Caleb McAllister, Black Belt, Renaissance Academy of Martial Arts in Lynchburg, VA. Caleb was the runner-up in the Inaugural Season of the PGF. He returned for Season 3 and made it to the post-season finale tournament. A former mixed martial arts fighter, McAllister brought all his grit to his current pursuit of jiu jitsu. McAllister is a constant competitor who weaponizes cardio to compliment his formidable jiu jitsu skills. McAllister competed injured during season 3 but didn’t allow it to keep him from the playoffs. One of the best indicators of his likely performance as a coach this season was how he took fellow competitors under his wing and coached them from the sidelines last season. Word is that some competitors are very interested in being on McAllister’s team. With his experience in the PGF and performance as an instructor and coach at large, McAllister is a real threat to be the winning coach this season.

But then there’s the last coach. Honestly, he might have already won.

Nick “Chewy” Albin, Black Belt, Derby City MMA and Chewjitsu. Chewy is a prolific teacher of jiu jitsu, with one of the largest social media presences in the game. His YouTube channel has more than 319,000 subscribers and nearly 60 million views. His videos cover gi, no gi, and self-defense techniques. He also provides advice to jiu jitsu practitioners for navigating their journey through different gyms and competitions. Chewy is a true font of knowledge. With his mastery of jiu jitsu, Chewy should be able to elevate his team members’ games.

Kemoy Anderson, Brown Belt currently out of 10th Planet Austin. He is currently the Fight To Win Brown Belt Champion as well as the 3rd Coast Grappling Brown Belt champ. I first saw him compete in some of the 10th Planet team duels where he showed he had no problem ripping a man’s arm off and taking it home with him. As a PGF Season 2 veteran, Kemoy should have a good handle on the format which should inform his strategy and guidance to his team members.

Sean Applegate, Black Belt, head instructor at 10th Planet Atlanta. Applegate, sometimes referred to as Trapplegate, has a plan. Before he even accepted the offer to be a coach, I would wager he had been formulating strategies on how to put together the winning team. Applegate served as a coach last season. The word on the street is when he found out the draft order would be decided by a game of Connect Four, he made all his students play him in Connect Four until he mastered the game. [He decidedly destroyed the other coaches in the game to ensure the first pick]. Then, Coach Applegate picked and coached a team leading to EVERY member of his active roster making it to the finale tournament (making up 62.5% of the tournament). Coach Applegate’s instructions from the sidelines are calm and actionable. Having watched him coach on the sidelines and attended his seminar during Season 3 – his mastery of the concepts of jiu jitsu and ability to convey them in a comprehensible way are phenomenal. Coach Applegate really puts in the time with his team – they were in the gym hours before the matches, talking strategy and working on techniques. Every other coach has to know Applegate is their biggest threat. But even with the target on his back, Applegate will have a plan to win. As I said, he might have won already. Sean Applegate is working on taking over the SE US grappling scene if not the world. He sent two of his lower belt students to take down two qualifiers and almost had another student take down a third. Applegate has another student who won CJJ Worlds and got to the round of 16 in the ADCC trials. Applegate is known as the authority on leg locks and as one of the calmest coaches matside. I wouldn’t be surprised if his team members started making pilgrimages to Atlanta after learning from Applegate.