We reveal our preseason Top 25 for the 2024 D-I college season, starting with #16-25!
January 17, 2024 by Edward Stephens, Patrick Stegemoeller, Alex Rubin, Jenna Weiner, Jake Thorne, Felicia Zheng, Grace Conerly, Laura Osterlund, Scott Dunham and Jacob Cowan in Rankings with 0 comments
Ultiworld’s College Power Rankings, presented by the National Ultimate Training Camp!
We are excited to present the 2024 preseason College Power Rankings! As we head into a new season, we’ve looked at past performance, roster changes, preseason results, and more to figure out how we think the team could stack up this season. Take a look at our first rankings set of the spring college season and read up about each Top 25 team.
We will be counting down our rankings in three parts:
The #25 to #16
The #15 to #6
The Top 5
D-I Women’s
16. Georgia Athena
2023 Finish: #22 in Power Rankings, T-17th at Nationals, 19-10 record
No beating around the bush here. Georgia returns both Quincy Booth and Fiona Cashin, who put up a combined 20G/43A/24B statline in Cincinnati last year. With a year of college, club (Ozone), and PUL (Atlanta Soul) together, they are ready to power Georgia to another Southeast regional title and the bracket of Nationals. And word on the street is the depth around them has increased considerably.
– Grace Conerly
17. UT Dallas Whiplash
2023 Finish: #23 in Power Rankings, T-19th at Nationals, 25-8 record
Center handler and deep defender Kimmy Wilson is gone, but Whiplash otherwise return the heart of the roster that propelled them to 18 straight wins to kick off the 2023 season. After playing together on Public Enemy this summer, Allison Chang, Elissa Balke, Rebecca Jackson, and Elyssa Ducret are ready to earn Whiplash another chance at Nationals supported by the further development of their huge (nine-strong) 2023 rookie class.
– Scott Dunham
18. Northeastern Valkyries
2023 Finish: #12 in Power Rankings, T-9th at Nationals, 34-7 record
In the past two seasons the Valkyries have graduated two massively important players: Duschia Bodet and Clara Stewart. Do they have enough firepower to play their way back to Nationals again this year? While that’s a difficult question to answer with any certainty for the time being, they’re still in pretty good shape: Elise Freedman, Brittany DeRoehn, and Elyse Hall all have the talent to spearhead the 2024 effort.
– Edward Stephens
19. Yale Ramona
2023 Finish: #18 in Power Rankings, 2nd at Metro East Regionals, 19-3 record
Solid fall season results indicate that this Metro East crew are ready to run it back for another shot at Nationals – last year’s attempt ended in a thrilling, controversial Metro East final. Wilhelmina Graff is back for her fourth year powering the Yale offense with her spectacular throwing arsenal and the team returns a large part of their roster. However, the majority of their top line from last season has graduated. Yale’s strength come spring will depend heavily on whether they can put the pieces together and build off of their 2023 experience.
– Felicia Zheng
20. Pittsburgh Danger
2023 Finish: #24 in Power Rankings, 2nd at Ohio Valley Regionals, 21-5 record
Pittsburgh had a strong 2023 season and dominated most of their region, but fell to neighbors Carnegie Mellon in the game-to-go. They seem poised to repeat their previous success this year after a terrific showing at Blue Ridge Finale, where they came second only to the reigning national champions, UNC. With these fall results, it’s clear Pittsburgh, anchored by veterans like Celeste Picone, Madison Pisone, and Helen Wu, will be the team to watch in the Ohio Valley Region and the favorites to take the bid to Nationals.
– Felicia Zheng
21. Virginia Hydra
2023 Finish: #13 in Power Rankings, T-13th at Nationals, 34-9 record
After tying for 13th at the 2023 D-I College Championships, Virginia Hydra come into the season hungry for more. Expect Aviva Kosto to be a pillar of a player, while Sydney Mannion and Dori Gaines grow into bigger offensive roles. One of UVA’s strengths has always been their player development over the course of a whole season, they will need to lean on that to earn a second bid for the Atlantic Coast.
– Grace Conerly
22. SUNY Binghamton Big Bear
2023 Finish: #16 in Power Rankings, T-17th at Nationals, 24-6 record
SUNY Binghamton Big Bear’s all-everything superstar Jolie Krebs is coming off of a BPOTY podium-worthy season in mixed club, but can even Krebs carry Binghamton on her own? She may have to after Big Bear sustained the losses of a number of their other top contributors over the offseason, but if there’s one player who can lead her team to a fourth straight regional title, it’s Krebs.
– Jenna Weiner
23. NC State Jaga
2023 Finish: Unranked in Power Rankings, 3rd at Atlantic Coast Regionals, 18-9 record
After losing Sarah McKee, Ellie Cubrilovic, and Jen Wang, NC State face an uphill climb to either earn a bid for the Atlantic Coast or claw their way past Virginia. But there is hope: Sarah Spall is coming off of a season on Phoenix and Noah Cole is getting better every year. Expect those two to have their hands all over Jaga’s success this year.
– Grace Conerly
24. UC Davis Rogue
2023 Finish: Unranked in Power Rankings, 7th at Southwest Regionals, 15-16 record
This might be a hot take, but UC Davis Rogue are on the path to stage an upset or two this season. Yes, they lost their most valuable asset in Margo Donahue, but this will allow several players to step up and take her place, including incoming U20 player Lucy Mertz. Combined with a new all-star line-up of coaches, including Dena Elimelech and Robyn Fennig, it may not come as a surprise if and when Rogue turn some heads this season.
– Laura Osterlund
25. Notre Dame Echo
2023 Finish: #25 in Power Rankings, 2nd at Great Lakes Regionals, 25-6 record
With no repeat champion since 2011-12, the Great Lakes has been one of the division’s great mysteries for over a decade now. For now, Notre Dame Echo slot in as early preseason favorites and the region’s only top 25 representative, with Liliana Hobday, Emma Baran, and captains Claire Hackl and Elena Dansdill among the names to keep an eye on as Echo try to take down their first regional title since 2017.
– Jenna Weiner
D-I Men’s
16. Washington Sundodgers
2023 Finish: #16 in Power Rankings, T-15th at Nationals, 25-18 record
The jury is out on Washington this year, but they are likely to improve on their rocky 2023 season. They lose Jasper Dean and Soren Dahl, but reload nicely with some really strong freshmen pieces. Micah Glickman Flora and Vincent Nguyen both had really solid team USA U20 tryouts and should be major players right away. They also add 6’4 Canadian U20 National Team member Carter Bayer, who should slot in to replace Jasper Dean fairly well. But the returns of Jack Brown, Martin Le, Delano Muongchan, and potentially injured Assaf Golan and Max Ramstad, are compelling reasons to bet on them.
– Jake Thorne
17. UCLA Smaug
2023 Finish: #18 in Power Rankings, 4th at Southwest Regionals, 25-10 record
This is it. This is the year for UCLA. Riley Kirkman-Davis, Marshall Wildmann, and Matthew Barcellos have built to this moment since their first years on the team, growing more and more competitive each year. With the Southwest controversially losing out on an earned bid last season, Smaug were the odd team out in a very competitive region. Aside from the stars, second year players like Loic Billaut and Luca Adams and returning veterans like Luca Spycher, Sam Hirschhorn, Zack Hirschhorn, and Jackson Jewitt raise the ceiling of the team. Adding Pawel Janas as the team’s new offensive coordinator doesn’t hurt, either.
– Alex Rubin
18. Utah Zion Curtain
2023 Finish: Unranked in Power Rankings, T-5th at Northwest Regionals, 18-10 record
The Utah youth pipeline is starting to really bear fruit for Zion Curtain this year. They’ve got solid depth and Will Selfridge – making his college debut as a sophomore after missing his freshman year with an injury – who is a top 25 caliber player this year. They also pick up two Team USA u20 kids, Oscar Brown and Grayson Rettberg. Brown is a savvy offensive handler and Rettberg is a speedy prospect who some project to lead Team USA U20 Mixed in goals later this year. In another season of a bloody Northwest, they’ve got a shot to make it to the big show.
– Jake Thorne
19. NC State Alpha
2023 Finish: #20 in Power Rankings, T-19th at Nationals, 24-18 record
The talent goldmine in North Carolina youth ultimate has taken NC State from regionals flameout to perennial Nationals qualifier, but it hasn’t enriched them to nearly the same success as their rivals in Chapel Hill. Alpha haven’t done much in their recent appearances at Nationals, going 0-5 last year, and it’s hard to envision them doing much more this season than finishing second in the Atlantic Coast and regretting that they let Tobias Brooks go to school out-of-state.
– Patrick Stegemoeller
20. Northeastern Huskies
2023 Finish: #22 in Power Rankings, 3rd at New England Regionals, 15-18 record
Two clear facts: Northeastern had Nationals-caliber teams in both 2022 and 2023. Northeastern did not make Nationals in either 2022 or 2023. Is this the year they break back into the field? Peter Boerth will challenge Leo Gordon for best downfield option in New England, and Sam Freedman should be poised to take control of the offense with a year of experience now under his belt.
– Edward Stephens
21. Tufts Elephant Men
2023 Finish: #17 in Power Rankings, T-17th at Nationals, 22-14 record
Tufts will have to fight tooth and nail to not take a step back this year. After squeaking into Nationals last year on the backs of a thrilling universe point game-to-go victory over Northeastern, the E-men lose two star Zachs (Singer and Burpee) who both played key roles on their O-line. They have some firepower in reserve though, as sixth year veteran Ben Kass-Mullet and young star Oscar Graff will look to keep Tufts swinging in the gauntlet that is the New England region.
– Jacob Cowan
22. Michigan MagnUM
2023 Finish: #23 in Power Rankings, T-15th at Nationals, 15-15 record
Michigan return many key players and with them the expectation of retaining the Great Lakes regional crown. Sixth year Theo Shapinsky returns after leading Ann Arbor Hybrid to the club national final. Aaron Bartlett did one better, winning a title with Washington DC Truck Stop. Chris Doehring, Tobey Chang, and Gabe Scheck are other notable returners who should step up and keep MagnUM competitive on a national level.
– Alex Rubin
23. UC Santa Cruz Slugs
2023 Finish: #15 in Power Rankings, T-13th at Nationals, 32-8 record
We might not be giving Santa Cruz enough respect here after a breakout Nationals-qualifying year. But that’s how it will have to start given the roster turnover from a year ago: they lose Aidan Curry, Liam Jay, Dylan Burns, and unfortunately, their sophomore captain Selim Jones will be out for the year with a knee injury. They should still be capable of competing with the best in the country as they’ve got high quality coaching and Toby Warren, who is an all-region caliber player.
– Jake Thorne
24. Washington University Contra
2023 Finish: #21 in Power Rankings, 3rd at South Central Regionals, 22-6 record
Wash U return captain Nic Sprague, ace defender Seth Fisher-Olvera, quarterback Joel Brown, and receivers Noah Stovitz and Cam Freeman. That’s as good a core as you’ve probably never heard of, and it is certainly enough to keep Contra in the conversation for a strength bid to Nationals. They’ll face tough competition in the South Central to steal a bid from Texas or Colorado, but with high level tournaments like Florida Warm Up and Stanford Invite on the calendar, Wash U could earn the right combination of results to get back to Nationals for the first time since 2022.
– Alex Rubin
25. South Carolina Gamecock Ultimate
2023 Finish: Unranked in Power Rankings, 5th at Atlantic Coast Regionals, 26-14 record
South Carolina have been bubbling up to just outside Nationals range frequently over the last several years – so that’s where we start them. They lose major weapons in Bobby Gunshefski and Trip Crowley, but they may have enough in Tyler Catton, Jaida King, and Gavin Russell to push them back within legitimate striking distance for Atlantic Coast Regionals.
– Edward Stephens
