March 18, 2025
By Adam Ruffner
From 2019 through 2023, the league was the domain of the New York Empire. The beasts from the East Division made four championship appearances in four consecutive seasons, securing three titles and setting a new league record for longest winning streak in the process. But since the Atlanta Hustle undid the Empire’s 31-game romp in Week 2 of 2024, the league has felt more wide open than at any point in the association’s history. And after the most chaotic offseason ever, 2025 looks to hold even more unexpected entertainment.
24. Detroit Mechanix
2024 regular season record: 1-11, Finished 6th in Central Division
Final 2024 result: 24-14 (L) at Chicago
Notable additions: Joseph Cubitt, Justin Perticone, Chris Walsh
Notable losses: Carson Chamberlain
First game of 2025: May 11 vs Pittsburgh
Detroit halted their historic losing streak at 81 games last season. But aside from that feat, it was much of the same for a Mechanix team that has ranked dead last in goals allowed four out of the last six seasons. Jake Felton led the league in assists and hucks as a rookie in 2024, but also set a new UFA single-season record for most throwaways (81). There’s some playmaking pop here offensively, especially with the return of Cubitt, but still too many unknowns on D-line to make the Mechanix competitive in most matchups.
23. Vegas Bighorns
2024 regular season record: N/A
Final 2024 result: N/A
Notable additions: Joel Clutton, Stephen Poulos, Mason Zetsch
Notable losses: N/A
First game of 2025: April 25 vs New York
The association’s newest franchise will face a steep test in their first game against a formidable Empire foe. Clutton has plenty of big game experience, but he will need heaps of help to sustain a challenge against a New York squad that figures to be hungry following their early playoff exit in 2024. You go big when you’re in Vegas, so it will be interesting to see if the Bighorns will employ the longball to give themselves a puncher’s chance on opening night.
22. Oregon Steel
2024 regular season record: 1-11, Finished 7th in West Division
Final 2024 result: 26-17 (L) at Seattle
Notable additions: Lucas Coniaris
Notable losses: Felix Moren, Scott Radlauer, Henry Wayte
First game of 2025: April 26 at Colorado
Equipped with a team rebrand and the fresh mentality that comes with it, the Steel are hoping to reverse their franchise’s trend that has seen just four wins over their first three seasons of play. Coniaris is going to be a solid contributing factor as a possession thrower from the handler set right out of the gate, and figures to be a great complement for the deep throwing talents of David Barram and Ben Thoennes, two of the most exciting young throwers in the association. But with another year of significant roster turnover, Oregon’s reset will likely take time to develop.
21. Indianapolis AlleyCats
2024 regular season record: 6-6, 6-6, Finished 4th in Central Division
Final 2024 result: 25-16 (L) at Madison
Notable additions: Carson Chamberlain, Nick Pappas
Notable losses: Cameron Brock, Travis Carpenter, Lucas Coniaris, Rick Gross, Nick Hutton, Levi Jacobs, Xavier Payne, Will Wettengel
First game of 2025: May 2 at Pittsburgh
After winning a tidy 21 games over the past three regular seasons, the AlleyCats just endured the most tumultuous offseason of the winter as they watched a raft of first ballot “Hall Of Famers” either retire or change uniforms. The real pain point will be at handler, as all six of Indy’s top passers from last year are gone. The newcomer Chamberlain, Seth Gudeman, Jack Havey, and Nicholas Betsch all have shown flashes as playmakers, but will have to evolve as distributors if this team wants to stay anywhere near competitive in the Central.
20. Los Angeles Aviators
2024 regular season record: 3-9, Finished 6th in West Division
Final 2024 result: 23-16 (L) vs Oakland
Notable additions: TBD
Notable losses: Daniel Brunker, Brent George, Pawel Janas, Bryan Nguyen, Everest Shapiro, Brandon Van Deusen
First game of 2025: May 3 at San Diego
Outside of their 2023 West Division championship appearance, the Aviators have had fewer than five wins in three of the past four seasons. And with significant roster departures, it appears another tough campaign is ahead for LA in 2025. But the Aviators and their veteran core are nothing if not scrappy, and they can give even the West’s toughest teams a good battle. Sean McDougall enters the new season just 18 scores (assists plus goals) shy of 500 for his illustrious career. The 6’6” James Franklin showed glimpses of being a dual threat for the Aviators O-line last year, and veteran defender Mitchell Steiner is coming off three straight double digit block seasons; Steiner enters his 11th pro season ranked 20th all-time in blocks with 116.
19. Philadelphia Phoenix
2024 regular season record: 5-7, Finished 4th in East Division
Final 2024 result: 18-17 (W) vs Pittsburgh
Notable additions: TBD
Notable losses: Kainoa Chun-Moy, James Pollard, Jordan Rhyne, Dmitry Suvorov, Alex Thorne, Max Trifillis
First game of 2025: April 26 at DC
Despite some gut-wrenchingly close calls against New York and DC, Philly is just 1-13 against opponents with winning records over the last two seasons. That seems especially surprising given that the Phoenix finished 2024 with the fifth fewest turnovers per game in the league, averaging fewer mistakes per game than three of the division champions. The Birds’s defense was stingy at times, but struggled greatly to punch in break scores with any kind of consistency or volume. With the rest of the East seemingly levelling up in talent over the offseason, Philly will need some breaks to finally go their way if they wish to stay out of the cellar of the standings.
18. Montreal Royal
2024 regular season record: 4-8, Finished 5th in East Division
Final 2024 result: 18-14 (W) vs Boston
Notable additions: Geoff Bevan, Jeremy Hill
Notable losses: Tobe Decraene, Kevin Groulx
First game of 2025: April 26 at Boston
There’s no escaping the loss of Decraene, who did a little bit of everything for a Royal team that was feisty throughout the 2024 season. But what Montreal lost in talent they gained in spirit, as the sudden departure of last season’s ROTY for Boston has galvanized the remaining Royal roster. Kevin Quinlan and Quentin Bonnaud are among the best one-two, thrower-receiver duos in league history, and they’re both still well within their primes. Christophe Tremblay-Joncas has proven to be one of the best big defenders in the East Division for years, a skill that will be especially important against the tall ranks of teams like the Empire and Glory. Even with some appetizing parts, Montreal will have to fight like hell to avoid last place in the league’s toughest division.
17. Houston Havoc
2024 regular season record: 5-7, Finished 4th in South Division
Final 2024 result: 28-18 (L) at Austin
Notable additions: Chase Cunningham, Tyler Reinhardt, Jordan Salazar, Dalton Smith
Notable losses: TBA
First game of 2025: April 25 vs Austin
Houston struggled mightily to find high volume handlers beyond Jimmy Zuraw and Matt Bennett last season, so the additions of veterans Cunningham, Reinhardt, and Smith are great need-fits for a developing Havoc lineup. Ben Lewis is coming off a season where he played like one of the five best receivers in the league, and Kyle Kolafa could be in for a breakout season 2025 in his second year as a pro. The Havoc are still searching for their first win against Austin—or a team with a winning record—so Week 1 will be a huge checkpoint.
16. Pittsburgh Thunderbirds
2024 regular season record: 4-8, Finished 5th in Central Division
Final 2024 result: 18-17 (L) at Philadelphia
Notable additions: TBD
Notable losses: Max Sheppard, Pete Zaccardi
First game of 2025: May 2 vs Indianapolis
With road wins over playoff teams Minnesota and Chicago, and losses against cellar dwellers Detroit and Toronto, the Thunderbirds were the most mercurial team in the UFA in 2024. They were also one of the youngest, and with the departure of franchise star Sheppard, this Pittsburgh team enters a new era with an intriguing O-line throwing core. Jonathan Mast has been an institution from the center handler spot for a decade, and could rise to second all-time in total completions after the first game of 2025. Will Hoffenkamp and Anil Driehuys both had games as rookies last year where they displayed true QB1 skills, and their size in the backfield make each of them difficult matchups for opposing defenses. If Pittsburgh can find more week-to-week stability, they could battle again for the third and final playoff spot in the Central.
15. Austin Sol
2024 regular season record: 7-5, Finished 3rd in South Division
Final 2024 result: 26-18 (L) at Carolina, First round of playoffs
Notable additions: Myles Armstrong, Emmanuel Bilolo, Connor DeLuna, Owen Johnson
Notable losses: Matthew Armour, Mark Evans, Oliver Fay, Duncan Fitzgerald, Evan Swiatek, Joshua Zdrodowski
First game of 2025: April 25 at Houston
The starting line losses on offense and defense that the Sol sustained over the offseason were somewhat offset by their Dallas additions, which included the former All-Star DeLuna. But the contraction of the Legion and the additions of Los Angeles and San Diego to the newly realigned South Division have made Austin’s situation in the standings—and their three-season playoff streak—more precarious than before. Swiatek’s offensive production and ability to win in one-on-one matchups will be hard to replace, and the Sol must improve a defense that ranked 17th in takeaways in 2024. There’s still much of the roster that made Championship Weekend two years ago, but 2025 will be a “prove it” season for the Sol.
14. Madison Radicals
2024 regular season record: 8-4, Finished 2nd in Central Division
Final 2024 result: 23-14 (L) at Minnesota, Central Division Championship
Notable additions: Kainoa Chun-Moy, Ian McCosky, Eric Sjostrom
Notable losses: Brian Hart, Avery Johnson, Victor Luo, Andrew Meshnick, Pat Shriwise
First game of 2025: May 2 at Houston
The Radicals are coming off a season that saw them break a six-year playoff drought before falling to the eventual champs in the divisional title game. Madison shed another layer of cornerstone veterans and a legendary head coach over the winter, too, so there’s a slew of questions that this burgeoning roster still has yet to answer. Chief among them: Who is going to step up and replace Shriwise’s facilitator role on offense? The Radicals O-line ground to a halt after his injury in the first half of their round one playoff game against Chicago. Their three new throwers in Chun-Moy, McCosky, and Sjostrom offer options to balance the power throwing of Kai Marcus.
13. San Diego Growlers
2024 regular season record: 4-8, Finished 5th in West Division
Final 2024 result: 26-22 (L) vs Oakland
Notable additions: Daniel Brunker, Jesse Cohen, Khalif El-Salaam, Marcel Osborne
Notable losses: N/A
First game of 2025: May 3 vs Los Angeles
After getting rinsed in Week 1 at Seattle to begin their 2024 campaign, the Growlers never lost again by more than four goals, and now bring on a raft of veteran starters in free agent signings to build on their already solid roster. El-Salaam helped San Diego make their last Championship Weekend appearance in 2021, and Brunker could be one of the most underrated additions of the offseason; in 22 career regular season starts with Colorado and Los Angeles, Brunker has averaged 2.8 scores, 24 completions, and nearly 300 yards of total offense while flipping between O-line and D-line roles. If the Growlers can find more ways to cash in even just one to two more break scores per game, they’ll likely be back in the playoff hunt in their new home of the South Division.
12. Toronto Rush
2024 regular season record: 1-11, Finished 6th in East Division
Final 2024 result: 26-21 (L) vs Boston
Notable additions: Toms Abeltins, Ty Barbieri, Tom Blasman, Martin Gallant, Simone Gasperini, Arvids Karklins, James Lewis, Wilkie Lewis, Mark Lloyd, Mike Mackenzie, Connor McHale
Notable losses: Cameron Kennedy, Akifumi Muraoka
First game of 2025: May 3 at DC
Thanks to a shiny new collection of European imports and the return of a slew of franchise stars, the Rush are the biggest dark horse entering the 2025 season. This is a franchise that has seen many highs—five straight Championship Weekend appearances from 2013 through 2017; league title in 2013—but is also literally coming out of their lowest of lows and a one-win strugglefest last year. The East offers the toughest sledding of any divisional schedule, so the revamped Rush must hit the ground running. Karklins, McHale, and Gasperini all have the talent to become All-UFA selections by season's end, but availability and lineup consistency will be the crucial factors to watch for in Toronto’s development as a team.
11. Oakland Spiders
2024 regular season record: 8-4, Finished 3rd in West Division
Final 2024 result: 23-19 (L) at Seattle, First round of playoffs
Notable additions: Leo Gordon, Adam Rees, Nick Tolfa, Dillon Whited
Notable losses: Jace Bruner, Chris Lung, Jake Thorne
First game of 2025: April 24 vs New York
This spot feels a little low for a team that made the playoffs last year and added players like Gordon and Rees, the latter being one of the most dynamic and all-around impactful offensive players along the left coast. The Spiders offense already features a bevy of talent at the skill positions, including Evan Magsig, who is coming off one of the best individual throwing seasons of the last four years, as well as Raekwon Adkins, an electric receiver who finished second in the UFA in 2024 in receiving yards per game as a teenager. But Oakland has a tendency of dropping a game or two in each of the past two seasons that they really cannot afford, and with the competition at the top of the West Division this year, their inconsistency could be magnified. The highlight-heavy O-line might steal some of the headlines, but keep track of this Spiders defense that has finished back-to-back seasons in the league’s top 10 in breaks per game.
10. Salt Lake Shred
2024 regular season record: 10-2, Finished 1st in West Division
Final 2024 result: 21-20 (L) vs Seattle, West Division Championship
Notable additions: Jeremiah Branson, Reed Browning, Braden Eberhard
Notable losses: Sean Connole, Simon Dastrup, Ben Field, Elijah Jaime, Grant Lindsley, Joe Merrill (injury)
First game of 2025: April 26 at Atlanta
2024 was a weird season of missed expectations and injuries for a Shred team that still finished the regular season with 10 or more wins for the third time in three years. There’s some big veteran losses, to be sure. But for a Utah ultimate scene absolutely brimming with young talent, there could be a lot of upside for the right Shred players in 2025, too. And Salt Lake could return to their open field, run-and-gun roots that saw them explode into the league in 2022 with a series of high scoring shootouts, and four wins in their first five games as a franchise. Speedsters McKay Yorgason and Will Selfridge have reportedly been given the keys to the offense, and could make the high tempo Shred a headache to stay in front of all year.
9. Colorado Summit
2024 regular season record: 6-6, Finished 4th in West Division
Final 2024 result: 26-16 (W) vs Los Angeles
Notable additions: Tobias Brooks, Danny Landesman, Keenan Laurence, John Sickles, Zach Slayton, Sam VanDusen
Notable losses: Mathieu Agee, Thomas Brewster, Jonathan Nethercutt, Nicholas Snuszka, Alex Tatum
First game of 2025: April 26 vs Oregon
The Summit stumbled to a 2-5 start last season and couldn’t recover in time to make the playoffs, despite a solid finish. The Brooks-Quinn Finer-Noah Coolman-Alex Atkins playmaking quartet on offense is as exciting and athletic as any grouping in the league, with each individual capable of taking over the game for stretches at a time. And the return of a healthy Landesman could push the Summit all the way into title contender territory. But for all the fireworks on the O-line, Colorado’s successes will likely be determined by their defense and if they can get stops when it matters. In the wake of Cody Spicer’s retirement in 2023, the Summit had just a 3-5 record last season in games decided by four goals or fewer, and finished 12th overall in takeaways. Agee, Tatum, and Snuszka were the remaining backbone of Colorado’s defensive efforts last season and are now gone, which ushers the Summit into a fully new era of coverages and personnel.
8. Seattle Cascades
2024 regular season record: 9-3, Finished 2nd in West Division
Final 2024 result: 20-16 (L) vs Carolina, UFA semifinals
Notable additions: Asher Lantz
Notable losses: Jasper Dean, Khalif El-Salaam, Shane Worthington
First game of 2025: May 3 vs Oakland
Seattle rode a white-hot 7-1 regular season finish into the playoffs, and won their first West Division title since 2016 with a huck happy offense and a surprisingly deep rotation of defenders. Now with most of their roster set to return, the Cascades will have the difficult task of switching their mindsets from determined underdogs to formidable favorites; El-Salaam’s exit feels particularly impactful in this regard. But DPOTY and highlight king Lukas Ambrose is back for a second season in Seattle, so there will be no absence of swagger from the ‘Scades. Also of important note: German import and do-everything handler Aaron Wolf returns for a second season after some skepticism over the offseason. Wolf may have been the most underrated addition of the 2024 season in retrospect, and his hard-nosed stability with the disc alongside Spencer Lofink in the backfield gave the Cascades a great base to attack from.
7. New York Empire
2024 regular season record: 8-4, Finished 3rd in the East Division
Final 2024 result: 19-18 (L) at Boston, First round of playoffs
Notable additions: Calvin Brown, Oliver Fay, Gavin May, Everest Shapiro, Max Sheppard, Dmitry Suvorov
Notable losses: Josue Alorro, Elliott Chartock, Mike Drost, Ryan Drost, Ethan Fortin, Jeff Holm, Angelo Olcese, Connor Russell, Bretton Tan, Charles Weinberg
First game of 2025: April 24 at Oakland
Make no mistake: This is not the same Empire team that won three titles over the course of four seasons. Brown, Sheppard, and the rest of the newcomers are undoubtedly skilled and poised to inherit their respective roles. But with five O-line starters—including two MVPs—from their 2023 title lineup now departed, and a handful of veteran defenders retired, the core identity of this Empire team is in flux for the first time in several seasons. The anchor points that do remain, however, are some of the best in the UFA: Ben Jagt has evolved into one of the most ruthlessly efficient players on offense, and didn’t commit a turnover in his last six starts of 2024; Jack Williams is still playing at an MVP level; John Randolph is a cyborg that wins one-on-one matchups virtually anywhere you put him. The big question: Can New York get back to generating blocks after finishing 22nd in 2024?
6. Atlanta Hustle
2024 regular season record: 10-2, Finished 1st in South Division
Final 2024 result: 17-16 (L) vs Carolina, South Division Championship
Notable additions: Cameron Brock, Kennith Taylor, Sean Connole, Elijah Jaime, Michael Poe, Kennith Taylor, Alec Wilson Holliday
Notable losses: Justin Burnett, Aidan Downey, Bobby Ley, Matt Smith
First game of 2025: April 26 vs Salt Lake
The Hustle lived up to their name in free agency, bringing in major goal scorers (Brock and Wilson Holliday) and replacing the retired Ley with another prototypical deep bomber (Connole) that could pair well with Austin Taylor. But for me the question still remains: Is it all enough? Heartbreak has found a home in Atlanta, and for all their impressive wins and team stats, what is going to take to get this team over the one-goal wall that has kept them out of Championship Weekend in each of the past two seasons? The Hustle have always been battle tested, and 2025 will be no exception as they face the second toughest schedule.
5. Carolina Flyers
2024 regular season record: 9-3, Finished 2nd in South Division
Final 2024 result: 17-16 (L) vs Minnesota, UFA Championship
Notable additions: Zac Byrnes, John McDonnell, Andrew McKelvey, Angelo Olcese, Rutledge Smith, Jake Thorne
Notable losses: Tobias Brooks, Alex Davis, Henry Fisher, Anders Juengst, Ben Snell, Sol Yanuck
First game of 2025: May 3 at Atlanta
Three semifinals appearances, two championship games, and one title since the start of the 2021 season makes this Flyers franchise the most pedigreed institution outside of New York in recent years. So when they lose multiple All-UFA selections (Fisher, Juengst) and one of the most promising young stars (Brooks) over the offseason, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise to see Carolina simply rebound with another strong roster. Thorne led the Spiders with 35 goals last season, and Smith is a three-time college champion and U24 gold medalist getting his first full season run in the pros in 2025. Allan Laviolette, Terrence Mitchell, Jacob Fairfax and company are all back onboard for what figures to be another deep playoff push.
4. DC Breeze
2024 regular season record: 10-2, Finished 1st in the East Division
Final 2024 result: 16-13 lost to Minnesota in UFA semifinals
Notable additions: Jarrod Banks, Christian Boxley, Aidan Downey, Christian Johnson
Notable losses: Elliot Bonnet, Troy Holland, Jonny Malks
First game of 2025: April 26 vs Philadelphia
The Breeze entered last season’s Championship Weekend bracket as the odds-on favorites to win the crown, and in a cruel bit of irony, were instead blown off the field in their semifinals loss to Minnesota; DC succumbed to a series of unforced throwing errors in the wind to begin the first quarter, and could never recover. Malks and Bonnet will certainly be missed, but the re-addition of Boxley and the signing of the 2024 Callahan winner Downey give the Breeze formidable attacking power on offense once again. DC was the most huck averse team in the league in 2024, and completed just over five per game. The precision passing of the Breeze allows them to weave around and through most defensive coverages, but the lack of explosives could be a factor in what is keeping them from a pro title.
3. Chicago Union
2024 regular season record: 7-5, Finished 3rd in Central Division
Final 2024 result: 18-17 (2OT) lost to Madison in first round of playoffs
Notable additions: Paul Arters, Sofiène Bontemps, Jace Bruner, Simon Dastrup, Daan De Marrée, Nate Goff, Pawel Janas, Victor Luo, Dylan Nice, Xavier Payne, Kyle Rutledge, Tim Schoch, Brandon Van Deusen, William Wettengel
Notable losses: John Lithio (Injury), Nick Pappas
First game of 2025: May 17 at Minnesota
No team had an offseason like the Union. Chicago has rebuilt the roster that took them to the title game in 2022, and added on some of Europe’s best players in De Marrée and Bontemps. The offense is both large and loaded with throwers, and the defense picks up another full rotation of starting level talent. And with just two games on their calendar before June, Chicago and all their new additions will have time to gel before getting into the meat of the schedule; the Union could very likely drop their first two games against Minnesota and Atlanta, and then turn around and run the table.
2. Boston Glory
2024 regular season record: 9-3, Finished 2nd in the East Division
Final 2024 result: 16-14 (L) at DC, East Division Championship Game
Notable additions: Henry Babcock, Noah Backer, Tobe Decraene, Ethan Fortin, Calvin Stoughton, Ray Tetreault, Albert Yuan
Notable losses: Chris Bartoli, Reed Browning, Caelan McSweeney, Jonah Stang-Osborne, Colin Sunde
First game of 2025: April 26 vs Montreal
It hasn’t even been a full 365 days since Jeff Babbitt announced his signing with Boston, and yet this franchise has made a full transformation from pesky to powerhouse with seemingly the best to come. Decraene could fully blossom into an MVP in this environment, and Glory might just be the fastest team in the league; Babbitt, Decraene, Stoughton, Tetreault, Simon Carapella, Tyler Chan, and Peter Boerth are all equipped with WR1 speed and separation abilities. What really makes Boston frisky for a title is that they’ve honed into one of the most disciplined squads with the frisbee in the UFA, and dropped from 20.7 turnovers per game in 2022 to just 12.9 last year. There’s no room for mistakes at the top, and Boston with Babbitt has owned that motto.
1. Minnesota Wind Chill
2024 regular season record: 9-3, Finished 1st in Central Division
Final 2024 result: 17-16 def. Carolina in UFA Championship Game
Notable additions: Justin Burnett, James Pollard
Notable losses: Tanner Barcus, Anthony Jirele, James Kittlesen, Matej Petrovic, Jordan Taylor
First game of 2025: May 10 at Indianapolis
The reigning champs earned the pole position in the first rankings for this year by re-signing virtually every starter from their championship roster, and adding two bonafide stars in Burnett and Pollard. Availability and adaptability were top priorities for this team on their title run, as 19 different Wind Chill players logged 10 or more games in 2024—only the Breeze featured better depth. That kind of roster reliability allowed Minnesota to mix and match lineups throughout the season, and effectively develop multiple different defensive rotations that flummoxed the opposition throughout the postseason. The league is more volatile than ever, and Minnesota has countered that trend by developing the most ironclad system.
