always entertaining for the watchers at home.



Tempe: (17 Teams) ‘UC Stands for Uncontrolled Chaos’ (MAIMD Ranking 16/30)
-1 teams in top 50, 1 teams in top 100, 5 teams in top 200

First In:
UCLA A

Bubble:
Arizona State B
UC Irvine C
Arizona A
Southern California B
Arizona State D
Nevada, Las Vegas A
UC Irvine D
UCLA E

Initial Thoughts:
To our loyal readers and dedicated impersonators: we have some difficult news to share. As the #RoadToChicago begins to heat up, our front-line reporters and inside sources have given us shocking new details about a virtually unknown little program from the west coast.

That’s right: UCLA A is still that guy, pal. (Trust me!)

You know the names, you know the stories: Ria Debnath, Nasier Muldrow, Drew Polito. Wait, sorry, Ashlock. Drew Ashlock. The reigning national champions will walk into Tempe as respected, venerated juggernauts. As with all college mock trial teams, they will have graduated some of the talent that lifted the Calkins Trophy in Memphis, and they will face the insurmountable burden of restocking that roster with competitors from their B team… who took second place in the division at the National Championship… that their previous A Team iteration won after winning the other division…

That situation really displays the intimidating part of this regional: it’s defined by the depth of the programs that appear here. We get it, UCLA A scary, Irvine A scary, USC A routinely 8-0s the LA ORCS… but their B, C, and E teams are all capable of getting themselves a trophy at the regional level. Take, for example, Arizona State’s program. Last year, the Sun Devils got two bids out of Claremont, two bids out of Tempe, and an eye watering fifth bid out of Fresno. Two Arizona State teams will be making their appearance in Tempe, alongside the A team of a rising University of Arizona program and two Irvine teams who contributed to the funniest tab summary of the year when their program heard the haters and took three of the top four spots at UCSD’s Wlodarczyk Invitational.

Lengthy rumination on program composition notwithstanding, I want to assure you that we at Mock Analysis is my Dopamine do believe the initial thoughts section should have some actual… thoughts. So, here are our thoughts. It is easy to look at the Tempe Regional, see that there is only one NCT returner in the field, and conclude that this tournament is easy as far as Regionals go. The two caveats, though, are significant. First: that “one NCT returner” is currently polishing their NCT trophy and preparing to defend it in Chicago. Second, and most importantly: there are a lot of teams in this field with deep programs and experience getting out of Regionals. They will be ready, prepared, and looking to do just that when the R1 judges begin their march to the courtroom in Tempe.

Team to Watch: Southern California B
The sun touches down on the horizon of a vast desert landscape. Armies gather, facing off in a twenty-two point star, and clouds of dust rise and settle as their horses’ hooves strike the earth. A bugle sounds. The strike of a drum– the shout of a sergeant– and they’re off. A mad scuffle. A brutal, bloody battle. On Sunday night finally the dust clears above the podium at Sundown Showdown. Three armies stand, bruised and battered but clutching their gold and silver and bronze to their chests, bruised and battered but alive. They are all Southern California.

But that’s just one tournament, one battle, you say. Why should I care about this second-string squad out of Cali? I mean, USC has a pretty massive TPR drop-off from its A to B team– their A team comes in at a cool 35 and their B team is all the way down at 177. Last year, the Trojans’ B team only scraped 4.5 ballots out of Tempe, and their 12.5 CS wasn’t exactly awe-inspiring. But for programs to build depth, they need solid infrastructure. USC has good generational knowledge– they’ve got Nationals attendees in their ranks on the A team– and they’ve managed to hold on to a premier spot in the national consciousness for one team. Their across the board (albeit small board) positive results during the fall season signify a strong teaching infrastructure– like it or not, you can’t do well in the fall unless you’re able to teach your new members mock trial quickly and adeptly.

All that goes to say, keep an eye on these soldiers as they march into this new arena in Tempe. We’ve seen a flash of greatness thus far. Will Southern California show new depth this spring? Or will the flash be just that? A flash?


Washington: (26 Teams) ‘As Mediocre as the Average Politician’ (MAIMD Ranking 14/30)
-3 teams in top 50, 3 teams in top 100, 6 teams in top 200

First In:
Yale A

Bubble:
Fordham Lincoln Center A
American A
Rutgers A
Yale B
Scranton A
Swarthmore A
Fordham Lincoln Center B
Lafayette A
Villanova A

Initial Thoughts:
While Yale may no longer be on their final round appearance streak, the usuals of the Washington regional should be very disappointed to see them making this trek down south. Yale is a clear top (bull)dog for Washington and not to be trifled with. After a successful unstacked season including winning Colonial Classic and placing 5th and 6th at Mumbo Jumbo, Yale has kept the magic going by taking a first place win at a small, local tournament called Great Chicago Fire this January. With their award rich junior class led by Double Threat Everett Parker-Noblitt (Boston Tea Party and Mumbo Jumbo), Grace Dodd (Boston Tea Party - Witness), Fanney ‘a tab summary’s worst nightmare’ Bjargardottir (Mumbo Jumbo - Attorney), and Madeline Levin (Mumbo Jumbo - Attorney) Yale looks to be on their way right back to Nationals. But then again, given that many of the years that they have had their deepest runs at nationals have come after a disappointing stint at Regionals, perhaps success in Washington will be a bad sign for the Bulldogs down the road.

Joining Yale at the top of this regional are Fordham Lincoln Center and American. American was widely seen as a team that belonged in Memphis last year, but through a few unfortunate breaks ended up just missing out. They are clearly still a force to be reckoned with. They return All-National Attorneys Viyon Houesson-Adin and Kuhu Badgi who both impressively got a perfect 20 ranks on their respective sides at Fordham Rose Hill’s tournament, where they also took home a shiny third place trophy. They’re also still fielding Phil Pasquarello’s son slash protege, William Mueller, so they’re far from a team to court out here. Fordham Lincoln Center has had a less than impressive fall season: 5-7 at GAMTI, 4-4 at CUBAIT, 2-6 at Mumbo Jumbo and 2- 6 at Yale. But considering they always find a way to get it together for the competitive season, we have no doubt that they will shake off the rust and make their way through this Regional. That’s why we’ve placed them the top of the bubble.

As with any regional who makes it out from the lower end of our bubble is often defined by who gets the right schedule. This is a very top heavy regional where any number of teams could easily get the right matchups make it out. Rutgers and Lafayette are both teams that as recently as 4 or 5 years ago were a competitive pairing at ORCS, but they have certainly come down from where they were before. Lafayette has missed ORCS the past two years. Rutgers made it to ORCS from an open bid off their B team and then shocked everyone by turning that ticket into 5 wins at ORCS. If they can keep that momentum going, they very well may be able to make it back to ORCS and prove that that result was far from a fluke. Villanova has similarly had some very strong ORCS results a few years back, but missed out on ORCS two years ago and then went 0-8 when they made it there last year. They will be looking to rectify that past wrong and prove their placement here. As Rutgers, Lafayette, and Villanova have trended down, other teams in the region like Scranton and Swarthmore have trended up. Neither have established themselves as ORCS regulars, but both would like to change that. Swarthmore finally made it to ORCS last year–only mustering a meager 1.5 wins. Scranton missed out on ORCS last year after getting an impressive 4 wins the year before. Rounding out the bubble, we have B teams from Fordham and Yale. Both these teams have the benefit of not being able to play their respective A teams, and they historically tend to be fairly deep programs. Yale’s B team chas historically been a team that attends (and occasionally breaks through to a final at) NCT, although they had a slightly less impressive showing in seasons past. Again, without seeing more stacked results it is hard to know what to expect from Yale B, but we’d find it tough to ever bet against them. On the other hand, Fordham LC B hasn’t made it to ORCS for the past two years, but a middle of the road Regional might be the time for them to give it a shot. We wish everyone flying out to D.C. for week three the best of luck–and a weekend that, unlike the field here, is anything but mediocre.

Team to Watch: George Mason A
There are a few things that could make a team to watch. Maybe an established team that we predict might not make it out of Regionals. Maybe a team has been hit or miss in the past and we think they could be a hit this year. But then, there’s this writer's favorite category. There are some teams with no history of bidding, no real history of success, but we see the spark and want to make sure that the world (of competitive lawyer cosplay) sees it too. George Mason formed its team last year and admittedly, didn’t do the best. They went to Regionals and earned only 2 wins while competing against some solid, if not showstopping, schools (Swarthmore, Rutgers, Bucknell and Columbia). But that’s not where the spark comes from. The spark comes from just a few months later when two members of this brand new team decided to compete in Rookie Rumble. For George Mason, a brand new team, to be so excited to enter this field, that alone was impressive. But then you find out that they recruited TBC semifinalist, Marra Edwards to be their coach and you think there might be something to George Mason’s future mock prospects. George Mason’s two members teamed up with two members from Virginia Tech and put up a respectable 3 wins which wasn’t enough to place, but considering the field of teams, most of which had at least ORCS experience, was to catch our eye. While we don’t know exactly the exact dynamics over at George Mason or if Edwards is still involved, there is a familiar name who ties it all together: Faith Dixon. As a senior in high school, Dixon helped her team win MockOn’s Tournament of Champions and then followed up that success by placing at Gladiator. As a freshman in college, she established George Mason’s mock program and won an All Regional Attorney award. As a sophomore, she was one of the members of this Rookie Rumble team and is now the president of the program. A program can’t stand on one person’s shoulders, but at the trajectory this team is going, we believe George Mason is the dark horse to get a bid. Now you might be asking, how did they do this fall? Our answer..inconclusive. As far as we can tell, they didn’t compete once this invite season. But they have two teams signed up for regionals so we’ll see if that momentum from last year can carry over, or if it fizzled out this past autumn.We’ll see if the patriots have a bid in them this spring.

Williamsburg: (26 Teams) ‘A Wahoo and a Terrapin walk into a bar…what the heck are those?’ (MAIMD Ranking 2/30)
-2 teams in top 50, 5 teams in top 100, 9 teams in top 200

First In:
Virginia A
Maryland A

Bubble:
Howard A
Washington and Lee A
Maryland B
Virginia B
Richmond A
UNC Chapel Hill A
William & Mary B
Temple A
George Washington B
Howard B


Initial Thoughts:
To the longshot teams hoping for a cinderella run to ORCS out of the Williamsburg regional, you have our sincerest condolences.  Alongside Chapel Hill, this Regional sits on a tier of competitiveness above all others when looking at all of the traditional metrics. Powerhouse championship contenders? Check. Too many ORCS regulars for too few bids? Check. Scary B teams? Check. Powers of yester-year ready to resurge? Check.

It starts at the top, with our First In teams of UVA A and Maryland A.  UVA needs no introduction (although their introductions in trial will certainly be slow, commanding, and well marked with blue painters tape). With familiar names like Karen Sun, Ethan Marx, Anna Dubnoff and Ansley Skipper, the expectation for the Cavaliers is clear: first to the courthouse, and first to the podium. Our other first-in squad is less well known, but nonetheless a reliable bet. The Terrapins still hold (albeit now in a tie with UCLA) the all-time record for national championships won. But in recent years, the Maryland program has been out in the wilderness. With only one Nationals appearance in the last seven years, and even a complete miss on ORCS altogether in that time, Maryland thought they finally broke through last year, only to find the bid snatched away from them at the last minute. This year they appear to be highly motivated. Behind TBC play-in competitor Laniya Davidson and the well-awarded Stephen DeCoste, Maryland has blitzed through the invitational season.  First at Mumbo Jumbo, Second at Yale, First at CUBAIT.  It looks like that train will keep rolling right through Williamsburg.

Beyond the top dogs, you have a slew of teams that could be fierce, or flops. Take Howard A - a team that has a spotty history of struggling at Regionals, only to squeeze through and explode at ORCS. We expect they’ll get through behind program president Nyah Lamarre Blanc and the talented attorney Jordan Nabwe, but it may be a tense closing ceremony for the Bison. On the other hand you have Washington and Lee, a program behind A-team stalwart George Alford trying to restock from an NCT run of two years ago.  And there’s also North Carolina, a once ORCS staple of the region which exploded back into the competitive scene last year.  Now they’re hosting a Regional, fielding 3 teams, running off an 8-0 record at the Wildcat Classic, and looking to run back toward old glory with standouts Zoe Parkhomovsky and Ella Rose.  Our final addition to that bunch is Richmond: a  well-supported program once trusted to host a Nationals that never happened, the Spiders have struggled as of late. Last year, the A team couldn’t overcome a monstrous schedule, but the B team pulled through to ORCS against a softer slate. This year’s revamped A team, led by talented witnesses Will Hisle and Caroline Johnston, will be hoping to have better luck.

Finally, we also have some curious B teams to keep an eye on.  Virginia B is typically a scary team at Regionals.  Yet last year they failed to escape a brutal Williamsburg schedule. Can they regroup and reload?  And what about Maryland’s B squad, a group from a program as big and deep as any in the country. Will they hold the same motivation as the aggrieved A team?  Then, there’s also William & Mary B: the host squad playing on home turf. This group has struggled to keep pace at ORCS, but has managed a bid one way or another in each of the last three tries.  Can that streak continue in a daunting field?  Some will be thrilled on that fateful Sunday evening, others will be devastated - such is the drama of a stacked Regionals field that keeps us all addicted.

Team to Watch: Temple
First of all, Temple has a great TikTok game.  We’re hoping for some content out of Williamsburg, please. While the current TikTok generation of mockers may not recall it, at one point in time, this was a program that was a regular at ORCS and among the top 100 in TPR.  And though times have been tough, it looks to us like the program in the heart of Philadelphia might finally be moving in the right direction again. Last year at Regionals they took care of business against lesser competition, as we expect a legitimate ORCS squad to do, and secured one of the first open bids to be handed out.  That open bid also marked the 2nd trip to ORCS in the last 3 years.  This year, they bring back all but two from the ORCS squad of last year.  The early return at their lone invitational, Black Squirrel, was admittedly less than stellar.  However, we think the development of facing challenging competition such as Penn State, Princeton, and Wesleyan, particularly at a 3-ballot tournament, is more valuable than steamrolling through a weak field.  Temple has the profile of a program that we would expect to compete at ORCS annually: a massive student population, strong academics, a thriving nearby high-school circuit, and they are also fairly close to attorney support, quality competition, and ample invitationals.  This year the Owls are flying behind senior program President Karlee Whitpan, standout witness Camille Patrick, and junior Ezra Pipik.  Don’t get us twisted, the Temple team is nothing less than an underdog at this challenging Regional.  But with the right magic of stumbles by the teams in front of them, scheduling luck, and blossoming courtroom skill, we think Temple might just be the darkhorse to ride through Williamsburg.