November 24, 2025
By Adam Ruffner
For the last several seasons, the UFA has been blessed by a perennial crop of outstanding rookies. Talent has flooded in from both domestic sources and abroad, and the post Memorial Day roster injections of college stars has fueled playoff races for years. 2025 was no different, with Daan De Marrée finishing as MVP runner-up after a much hyped flight over from Brussels, and numerous rookies playing vital roles in the postseason. The future of the league is incredibly bright, and these are just some of the headlines from another standout rookie class.
International stars begin to reshape league
For as much as the North American continent still dominates international competition, individual talent from across the ocean has made progressively bigger impacts in the league in recent years. There’s been a quiet history throughout the UFA of playoff contending teams adding international stars in free agency—Toronto with Justin Foord (United Kingdom) in 2016 and Benjamin Oort (Netherlands) in 2018, Montreal’s long-established relationship with France/Quentin Bonnaud dating back to 2017, all the way through players like Liam Haberfield (New Zealand), Elliot Bonnet (France), and Aaron Wolf (Germany) in recent times—but the trend has really hit a peak with the last two “Rookie Of The Year” winners De Marrée and 2025 league MVP Tobe Decraene. Both hail from Belgium, and both have been monumental in their first handful of professional games as both prolific highlight creators and winners.
The best player on a team that lost one game all season, De Marrée showcased his star skill set from his first start with Chicago. The 24-year-old compiled nearly 300 total yards on 35 touches with just one turnover in his Union debut, and showcased a veteran’s field awareness coupled with elite stamina, making him dangerous from virtually every spot on the field. De Marrée is a natural athlete with a lot of length, and his ability to create separation makes him equally effective as a receiver and as a thrower in the continuation game. Over a six game stretch from late June through July, De Marrée averaged 3.5 assists, six goals, 24 completions, and 370 receiving yards per start as a dual threat demon on the Chicago offense, pacing play and finishing drives seemingly on command. The Union may have come up short of their Championship Weekend goal as a team, but that did little to overshadow De Marrée’s historic rookie campaign.
And while De Marrée’s performances grabbed headlines and created a larger discussion around the Belgian phenomenon currently taking place, it was not the only notable news. Toronto embarked on their “Rush Reboot” in 2025 by adding top European players Tom Blasman, Arvids Karklins, and Toms Abeltins, a trio that contributed immediately and stylishly, and had East Division opponents fearing a fully loaded Rush roster for the first time in years. Karklins entered with the biggest playmaking pedigree from international competitions, but it was Blasman who emerged as one of the top throwers in the UFA in 2025. Equipped with a deep bag of passes (best hammer throw?) and full field range that put him in the league’s top 10 in assists, throwing yards, and huck completions as a rookie, Blasman added a new level of explosiveness to the Toronto offense.
And though he flew a little under the radar on a championship defense, Italy’s Sebastian Rossi added athleticism, size, and a counterattacking punch to the Glory D-line while starting in 10 games and averaging over 12 points played per contest. Rossi seamlessly adapted from being a top star on offense in his home country to a role player in coverage in Boston, and could be in for a massive leap in production if he returns for another pro season in 2026.
Gordon and Rees transform Oakland into championship contender
The Spiders have been assembling from within one of the youngest and most talented teams in the West Division for years. Young jedis Walker Frankenberg, Dexter Clyburn, and Raekwon Adkins entered the league in 2023 and added immediate firepower plus playoff hope to a franchise that had not seen the postseason since 2017. Oakland officially returned to the playoffs in 2024 after a half decade drought, but the Spiders came up short to the eventual division champions in Seattle in the first round—there was still something missing from the lineup, particularly on offense.
Enter Adam Rees and Leo Gordon. The two consensus All Rookie stars made instant impacts in their professional debuts back in April against New York, with Gordon tossing five assists and amassing nearly 400 yards of offense while Rees cruised to two goals without a throwaway. By the end of the season, the two accounted for over 100 scores (assists plus goals) and 8,000 total yards, and the Spiders came within a goal of their first Championship Weekend appearance since 2015. Gordon’s mobility as a passer complemented Evan Magsig perfectly in the backfield, and Rees cemented himself as a top five downfield option in the UFA by the end of his first campaign; Rees led all rookies with 39 goals, and his ability to take the top off of defenses with his vertical route running opens up lanes for everyone else in the Spiders offense. And even with the adoption of a new lineup, the uptempo Spiders finished fourth in offensive success rate in 2025. This team’s arrow only points up going into next year.
Salt Lake’s defense reloads again
Coming off four consecutive 10-win regular seasons and their second West Division crown in three years, it’s easy to overlook how much roster turnover the Shred have endured over the past couple years, particularly on defense. And entering the 2025 campaign, not only were the Shred set to lose a handful of D-line starters, they also converted two-time All Defense selection Chad Yorgason into a full-time role on the Salt Lake offense. At the time, it seemed like an incredible gamble to move a defender who had amassed 43 blocks over three seasons into a starting facilitator role, particularly given Yorgason’s limitations as a precision passer; particularly given division rivals in Oakland and Colorado had added young, star talent to their respective offenses.
Turns out Head Coach Bryce Merrill was holding a lot more in his hand with Salt Lake’s 2025 rookie class. Featuring brothers Kimball and Sam Pew, as well as college champion Nathan De Morgan, the Shred rookies revitalized both coverage and counterattack alike. Both Pews finished with double-digit block totals, and De Morgan unleashed his backhand one-timer hucks in transition to great effect. And even with a fully new defensive lineup rotation, the Shred improved their breaks per game mark from 2024. Salt Lake’s D-line has never lacked explosiveness, but this new crop of defenders looks evolved.
Defensive talent loaded class
Defensive excellence has been the defining feature of each of the last three UFA champions, and the wave of young defenders entering the league and making their mark reflects that trend. Salt Lake may have been the best team example, but there’s prospects all over.
Oakland’s Carter Lankford registered a block in each of his final seven starts of the season, and finished his first pro season in the league’s top 10 for takeaways. Lankford’s athleticism allows him to remain sticky on his assignments in coverage, and also makes him a tough matchup in transition; Lankford tallied six goals over two playoff starts.
Langley Fitzpatrick wasted no time introducing himself to the scene as an electric playmaker with four blocks in his pro debut. The 20-year-old finished the season as Seattle’s team leader in takeaways, and began to show a dual threat as a receiver over the final month of the season; after failing to register a goal in his first four starts, Fitzpatrick caught 10 goals and had two separate 200-yard receiving performances in his final four games.
Philadelphia’s Jack Wisner is one of the more intriguing projects going forward. A former track athlete, Wisner’s gap-closing ability and jumping make him a nightmare to match up with in open space, and it felt like many of his 11 blocks were made using simple read-and-react mechanics. As he gets a better sense of reading offenses, Wisner could become another shutdown defender for the Phoenix alongside All Defense talents Nate Little and Paul Owens.
Hunter May and his 6’5” frame are made for the larger dimensions of the pro field, and his ability to play safety helped mitigate some of the overaggressive tendencies of other Colorado defenders. May is a natural receiver, and if the Summit can find a reliable passer to lead the counterattack, he could be in for a 20-goal, 20-block season in the not too distant future.
Now a free agent following the contraction of the Aviators, former LA defender Max Combs was quietly one of the best two-way producers for a three-win team. Combs tossed 12 assists and scored 18 goals while completing a solid 19 throws per game at a 94 percent clip, and had the wheels to stay with the many speedsters in the West Division. It’s uncertain if he will play in 2026, but Combs could be a difference maker for a playoff team.
U-24 gold medalist Michael Poe made six spot appearances for the Hustle this year, and showed glimpses of stardom despite the limited play time. Poe registered a block in each of his final five starts, and had his best game of the year in the semifinals against the defending champs from Minnesota. Equipped with breakaway speed, Poe can put pressure as a defender on almost any throw into space, and is an excellent candidate to lead the fastbreak.
High volume playmakers power offenses
The Europeans and Spiders rookies may have earned the most headlines, but the 2025 rookie class as a whole showcased a deep lineup of talent on offense.
Philly native Sam Grossberg earned a unanimous First Team All Rookie selection for his play in 2025. Grossberg notched at least one assist and one goal in all nine of his starts, and he finished sixth in the entire league in completions per game (47); he had back-to-back 50-completion performances to end the season, including a 55-of-55, 488 throwing yard banger against DC in the regular season finale. Fitted with whip-like quickness and a veteran’s field sense near the goal line, Grossberg is a rising star to watch in the league’s toughest division.
Though a little undersized for his position, Conor Belfield has the physical skills and toughness to operate as one of the most productive downfield cutters and continuation passers in the West Division. Belfield is an attacker as a runner, and his stamina plus speed can create significant pressure for coverages, particularly when they already have to worry about Seattle’s other scoring options in Garrett Martin and Zeppelin Raunig. He may have been a bit of a complementary piece in his first season, but Belfield has the ability to become a WR1 type.
Similar to Belfield, Saul Wildavsky was often overshadowed by the star production of his O-line peers on the Spiders. But make no mistake: Wildavsky was a big part of the Spiders becoming a top five offense in 2025. With great hands and a keen sense for spacing/timing, Wildavsky often found himself in advantageous spots for easy goals in the flow of the system. He had a seven-game stretch in the middle of the regular season where he scored at least two goals in every start, and he finished with the fewest turnovers of any starting player on the Oakland offense; Wildavsky was actually one of the most disciplined players with the frisbee in the UFA last season, registering just six throwaways and zero drops; among the 51 players with at least 250 points played last season, only defender Tyler Randall had fewer mistakes than Wildavsky.
One of the winningest players in college history, John McDonnell shouldered a veteran’s workload from his first start and led the UFA in completions per game (55). A throw-and-go passer by trade, McDonnell operated best in small spaces and as a connector piece in the red zone; McDonnell may have finished with only 15 assists on over 600 touches, but his 41 hockey assists—third most in the league—communicate how active he was in setting the table for teammates.
Ryan Dinger played a pitch perfect, space-and-pace facilitator for a title-bound Boston squad. He never functioned as a primary or even secondary option in the Glory system, yet Dinger consistently found opportunities filling in on the break side and attacking empty spots with timely throws. His 6-foot frame allows him to function as a highly valuable safety valve for the possession-obsessed Boston O-line, which led to Dinger quietly amassing the second most throwing yards on the team.
Last but not least, Jonathan Lyle led all rookies in scores (67) in 2025 as one of the most active downfield strikers in the West Division. And with LA not coming back as a franchise next year, he could be a monumental addition for a playoff team. Lyle is listed at 5’10”, but his freakish vertical leaping abilities and toughness make him borderline unguardable in one-on-one situations, and his threat as a receiving target enables him as a thrower; the 29-year-old rookie averaged over five assists and 280 receiving yards in his last five starts of the season, marks that would put him on the same statistical production level as Travis Dunn, Garrett Martin, and Jordan Kerr.
