With the turn of the new year, we get the 4th annual Average Joe’s money tournament, held at the famous “Court 4” on the Kelley brother’s property in Montague, NJ.
More than 20 top amateurs have traveled to Jersey for this year’s event, which is part tourney and part weekend racquetball camp on the Kelley’s property.
Past champions:
– 1st Annual in 2021: Joe Kelley over Austin Cunningham
– 2nd Annual 2022: Kyle Ulliman over Victor Migliore
– 3rd Annual 2023: Sam Kelley over Victor Migliore
This year’s event features perhaps the widest geographic draw yet, with the regular Northeast crew present, plus players from up and down the east coast, top guys in from Ohio like last year, and even top USA junior @Cole Sendrey in from Texas.
Here’s a preview of the singles and (back for the 2nd year in a row) doubles draws:
In the singles draw, your top seeds are:
#1 @Dylan Pruit from Maryland
#2 your host and defending champ Sam Kelley
#3 two-time finalist and Ohio native Victor Migliore
#4 2022 champion Kyle Ulliman.
However, there’s talent up and down the draw; the inugural champ Joe Kelley is the #8 seed, the finalist in 2021 Cunningham is the #12 seed, and superstar Junior Sendrey is the #6 seed. How will this play out
In the quarters, look for Joe Kelley to give #1 Pruitt a run for his money but fall just short. I like Cunningham to upset lefty David Austin early but fall to Ulliman in the quarters. From the bottom half, Sendrey will struggle with Migliore’s power and quickness but may get a shocker upset, while its hard to see Sam Kelley falling before the semis.
Look for Sam over Migliore in one semi, and Ulliman over Pruitt in the other semi, then Ulliman in the final to be a 2-time champ.
In Doubles, look for the top seeded team of Pruitt & Cunningham to cruise into the finals, while the bottom half semi between team Ohio (Migliore and Ulliman) and team Kelley (brothers Sam and Joe) will be a battle royale. I like the Ohioans to take out the hosts, then top #1 seeds for the title.
Watch for streaming all weekend as the guys hang out on the Kelley residence. We’ll recap on Sunday or Monday.