The Battle Court Briefing is your edge on World Jai Alai League matchups, featuring match previews, recaps, and data-driven insights powered by Rebote Analytics.

Today’s featured player: Goenaga.

The Winter 2025 season was as good as it gets for Goenaga, and his 21-3 doubles record made him impossible for the Renegades to move on from.

The Renegades chose to keep Goenaga on the roster and elevate him to be their 2nd ranked player with Urbieta departing Battle Court. It was a clear commitment to keeping the defending champions’ core intact.

And it didn’t pay off. The Renegades missed the playoffs in the Fall 2025 season, snapping a run of 4 straight championship appearances, including 2 Battle Court titles over that stretch.

Even during that 21-3 Winter 2025 season, there were hints that Goenaga might not be an ideal candidate to make the jump. He finished the Winter 2025 season ranked 15th in Total Catch Rate (95.7%) and just 30th in Costado Shot Rate (42.3%).

His safe, low-risk formula fits the lower divisions and his Fall 2025 declines pointed to that.

Goenaga’s conservative style didn’t translate as well against higher levels of competition once he became a 2nd ranked player. The room for error disappeared and his “safe” approach forced opponents into far fewer difficult, off-balance positions.

The numbers tell the story. He finished Fall 2025 ranked 16th in Total Catch Rate, the lowest of all 1st and 2nd ranked players. He also saw a 9.3% decrease in his Total Kill Rate and was finding scoring positions at a lower clip, as evidenced by the 7% decrease in his Costado Rate.

The transition to higher divisions was evident. Playing in Division 5 in Winter 2025, Goenaga/Flores won 49 points off a tip, another 32 off a tip from a kill shot, and 25 points from a missed rebote. In Division 4 in Fall 2025, Goenaga/CRB saw just 32 points won on a tip, 18 off a tip from a kill shot, and 20 from a missed rebote.

Even with the drop-off, Goenaga stayed productive. He managed an above .500 record in both doubles divisions and finished the season with 58 Total Kills, good for 8th on the roster.

And when he got into his comfort zone, he was lethal. He continued to lean on the Dejada and Splitter to score points, ranking 1st in Dejada kills and T-2nd in Splitter kills. He also kept the Cortada in heavy rotation, finishing with 32 Cortada attempts, higher than 92% of players.

That is the Goenaga profile in a nutshell: high floor, selective aggression, and point production that comes from a small set of trusted weapons.

In the top divisions, Goenaga will need to continue to develop his Two Wall to be effective. His 8 Two Wall kills in the Fall 2025 season were only better than 44% of the roster, and tied with Jairo for fewest among full-time frontcourters.

As a 2nd ranked player, you cannot just manage points. You have to finish them, and the most effective finishing shots on the roster are clear: the Filo (43.3%) and the Two-Wall (42.8%) have the highest kill rate of any kill shot across the roster.

Goenaga will return as the Renegades 2nd ranked player for the Spring 2026 season and will be featured in 3rd and 4th ranked doubles divisions again. There is hope that the new court could bode well for Goenaga’s forehand-heavy style of play, but he will need to find meaningful improvement in his shot making, especially in the Two Wall, if he is going to be an effective piece for a Renegades team that desperately craves a return to the Battle Court Playoffs.

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