July 3, 2026
By Charlie Hoppes

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! We are coming down the home stretch of the regular season, with three weeks still remaining. The playoff race is, as always, wild and unpredictable. And considering an off-season of player movement and the influx of excellent young players making their mark after the college season wrapped up, there are countless players who could be considered key factors for their teams as they push for a spot in a playoffs and, ultimately, a title. Let’s take a look at four such players, each starring on teams with realistic aspirations of hoisting the trophy at the end of August.

Zeke Thoreson, Carolina Flyers

After last season ended in playoff-less heartbreak for the perennially-contending Flyers thanks to an 0-4 start, Carolina exploded out of the gate 5-1, including two wins over the rival Atlanta Hustle. Then, at the start of June, they added Ultiworld’s 2026 College Player of the Year Tobias Brooks to their O-line, back after a season with Colorado. And as great as Brooks has been (very), one of his college teammates has joined the Flyers for the first time and has immediately been one of the best players across the entire league throughout June. Zeke Thoreson, fresh off of winning the 2026 Callahan Award, exploded in his Carolina debut, with five assists, one goal, 585 total yards and just one turn in a close loss to the DC Breeze. In his five games, Thoreson has piled up numbers that would be a really strong full season for most players. He’s scored 12 goals, had 18 assists, notched five blocks, and only two throwaways compared to 119 completions, all while churning up yards–his 2,620 yards were fourth-most in the league in the month of June. And the impact has shown through, with the Carolina O-line seeing a rise in production across the board since their Colorado reinforcements arrived. Thoreson is an adaptable player who excels regardless of what the defense is giving him, and to be as consistent and dynamic as he’s been coming out of the gate, Flyers fans have to wonder if he’s the missing piece to take them back to their first championship since 2021.

Daan De Marrée, New York Empire

The most heralded signing this offseason, Daan De Marrée has looked like he’s been playing in Empire pinstripes his whole life despite only joining the lineup at the start of June as well. De Marrée was the 2025 rookie of the year, and the runner-up for MVP despite appearing in only 10 games. He joined a New York offense that was on pace to be the best the league has seen, and has been quietly (for his standards) outstanding. His numbers are down in nearly every category, in some cases significantly, which makes sense considering the many weapons the Empire offense has featured this season. What doesn’t show in the numbers, however, is how flawlessly he’s fit onto the line as a Mr. Fix-It. For many years, Jack Williams would rescue any New York possession that was stuck, raising the floor of a line with a legendarily high ceiling. With Williams in and out of the lineup, De Marrée has taken up the mantle. Stuck on a sideline? Here comes Daan. Reset locked down? Daan’s got you covered. There isn’t much need to force anything when perhaps the best player in the world is your security blanket. And if a team makes the mistake of treating him like a role player, he has punished his defender immediately. For a team that is pushing for their fourth title, De Marrée has turned an already airtight offense into a bulletproof line as well.

Tobe Decraene, Boston Glory (Pictured)

We see a lot of the 2025 MVP. He’s featured during nearly every commercial break on watchUFA.tv, and he has a strong following on social media. Heck, he’s the Hungriest Wolf for Pete’s sake! But as Tobe Decraene turns 23 (!!), the place you definitely wish you weren’t seeing him is in the lineup against your favorite team. Because once the whistle blows, he’s going to be a part of everything. There have been some rough patches–a three-game stretch with four-plus turnovers in May, and a five-turnover game against the Empire, including multiple giveaways in the red zone–but he has been heating up again just in time for a playoff push. He bounced back from the New York game–an overtime win–by playing the best game of his career, on the road against a strong DC Breeze team on the second day of a back-to-back. On only 20 points played, Decraene had career-highs in both goals (7) and hockey assists (6), added five assists, and a block, torching the Breeze defense for 798 total yards in a blowout win. With the return of the Empire to the top of the division, and a handful of other scary challengers around the league lurking beyond that, the Glory will need Decraene in top form, the way he was for the championship run a year ago on his way to winning Championship Weekend MVP. Their biggest test of the season will be next weekend, a road game against the undefeated Minnesota Wind Chill in a rematch of last season’s championship game. Decraene has spoken all season about how much he is motivated to repeat, and the next few weeks are going to be thrilling to watch.

Gordon Larson, Minnesota Wind Chill

It’s almost a shame that Gordon Larson already won Most Improved Player back in 2024 and has been a strong player since then, because his 2026 has been one of the biggest reasons the Wind Chill are having their best season ever. Larson has transitioned to a pure dropback passer, rarely leaving the backfield. The result has been both more consistent and more explosive than any previous year. Through eight games this season, Larson is closing in on career-highs for both assists and throwing yards, both set last year in 15 games. Prior to 2026, he was 15 of 26 (57.7 percent) on hucks across 37 games. This year, Larson is 16 of 21 (76.2 percent) from distance. And he’s not just pushing how impactful he can be (Shown Space tells us that he is second on the team in Player Impact–the share of a team’s Adjusted Expected Contribution–trailing only Will Brandt), but he’s also been a rock with the disc. Despite being well on pace to smash his previous career-high in completions, Larson has a 96.5 completion percentage, an elite number he has not been close to in the past. The consistency of the O-line has been the stunning piece of the scariest Minnesota team we’ve seen, and Larson is in the middle of that. Can you be Most Improved twice? Considering the stakes for the Wind Chill is fixing a long-time problem in a quest to win another title, maybe Larson should get some votes again.

ABOUT CHARLIE HOPPES

Charlie Hoppes has coached ultimate for 20 years, including several stints in the UFA. He was co-head coach of the New York Empire–helping to lead them to undefeated championship seasons in 2022 and 2023–and is currently a coaching consultant for the Indianapolis Alleycats. Hoppes provides individualized coaching services to players, coaches, and teams at all levels through Charlie Hoppes Ultimate Coaching & Consulting (CHUCC). Learn more at charliehoppes.com