Men’s D-I College Primer 2025

Your guide to the biggest players, teams, and stories of the 2025 D-I college season!

January 24, 2025 by Edward Stephens, Alex Rubin, Patrick Stegemoeller, Matt Fazzalaro, Aidan Thomas and Graham Gordon in Coverage, Preview

Ultiworld’s coverage of the 2025 college ultimate season are presented by Spin Ultimate; all opinions are those of the author(s). Find out how Spin can get you, and your team, looking your best this season.

A few weeks after the New Years ball drops wrap up, the murmur of the coming college season begins in earnest. By the time it is nearly February, the whirring of the hype machine is hitting a fever pitch. As the first major tournament weekend approaches, we want to make sure you’re fully prepared for another uproarious college season. Like those that came before it, get ready for the ups, the downs, the thrillers, the stars, the new kids, and all of the wonderful things that make it so beloved with the annual College Primer.

Major Storylines

Overthrowing the Semis Class

It is entirely possible that we know nothing at all about college ball. That being said, it sure seems as though #20 Brown Brownian Motion are not the same top-level program they have been since 2018. In that time frame, only three points have separated them from at least reaching semis at Nationals.¹ Our best guess at a 2025 projection has them on the fringes of the Nationals picture, which places them outside of the “Semis Class” they’ve been a part of.

The Semis Class consists of four teams who have reached at least semis or better at least three times in the last five years. Brown have accomplished it four times, Cal Poly and Colorado have each done it three times, and, of course, UNC have been there every year for a decade. That’s an awful lot of blockage at the top: 15 of the 20 semis slots of the last half-decade have been in the hands of just those four schools. (Trivia question: which programs took the other five slots?)² Assuming (perhaps foolishly) that B-Mo will indeed follow our prediction and free up a spot, there are two key questions. First, who will step up to take that free place? Second, and perhaps even more intriguingly, can anyone dislodge one of the remaining three semifinal juggernauts?

There’s an easy answer to the first question: #1 Oregon Ego. Between the fact they nearly joined the group last year – their victory was unmade by a controversial call from UNC – and their wealth of club-tested talent, every single pundit in our office poll picked them to make semis. Mica Glass was an out-and-out star for club champions Portland Rhino Slam!, 2024 ROTY Runner-Up Raekwon Adkins followed up an impressive San Francisco Revolver semis campaign by making the US Beach National Team, and the depth of elite-level college talent – players like Chander Boyd-Fliegel, Aaron Kaplan, Marcus Beidler, Ben Horrisberger, Max Massey… seriously, Ego are stacked – is astounding. They’re almost betting favorites.

Now for question #2. This is where it gets murkier. It’s going to be tough to knock out programs returning 2024 All-Americans (UNC’s Ben Dameron, Cal Poly’s Anton Orme, Colorado’s Tobias Brooks), and reloaded with key pieces (UNC’s Matt Barcellos, Cal Poly’s Ari Pincus, Colorado’s Elliot Hawkins). The main contenders, meanwhile, all have significant question marks. #5 UMass Zoodisc and #8 Vermont Chill have both been there before and are brimming with as much potential as in 2023. #7 Pittsburgh En Sabah Nur and #6 Carleton CUT are as deep as they come – Pittsburgh thanks to a high concentration of upperclassmen and CUT after four consecutive years of landing A-list recruits – and both slashed machete-like through the jungle of high-caliber challengers at Classic City Classic in the fall. All four of those teams severely underperformed at Nationals last year, however. Something will need to change if they are finally going to unseat one of the regulars at the feast.

 

Clash of the Classes

Usually, the top level of college ultimate is full of teams with strong senior classes who build towards championship contention over the course of several years…and then the cycle starts as players graduate and move on. In the final year of the COVID-era six year eligibility, the 2025 season pits three distinct graduating classes of players among the title chasers.

2024 Callahan winner Aidan Downey from #12 Georgia Jojah, Pitt’s Tristan Yarter, and UNC’s Ben Dameron all began their college careers in the fateful spring of 2020, and are still the stars of their teams in their sixth season. Dameron has hogged all the titles among this group, but Yarter and Downey surely came back expecting a legitimate shot at one more.

Cal Poly SLO’s Anton Orme and UMass’s Wyatt Kellman have each made it all the way to the championship game, but are still working on hoisting the trophy. They, along with Cal’s Dexter Clyburn, have been improving year over year and will start this spring firmly in the Player of the Year conversation. While that award would of course be nice to win, surely each of those players views this season as their turn to lead their team to a title in their fourth season.

With the consistent rising tide of youth programs, it seems like a new wave of talent enters the division each season. Though younger than traditional POTY candidates, Oregon’s Mica Glass, Carleton’s Declan Miller, and Colorado’s Tobias Brooks have all displayed the skill, temperament, and panache to lead their teams early in their careers. A breakout season for any of them could end with gold medals around their necks.

College teams usually rely on their most experienced players to push them through the most difficult moments of a season. Given the unique situation afforded by the eligibility extension, this season likely features the highest percentage of third-year and higher players of any, ever. As we close out an era dominated by UNC and Brown (who have combined to win every title since 2018), all of those leaders have their eyes set on a title, and the battle between generations will be a fascinating subplot to watch as the season rolls on. While the Yarters and Downeys of the world have to feel due for their turn, players like Glass and Brooks don’t have as much time to wait and, frankly, don’t want to wait for their turn in the spotlight.

Tournament Performance Watchlist

The college regular season is a three-month, jam-packed sprint before we get into the Series, and with only so many chances to track all the top teams and storylines, it’s worth reviewing where some of our biggest questions might be answered throughout the regular season.

Watch Brown at Florida Warm Up: Florida Warm Up brings a wide range of talent to the field, with teams that expect to be in the Nationals bracket like Pitt, Carleton, #13 Minnesota, Vermont, and Georgia attending (so long as the tournament field issues get worked out). However, the field is also littered with regional-level squads. Brown, the defending national champion who lost a lot of talent, come into this tournament ranked #20 in our preseason power rankings, right in the middle ground between the Nationals and regionals level. Was that an overreaction to Brownian Motion’s roster turnover? Do Brown look on par or close with those premier programs, or do they take a step back into the middle tier of this tournament?

Watch Oregon State at Smoky Mountain Invite: A premier early-March tournament since its inception in 2020, Smoky Mountain brings in the majority of the elite East Coast programs along with a couple of top teams that reside west of the Mississippi. Oregon State will head to SMI this year. The Beavers returned to Nationals last season and failed to make bracket but went 2-2 with a win over Brown. Ben Thoennes, Felix Moren, and Leo Renzema lead a strong returning core and have OSU ranked #9 in the preseason. Is the hype justified, and could this team be a borderline quarters-level squad at Nationals? This tournament will be a key indicator.

Watch Georgia Tech at Carolina Kickoff: Carolina Kickoff usually is a nice little home opener for UNC Darkside to cruise to a tournament victory, and this year should be no different. However, the storylines outside of Darkside are intriguing. #21 Georgia Tech Tribe draw the second seed, entering the year just outside the top 20. They figure to be a sleeper team that could challenge Georgia in the Southeast, or potentially even steal a bid. Do they look the part in their first action of the spring season? Outside  of Georgia Tech, it’s always wise to keep an eye on other Atlantic Coast teams, as none of them cracked the preseason top 25. Do NC State, UNC Wilmington or someone else feature potential to keep the AC a two-bid region?

Watch Washington at Santa Barbara Invite: Washington didn’t make Nationals last year out of a competitive two-bid Northwest region. They’ve got their eyes on earning a third bid back (at least) and getting back into college ultimate’s ultimate event on Memorial Day weekend. SBI features a talented field, but only Cal Poly enter as a preseason top-10 team. This will be a big-time opening weekend barometer test for the Sundodgers. Can they keep up with the likes of Cal Poly, and, more importantly for Washington and the Northwest region, can they establish themselves as an early contender to reclaim a third Nationals bid?

What Now for Darkside?

Well, it finally happened. On a rain-soaked field in Wisconsin, the incomparable Darkside dynasty felt the sting of elimination. Last Nationals was the first time since 2017 that North Carolina had their season stop short of the final, and the first time since 2019 that they didn’t win the whole thing. Now, heading into 2025, we’ll find out whether that stumble was a blip or something more permanent.

As winners of four titles in their last six tries, Carolina’s level of play naturally had a tremendous impact on the course of a season. They’ve been the standard of quality in the division: in order to win a title you had to be good enough to beat UNC. And if Darkside were just too good, well, that’s what their trophy case is for.

Even when UNC don’t win a ‘chip, that mystique can remain if they set the pace everyone else has to match. Being the standard makes you the most important team in the division. But start losing more often, start giving more teams the sense that they breathe the same air as you, and things can slip. Then one day you wake up and someone else is the team everyone measures themselves against.

We know Ben Dameron, Kevin Pignone, Josh Singleton, and other returners are great, and have the rings to prove it. But for the first time in a while, it is an open question whether the Triangle talent pipeline is still the richest in the land. There isn’t a five-star, no-doubt-about-it recruit going to UNC in 2025. Maybe some of the rookies become household names by the end of the season, but we’re still looking for proof that the current underclassmen can live up to the almost-impossibly high standards of their forebears. They will need to if North Carolina want to continue to standing head and shoulders above the rest of the field.

The very nature of college ultimate, with turnover and shakeups a necessity, rejects long-term dominance. No team in the modern era of college men’s ultimate has been this good for this long. It is astonishing that UNC even have the chance to extend it further with another year of title contention. Whether they make good on that chance could dictate not just what happens this year, but in the next half decade of college friz.

Players to Watch

Some of the players we think will define the 2025 college season.

Tobias Brooks (Colorado)

Some corners of this website would have you believe Tobias Brooks was already the best player on Colorado as a rookie last year as Mamabird made their way to a semifinals appearance. Whether you buy that or not, there’s no doubt about this year: Brooks put together another amazing club season as a teenager and will be the focal point for Colorado in 2025. There seems to be a consensus top two at the moment in UNC and Oregon, but if any one player has the ability to add a third team into the mix, it’s Brooks. He was one of the best rookies ever, but whether Colorado can move beyond their semis-status will likely come down to whether he’s going to be one of the best players ever, full stop.

Mica Glass (Oregon)

This year, Mica Glass makes his return to the Ultiworld’s players to watch spotlight, but with some coveted hardware in tow. Fresh off winning a club national championship with Portland Rhino Slam!, Glass and company will be looking to bring both championships to the Pacific Northwest. Currently in pole position on the Ultiworld Power Rankings, they no doubt have the talent and ability to do it. Glass will lead the way for Ego with his uncanny ability to simply will the disc down the field no matter who is guarding him or how tight the space he is throwing into. We saw his takeover power when Ego nearly beat UNC in the quarterfinals of the college championships last year. Now, having tasted the sweet waters of victory in the club division, don’t be too surprised if he takes his team to a college title, too.

Declan Miller (Carleton CUT)

CUT’s ship may have sunk at Nationals last season, but Miller was on deck scooping out buckets of water while also steering and operating the radios. A talented thrower, powerful initiating cutter, intelligent defender, and fearless competitor, Miller will be at the centerpiece of CUT’s most talented team since he walked on campus. He will be the first name atop opposing teams’ game plans, and they’ll need both scheme and a little bit of luck to have a chance of slowing down Miller. CUT, meanwhile, can craft Miller’s contributions to their needs whether he fits as another backfield arm in windy conditions, a defensive stopper in low-break games, or a downfield spark when a play just needs to be made. Miller can do it all, and his play will carry CUT as far as they can go.

Kyle Lew (Cal Poly SLO)

How do you recover from graduating a generational throwing talent – Calvin Brown, in this case –  without any service interruptions? It helps to have another already at a similar level. Last year in the middle of the college season, someone³ made the bold claim that SLOCORE had, in Brown and Kyle Lew, two of the five best overall throwers in the division. 2025 should prove to be an excellent testing ground for this hypothesis. Here’s what we think: Lew’s forehand will be one of the premier offensive weapons in the country and – along with his smothering defense – will keep Cal Poly in the championship conversation all season long.

Tristan Yarter (Pittsburgh)

Pitt En Sabah Nur have put together strong regular seasons but largely underperformed at Nationals. And while the dynamism of Henry Ing has left the stage, the prolific throwing of Tristan Yarter returns as the focal point of this offense. Yarter feels underrated, whether it has been playing for non-Nationals club teams or his lack of UFA exposure (only six games since 2021), but he’s one of the college game’s most gifted throwers, guiding passes into tight windows and launching full-field hucks to an array of deep cutting threats. He’ll need to be every bit the elite quarterback for En Sabah Nur to rise from fringe contender to true title threat.

Rising Stars

Big contributors to their teams who could make waves in the national spotlight for 2025.

Nathan De Morgan (Carleton CUT)

Many of you may not yet know the name Nathan De Morgan, but you soon will. This freshman has an absurd rap sheet before even playing his first sanctioned collegiate game. Just in 2024, De Morgan won HSNI with Green Canyon, won a gold medal with the U20 boys team at WJUC, helped the Salt Lake Shrimp qualify for their first Club Nationals, and secured the game-winning block to beat Pittsburgh in the final of CCC. All that to say, keep an eye out for De Morgan.

Oscar Brown (Utah)

If you buy into the regional power of the Northwest, #23 Utah Zion Curtain look poised to make Nationals for the first time in a generation. The semi-pro exploits of Will Selfridge by this point are well known, but fellow second-year player Oscar Brown might be the key to ZCU’s success. A talented thrower who can play both ways, Brown’s continued development hints at a future All-American selection and a trip to Nationals even sooner.

Raekwon Adkins (Oregon)

Adkins broke out in a huge way at his first Nationals. The 2024 rookie put it all together – skill, intelligence, and grit – when it mattered most, earning him a well-deserved spot on our RotYum. That was only the initial launch of a rocket ship year that saw him look at times like the most effective offensive player for eventual Club Nationals semifinalists San Francisco Revolver, and ended with being named to the US National Team for the World Beach Ultimate Championships. 2025 could see an even further ascension as he becomes, with his penchant for huge vertical cuts (both unders and aways) and S-tier transition deep shots, a matchup nightmare on an Ego side with serious championship potential.

Ethan Lieman (Massachusetts)

Even on a UMass offensive line featuring top-level upperclassman cutting talent like Wyatt Kellman and Luca Harwood, Lieman stood out as a rookie in 2024, carving out a role as one of the unit’s most reliable players. His lightning quick first step and immaculate cut timing allow him to get open on practically any defender. After an appearance on the U20 Open team at WJUC, he should only continue to develop and play an even larger role for Zoodisc in 2025.

Carter Bayer (Washington)

After a strong rookie season for the Sundodgers, Carter Bayer starred on the international scene for the Canada U20 Open squad, which took third place at WJUC. His 15 assists were tied for second on the team, while his 31 goals paced them, Bayer stands 6’4 and is a deep space threat, but is happy to take advantage of defenders by getting big under cuts or dominating the middle space in zone offense. His dynamism in the cutting space is certainly a key for Washington to return to Nationals this year.

You’re All Underrating…

Vermont

While Vermont may have stumbled at the finish line in Madison last year, they should by no means be forgotten about in 2025. They retain possibly the most athletic cutter in the division in the form of Zack Watson-Stevens and rookie sensation Jovan Strange, back for his sophomore season. On top of a well-seasoned group of veterans, the Vermont boast a 2024 rookie class can rival CUT’s for most talented in the land. Headlined by Dominic Chiodi, WJUC standout, prepare to see several of their first years being called onto the line when it matters most. Teams expecting to walk over the boys from Vermont need to think again before they get their teeth kicked in by this once and future New England powerhouse.

– Matt Fazzalaro

Georgia 

College frisbee is a star-run operation. Indeed Georgia, who, let’s remember, were the #1 team in the country going into Nationals in 2024, are losing some pieces but crucially hang onto their biggest one, Aidan Downey. It is just hard for me to believe that a 6th year Downey, playing in a division with literal children, isn’t going to be on a top-10 team this season. For every squad ranked above them right now, think about their rosters. How many of them have a player you’d feel comfortable covering Downey? Not many, I’d wager.

– Patrick Stegemoeller

Penn State

I’m sure many of you saw Penn State as the 10th best team in our recent Power Rankings and internally gasped. They haven’t proven it yet, but Spank are closer to being a quarters team than regressing from their 0-4 pool play finish last season. As PSU develop along the season, expect them to bounce around the top 25, but come Nationals be ready for them to make a significant bracket run.

– Alex Rubin

Washington University

Here’s a rule of thumb for evaluating college rosters. By and large, a team full of great, Nationals-tested upperclassmen will perform extremely well deep into the season. The case in point this year will be Contra, who return virtually⁴ all of their top players from the 2024 Nationals campaign. How’s this for a line? Noah Stovitz, Cam Freeman, Joel Brown, Seth Fisher-Olvera, Nic Sprague, Elie Weitzman, Bennett Schwartz. You may not be familiar with all of the names, but rest assured they match up well against most of the other top teams in the country. If that’s not enough, add in Ben Reimler – back for a 6th year push – and one of the division’s biggest chips on their shoulders, and you have a program who could be looking at quarters and even have an outside shot at semis.

– Edward Stephens

Georgia Tech

Ok maybe we aren’t underrating Georgia Tech, ranking the Southeastern squad 21st in our preseason rankings. But I’m not sure the college ultimate world realizes this is a team with legitimate bid-earning potential. It has been a long time since Tech was in that position – they finished seventh at least year’s Southeast Regionals. Sam Grossberg brings that generational talent that a team like Georgia Tech frequently lacks, and paired with his brother Adam and a solid roster, this is a team that could beat out Georgia or win a second bid for the Southeast.

– Aidan Thomas

Washington

While the Sundodgers missed Nationals in 2024, they won multiple games against Nationals qualifiers and were generally able to hold their own, but suffered from inconsistency. This year, their general talent level should take a significant step up. They are led in returning talent by Assaf Golan of Sockeye as well as the 6’4” Carter Bayer, who was really strong for UW as a rookie this past season. In this season’s class, among the typical Seattle talent, they add Mixtape practice player Willie Saxen and Jak Lin, who saw time with Sockeye. With their coaching staff including past and present Worlds players Nick Stuart and Trent Dillon, I see the Sundodgers being a bid-earning team again in 2025.

– Graham Gordon

The Current Power Rankings

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1. They lost 15-13 to Oregon in 2018 quarters and on universe point in a memorable quarterfinal against UNC in 2023. ↩

2. Georgia and Michigan in 2021, Pittsburgh in 2022, UMass and Vermont in 2023. 2019 and 2024 consisted of only the “Semis-Class.” ↩

3. Author’s note: it was me, Edward, the person writing this section. ↩

4. Chris Heron, abroad in the spring, is the biggest absence ↩