NSBA4 Draft Grades & Projections

Connor Chang squeezed real value out of the third slot, finishing 11% above slot expectation — the second-best draft efficiency mark among East teams. Kian Dhawan is one of the most reliable playoff performers in the pool (robust 1.24), and pairing him with Rahib H gives the team a legitimate two-headed attack in bio and ESS. The five-through-seven spots are thin on projected value, but full 6-of-6 coverage means no opponent can exploit a subject gap. This is a well-constructed team that can compete with anyone in the East.

With the first overall pick, GidTheKid2 secured Harry G — a well-rounded player who covers bio, chem, CS, math, and phys at above-average theta — and followed with William J as a solid secondary contributor in bio and phys. The roster achieves full 6-of-6 coverage, and picks two through five are all positive-value additions. The concern is that none of the players appear in the playoff robustness table, which limits confidence in how this team performs when tournament pressure peaks. Still, a projected-value total just shy of Connor Chang from the top slot is a slight underperformance of the positional advantage — efficiency at 1.02 is fine but not exceptional.

Rohan G is the best playoff performer on the board by robustness score, and his CS/math/phys theta profile makes him a complete round-one anchor. The supporting cast of Daniel Y, Pravira D, and Jianyu W provides positive-value depth across bio, ESS, and phys. However, the roster runs noticeably thin in chemistry — Rohan's chem theta is near the THIN threshold and no one else fills it — which is the one structural weakness a savvy opponent can attack in a playoff match. Nihar Bhave's upside (robust 2.89 in past data) is a potential hidden asset if he shows up to play. At efficiency 1.00 from the second slot, this is a solid-but-not-spectacular draft execution.

Anurag built a balanced, coverage-first roster from the fifth slot, landing Sean F as a multi-subject contributor in bio, CS, ESS, and phys. Travis D adds solid CS and ESS depth, and Sanjay Oruganti brings genuine chem upside. The roster achieves full 6-of-6 coverage with no open holes, which is exactly the right approach for a mid-draft position. The issue is efficiency: at 0.92, this team underperformed its slot expectation modestly, and none of the players appear in the robustness database — meaning playoff projections are uncertain. A competitive team that should hold its own in the East.

jonathan had the fourth pick — a premium position — and the final total value of 1.26 represents only 78% of what that slot's expected value should have delivered, making this the worst draft efficiency among East teams with real draft capital. Edwin He is a genuine star in bio, ESS, and chem, and Aryan B provides solid CS depth. But the backend of the roster (Kensuke O, Patrick L, Dennis S) adds very little projected value, and math is fully open while phys barely clears the thin threshold. For a team with a top-four pick, leaving two subject gaps is a structural problem that will be difficult to overcome in a competitive East conference.

cryo drafted seven players but still sits at the second-lowest total value in the field, finishing 30% below what the sixth slot should have delivered — the worst draft efficiency in the entire league. Suzuko O is a real contributor across four subjects, and Edward C adds CS depth, but Bryce T and Jacob L (unresolvable in the database) contribute zero projected value. The Shannon Imaoka robustness entry of 10.44x looks dramatic but is an artifact of near-zero regular-season output, not a meaningful playoff indicator. Math sits only at thin. The honest assessment is that this roster needs several players to significantly outperform their projections to contend in the East.

sumin's team projects last in the overall standings with a total value of 1.04 — 31% below the seventh slot's expected output and the weakest draft efficiency in the league. Lucas W and Angelina Y provide bio coverage, and Santhosh V adds a CS/phys floor, but chem and ESS are only thin while math is fully open. Critically, one roster spot carries eligibility uncertainty from prior seasons, which adds roster risk beyond the model's projections. To compete in the East, this team would need significant upside realization from its younger contributors and a favorable playoff bracket. The path forward exists but is the narrowest in the field.

James W pulled off the most impressive draft of the day from the 11th slot, building a roster worth 2.26 projected value — 60% above what the pick chart expected. The pairing of Akhil Batchu (elite ESS + strong chem/phys) and Sohil Rathi (math/phys specialist) forms one of the best 1-2 punches in either conference, and the supporting cast of Arman A, Alex S, and Kavin A fills in coverage gaps without dead weight. Full 6-of-6 subject coverage with no open holes is a genuine advantage. The only knock is that Akhil's playoff robustness is below 1.0, meaning this team performs better in the regular season than in high-pressure single-match formats — but that's a minor concern given the sheer volume of talent.

ChessFun turned the 14th overall slot — the least advantaged position in the snake — into a top-five roster, finishing 4.5% above slot expectation. Ishaan Kabra (CS/ESS) and Eric L (bio specialist) form a complementary 1-2 with different subject profiles, and Shaun I and Rishvanth B add enough depth to achieve full 6-of-6 coverage. There are no glaring holes. The ceiling concern is real — Ishaan's star value of 0.507 is below every team ranked above them — but the floor is high relative to what a 14th-slot team usually looks like. This is the West's best-constructed mid-tier squad.

From the 13th slot, (Stitch)^2 punched above their draft position with a 1.03 efficiency score, building a team led by Arjun D (the strongest bio theta in the entire draft at 7.98) and Praneel Avula (proven phys playoff performer). The bio-phys tandem is one of the more unusual — and potentially effective — subject pairings in the field. The critical structural gap is CS: no player on the roster covers it above the THIN threshold, which in a CS-heavy Science Bowl environment is a meaningful liability. If opponents target CS questions in must-win situations, this team has no answer. That single open hole separates them from the elite tier.

czz drafted a consistent, if not flashy, team built around Anish A — a multi-science player with above-1 playoff robustness in bio and chem — and Vishnu M as an ESS/math specialist. Together they cover five subjects solidly; the CS gap is thin but not fully open. One roster spot (Boheng C) could not be resolved in the database, which introduces minor uncertainty into these projections. At 0.96 efficiency from the 8th slot, this is a competent draft. The team is right in the middle of the West field and should make a reasonable playoff push if Anish A performs to his robustness ceiling.

dan.k.memes assembled a serviceable squad around Dennis J (strong CS at theta 3.69) and Selena Y (bio contributor), but the roster has genuine structural holes. Math is fully open across the roster, and ESS barely registers as thin — in a six-subject game, two gaps is one too many against a prepared opponent. Lishan Prado's robustness of 1.27 is a positive signal for playoff resilience. At 0.96 efficiency from the 9th slot, the draft execution was roughly on par. This team needs either math coverage to develop in-season or a favorable bracket to advance deep.

Fez_Keyreb built a five-subject-covered team with a surprise hidden asset: Chris Wang's playoff robustness of 2.42 is elite and suggests this team dramatically outperforms regular-season projections when it counts. Justin K provides a solid CS/bio/math base, and Aldric B shores up ESS. The critical problem is chemistry — the entire roster has negative or near-zero chem theta, and no draft pick addressed it. That open hole means any opponent can build a chem-heavy lineup as a direct counter. Star value of 0.355 is also the lowest among genuinely competitive teams. This team lives and dies on whether Chris Wang's playoff form carries.

mingle/Yunyi faces the steepest coverage challenge of any team in the West, with CS, math, and phys all sitting at only thin coverage — any one of those subjects can be exploited by a prepared opponent in a playoff format. Theenash Sengupta is a capable bio contributor but her robustness score is slightly negative (-0.106), suggesting she performs better in regular-season contexts. One roster slot (Namish D) could not be resolved in the player database, introducing additional uncertainty. At 0.85 efficiency from the 10th slot, the draft underperformed positional expectations moderately. This team needs significant in-season development to compete in the West playoffs.