November 5, 2025
By Evan Lepler and Adam Ruffner
Sometimes you just gotta go for it all immediately. Sure, we appreciate careful consideration and nuance, but every once in a while, you have to huck and hope. Welcome to “The Quick Huck", a new back-and-forth column where Evan Lepler and Adam Ruffner of the "Swing Pass" podcast will ask questions, offer perspective, and debate what the future holds in the Ultimate Frisbee Association.
Today’s prompt: Which UFA team that fell short of Championship Weekend in 2025 is most likely to rise up and compete in the semifinals next season?
Lepler’s response:
There are no swing passes here. Seriously, who even has time to patiently reset the stall count in pursuit of the perfectly timed deep shot?
So getting right to the point: the answer is the Oakland Spiders.
Look, the Spiders had a three-goal lead in the fourth quarter of the West Division title game this past August. And they blew it. It was a painful pill for the Bay Area boys to digest.
But they’ll be better off for it in 2026.
Their talent is tantalizing, their young athletes are scary good, and their grasp of situational frisbee, which clearly was lacking polish this past summer, will inevitably evolve toward a much more acceptable level.
To put it simply: I expect the Spiders’ collective intensity, humility, and discipline to put them in prime position to contend for a UFA championship in 2026.
Ruffner’s response:
With 20 teams to choose from for this question, I wanted to take a quick overview of lineups that could fit this bill. And with you already outlining a great case for Oakland, I’m going to run through some other potential contenders.
New York: Although their 2025 free agency signings didn’t quite pan out, the Empire are still a perennial playoff contender set to add do-everything playmaker Alex Atkins for 2026. Atkins departs Colorado as the franchise leader in completions and spikes, and is top five in virtually every stat category including assists, goals, total yards, hucks completed, and points played. And while Atkins has earned most of his pro accolades for his accomplishments on offense, the 26-year-old began 2025 as a defensive anchor piece and leader of the counterattack before a shoulder injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season. New York finished in the bottom half of the league last season in break scores per game, and Atkins could be a sparkplug for the Empire to regain their elite notoriety on defense.
DC: Nine straight playoff berths, a 2023 division title, and four consecutive appearances in the East Division Championship Game have made the Breeze into one of the most fearsome franchises in the UFA. But something is missing when it comes to a championship formula for DC, as evidenced by their last three playoff losses; the Breeze have been outscored 57-41 over their last three elimination games. Aidan Downey was a great get in 2025, and this remains one of the most talented rosters in the league. But can DC develop an identity that sticks in 2026, and will they ever lean into the longball? The Breeze have finished bottom-two in huck completions for, coincidentally, three straight seasons.
Chicago: The Union looked like worldbeaters right up until Minnesota’s defense short-circuited Chicago in the Central Division finale. If 2025 ROTY superstar Daan De Marrée is back for a second season in the Windy City and there’s more stability week-to-week with their lineups, the Union could easily reverse last season’s collapse. Chicago played with 10 different O-line rotations in 2025 as they juggled a dozen new players, and the inconsistency got exposed against a regimented Wind Chill D-line. Plus: Don’t forget two-time champion John Lithio could make a big comeback after missing the entire season this year due to injury. The 6’5” Lithio is not only a problem as a primary receiving threat, he is one of the best initiating throwers in guiding the disc out of double teams.
San Diego: For being just a few goals shy of a semifinals berth this year, it feels like we’re all still collectively sleeping on the Growlers. 2025 saw San Diego add a raft of star-level starters, including Khalif El-Salaam, Marcel Osborne, and Daniel Brunker, and the Growlers defense might just be the most underrated unit in the league, in addition to being one of the youngest. San Diego punched in 14 breaks combined in their two playoff games this season, and there’s still plenty of room for improvement. With the immortal Travis Dunn continuing to extend his prime well into his 30s and anchoring a rock solid offensive attack, the Growlers are still within striking distance of a divisional crown.
Carolina: The Flyers are in the midst of their longest offseason to date, having missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history in 2025. But after suffering through an 0-4 start, the Flyers finished 7-1 under first year coach Michael Avila, and earned impressive wins over playoff teams Austin (twice) and Atlanta (once) down the stretch of their schedule. MVP finalist Allan Laviolette finished with one of the best throwing seasons in league history, and if he’s back alongside Jacob Fairfax, Terrence Mitchell and company on the offense, Carolina figures to be right back in the playoff mix come next summer. This year’s O-line finished third in success rate, trailing only Atlanta and Salt Lake, and that was with a completely new Flyers throwing backfield. John McDonnell led the league in completions per game (55) as a rookie, and is already one of the best mobile throwers inside the red zone thanks to his quick release and decision making.
Seattle: If you just flipped Seattle’s results in one goal games in 2025, the Cascades would add three more victories and finish with a winning record, possibly a playoff spot in the West Division. And while the Cascades only have one season with more than five wins since 2019, they could emerge as a darkhorse contender similar to 2024 if the right chips fall into place. There are rumors of some pretty substantial players moving to the Pacific Northwest this offseason, to say nothing of former All-UFA selection and Breeze QB1 Jonny Malks’ relocation this past winter to the Seattle area. Lukas Ambrose, Langley Fitzpatrick, and Jack Brown already pack a lot of punch on the defense, and a few more throwers on offense could tilt this team back into contention.
That all being said: The team to watch heading toward 2026 is Oakland. They were already one of the youngest rosters in the UFA in 2025, the offensive potential of the Gordon-Rees-Frankenberg-Adkins-Magsig-Clyburn core feels infinite, 2023 All-UFA selection and currently the best thrower in the world Mac Hecht could rejoin next year and be yet another weapon for the Spiders. And none of that factors in the brutal reality of their West Division championship loss: Oakland had 23 red zone opportunities in Salt Lake and converted on just 12 of them in a one-goal defeat. Even a tiny adjustment gets this Spiders team to the next level.
