Photo by Alan Bloodgood
APRIL 20, 2026
By Will Stuntz
Entering 2026, the DC Breeze hold the longest active playoff qualification streak in the UFA at nine seasons in a row and will look to extend that to 10 this season. To qualify for the playoffs, the Breeze will have to finish in the top three of the always-competitive East Division.
“Every team in our division got better,” first-year Breeze head coach Xavier Maxstadt said.
The Breeze will face every team in the east twice, except Toronto, which they will see only once. Along with the divisional matchups, the Breeze will face three interdivisional opponents, including the West Division's Colorado Apex, as well as Carolina Flyers and Atlanta Hustle of the South Division.
The Interdivisionals
Colorado Apex: Home on 4/26
2025 Record: 8-4, third in West
The DC Breeze host Colorado in their first first interdivisional match of 2026 in week four. The Friday Night Frisbee matchup marks the first fixture in UFA history between the two franchises. The Apex lost multiple key figures after 2025, including Noah Coolman (Minnesota Wind Chill), Alex Atkins (New York Empire), Tobias Brooks (Carolina), and Zeke Thoreson (Carolina). Coolman was one of the greatest pass blockers to ever suit up for Colorado, and he set the single-season Apex block record in 2025, along with leading the league in blocks with 24. He also holds the all-time Colorado record for regular-season blocks with 46. Atkins was with Colorado since the team's inception in 2022, and the hybrid was one of Colorado's premier throwers. Atkins holds the all-time records in single-regular-season, single-playoff-game, and career-regular-season completions, while keeping a 94.47% completion rate in his career. But the Apex aren’t completely out of luck as they’ve retained Quinn Finer and brought back Conor Tabor after a one-year hiatus from pro frisbee. Both hybrids were founding players of the Apex and have spent their entire careers with the franchise. Finer is the most prolific scorer in Apex history and has played the most points of any Apex player. He has the most assists and goals in Apex regular-season history, with 119 and 114, respectively. Tabor was a productive player for Colorado from 2022 to 2024 when he amassed 2,561 throwing yards with 23 assists, four goals and five blocks.
Carolina Flyers: Home on 6/5
2025 Record: 7-5, fourth in South
DC and Carolina have become very familiar foes in the past few years, despite playing in different divisions. For the fourth year in a row, DC will face Carolina as part of their interdivisional campaign. The two teams have played four times in the past three seasons, with DC holding a 3-1 record over those games. One big hole Carolina has to fill is the loss of Rutledge Smith. In Smith’s breakout season in 2025, he tallied 12 assists and 29 goals in just eight games, while completing 97.58% of his pass attempts. They also lost a standout rookie from 2025 in John McDonnell, who contributed 15 assists and threw for 4,177 yards. McDonnell was efficient with the disc, as well, never completing less than 90% of his throws in a game. Despite these losses, Carolina holds onto one of the premier throwers in the UFA in Allan Laviolette. In DC’s matchup with Carolina in 2025, Laviolette threw six assists and 42 completions, while racking up 604 total yards. Laviolette was a unanimous All-UFA first team selection in 2025 and led the league in assists with 69. One capability sticks out with Lavoilette: his deep-throwing ability. He completed 32 hucks in 2025 on 86.49%, which could be tricky for the Breeze to handle in a season where they look to improve on deep defense.
Atlanta Hustle: Away on 7/18
2025 Record: 9-3, first in South
DC will wrap up its 2026 campaign with a trip down to Atlanta. The Hustle have high expectations this season following their trip to Championship Weekend in 2025, where they came up two points shy of a UFA championship game appearance in a semifinal loss to Minnesota. Atlanta’s signing of Will Selfridge from the Salt Lake Shred brings a big boost to Atlanta’s already-powerful offensive line. In four seasons, Selfridge has scored 129 times and has racked up 6,062 receiving yards. Brett Hulsmeyer also returns to Atlanta following an All-UFA Second Team selection in 2025. Although the Hustle are highly touted entering 2026, some departures have raised questions about their potential. The loss of eight-year UFA veteran Michael Fairley leaves Atlanta with a massive hole in its defensive line. Another veteran departure for Atlanta this offseason was Billy O’Bryan, who will not be absent for this game as he has joined the Breeze for 2026. O’Bryan spent his last two seasons with Atlanta, and his understanding of the team could be a major advantage for DC in this matchup.
The East
Boston Glory: Away on 4/25, Home on 6/13
2025 Record: 9-3, first in East
The Breeze will open their season with what may turn out to be their toughest opponent of the year: the reigning UFA champions in Boston. In 2025, Boston didn’t just win a championship; they redefined excellence in the UFA. Boston returns two of the best players in the league, the reigning league MVP Tobe Decraene, and two-time MVP Jeff Babbitt. Decraene, in just his second UFA season and first with Boston, logged 50 assists and 41 goals between the playoffs and regular season. The combined 91 scores were enough to lead the league, and his 4,272 receiving yards were also a league high. Babbitt joined Glory in 2024 and went on to win his second consecutive MVP following his tumultuous departure from New York. During his time in New York, Babbitt led the Empire to three championships, making 2025 the fourth trophy of his career. Boston also retained Benjamin Sadok, a founding player of Glory who led the team in throwing yards in 2025. Sadok has been a huge piece of the Glory offense since the team's creation in 2021. In his career, he had thrown for 17,000+ yards with a completion percentage over 95%, while throwing 172 assists. Despite all of this power returning, Glory will have to find a way to fill in for one of the biggest and most surprising departures of the 2026 off-season. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Tanner Johnson-Go, will not be returning to the UFA this year, which leaves massive shoes to fill for Boston’s defensive line. Glory also added Thomas Edmonds, a former DC standout. Edmonds played in DC for three seasons and scored 107 times. He is a career 95.82% thrower and brings familiarity with the Breeze’s offense to Boston. With both teams returning a plethora of key players and adding new stars, the two matchups are primed to be some of the most exciting frisbee of the 2026 regular season.
Montreal Royal: Home on 5/3, Away on 5/30
2025 Record: 4-8, fifth in East
One attribute sets the Royal apart from most teams in the UFA this year: they’ve returned every key player from 2025. The Royal haven’t been in the playoffs since 2017, but with the return of Malik Auger-Semmar, things could be looking up for the Royal for the first time in years. Auger-Semmar returns to Montreal after spending two years away from pro frisbee but was an important piece during his time there, contributing 93 assists and 89 goals in his regular-season appearances. The Breeze and Royal battled twice in 2025 and split the series. In the second matchup in 2025, DC made a statement with a 12-score blowout victory. With the Royal’s 2025 assists leader, Christophe Tremblay-Joncas and 2025 goals leader Quentin Bonnaud staying with Montreal, the Royal could make a big jump in the East in 2026.
New York Empire: Away on 5/10, Home on 5/23
2025 Record: 7-5, third in East
The New York Empire are always a team to look out for. The three-time-champion franchise has taken a step back from its routine dominance over the last two years, but they’ve made one of the league's biggest acquisitions this offseason. Daan De Marrée was the unanimous UFA 2025 rookie of the year after totaling 28 assists, 43 goals and 18 blocks for Chicago. De Marrée didn't just stand out against his fellow rookies but was one of the best players in the league last year and was voted runner-up in the MVP race. New York also brought in Atkins from Colorado. Both of these additions will help New York replace the likes of Calvin Brown. Brown threw for 3,669 yards in 2025 and dished out 27 assists while bringing down 13 goals. New York is also still running with veterans Ben Jagt and John Randolph, who led the Empire in goals and assists in 2025, respectively. Both players earned All-UFA honors in 2025, with Randolph being named to the All-UFA Second Team and Jagt to the All-UFA Third Team. DC and New York faced off three times in 2025, splitting the regular season series 1-1. In the postseason, The Breeze defeated the Empire handily to advance to the East Division Championship, marking DC’s first playoff win against New York since 2016. Even with two confidence-boosting victories in 2025, the Breeze will be very wary of New York’s new weapons.
Toronto Rush: Away on 5/29
2025 Record: 3-9, sixth in East
The Rush are the only East Division opponent the Breeze will only see once in 2026 with a Friday Night matchup in Toronto. In a tough 2025 season for the Rush, they had one big bright spot: their unanimous All-Rookie selection, Tom Blasman. Unfortunately, however, Blasman will not be returning to the Rush or any other UFA franchise for 2026. Blasman led the Rush in assists with 48 and throwing yards with 4,346. Ty Barbieri has also departed the Rush this year. In 2025, Barbieri led the Rush in goals with 36 and, in just three UFA seasons, has scored 110. The most notable returning player for the Rush will be Phil Turner, who led the team in blocks in 2025 with 17. To help with the departures, Toronto has signed Gagan Chatha for 2026. Chatha hasn’t played professionally in nearly a decade since his final season with Vancouver in 2017. In 2015 and 2016, Chatha averaged 30 assists and 38 goals.
Philadelphia Phoenix: Away on 7/3, Home on 7/11
2025 Record: 6-6, 4th in East
The biggest question looming over Philadelphia heading into 2026 is what they will do without Sean Mott. The ten-year UFA veteran is stepping away from the Phoenix for the first time in his career to join the Breeze. Mott has led Philadelphia in assists every year since 2017 and in throwing yards since 2023. In his career, Mott has thrown 420 assists to go along with his 202 goals. He will be a key veteran addition to the Breeze, and his knowledge of the Phoenix will serve DC well in their two bouts. Philadelphia is also losing a unanimous All-Rookie First Team selection in Sam Grossberg. Grossberg hauled in 20 goals while throwing 21 assists in just nine games in the 2025 campaign. Aside from the departures, Philadelphia has brought back Nicholas Digiorgio, who left the team in 2022 for Dallas and then spent one season in Austin. Digiorgio’s most prominent season came in Dallas in 2024, where he collected 1,997 receiving yards and 19 goals. Despite finishing lower in the standings than the Breeze in 2025 and missing the postseason, the Phoenix swept the season series with DC in 2025, winning by one in April and then a nine-goal victory in July.
