The first bids to the 2025 D-III College Championships will be decided this weekend!
April 11, 2025 by Josh Katz and Calvin Ciorba in Preview
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There are few more exciting portions of the ultimate calendar than spring College Regionals. For some, these events will be the culmination of a season — or even college career — while for others it’s just another step on their path toward the D-III College Championships in just over a month. Count on plenty of dramatic action and unexpected results along the way as every team fights to ensure they fall into the latter group.
Five regions will take to the fields this weekend across the country to decide their representatives heading to Burlington. We’ve got you covered on the storylines to watch.
Atlantic Coast
Score Reporter
Location: Axton, Virginia
Favorites: #2 Elon, #14 Richmond
Contenders: #19 UNC Asheville, Davidson
Nationals Bids: 2
Excitement Level: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
One of the most exciting fights for Nationals begins right away at Conferences in the infamous fields of Axton, Virginia. Three teams are battling for two bids, setting up a thrilling weekend.
#2 Elon Big Fat Bomb haven’t qualified for Nationals since 2015, but they’ve surged back into contention. After painful near-misses the past two years, Elon flipped the script in 2025, dominating D-III Easterns and finishing third at River City Showdown. Wins over Middlebury, Williams, and Wesleyan have vaulted them to #2 in our power rankings and third in USAU’s end of season rankings. The team’s discipline has leveled up thanks to potential ROTY Brayden Morrison and the continued growth of stars Reed Burkert and Kalen Morrison. Underclassmen like Ben Patterson, Jake Lairson, and Justin Brader-Araje are poised for breakout performances if Elon makes it to Nationals. The biggest question mark? Their mental game—past struggles in high-pressure moments loom large. But if they stay composed, Elon is the favorite to win the region.
Richmond Spidermonkeys may not look like the powerhouse of years past, but don’t count them out. Ranked #14 in our power rankings and 13th by USAU, Richmond still earned a bid and remains the favorite to keep it. Why? The coaching of Matthew Graves tilts games time and time again in favor of the Spidermonkeys, who know how to peak at the right time and make the right in-game decisions. Clay Rosselot and Eric Harnisher lead a smooth, fast O-line, while Calvin Ciorba anchors the D-line with big throws and break potential. Anthony Longo, Rowan Keller, and Nic Moreira have all stepped up in a big way in the cutting sphere this year and will look to find the disc often. Richmond’s biggest concern, however, could be their lack of signature wins. Universe point losses to Carleton CHOP and Franciscan don’t look bad, but the fact Richmond’s best D-III wins this year are against Bates and Puget Sound leaves room to be concerned. But given the fact the Spidermonkeys qualified for Nationals in all but two years since 2014, don’t be surprised if Richmond wins the whole region.
The biggest wild card to the region are #19 UNC-Asheville Mudpuppy, whose up-and-down year leaves a lot of questions on the table. Unranked to start the season, they shocked the division with a second-place finish at River City Showdown, notching wins over CHOP and Rochester. At D-III Easterns however, the breakout squad crashed back down, dropping a game to Bates and suffering a beatdown by Lewis and Clark, costing the Atlantic Coast its third bid. Who knows which version of Asheville will show up this Sunday, but they will hope to channel the energy they found the Sunday morning of River City Showdown. Star freshman Ethan Rhodes may be out again, so seniors Spencer Chandler and Jackson Stanley will need to carry the load. Juniors Brandon Bass and Adam Pohl bolster the team, but depth remains a concern—UNCA tends to fade late in tournaments. Still, if they can stay fresh, Mudpuppy could return to Nationals for the first time since 2017.
Don’t sleep on Davidson DUFF, who could play spoiler this weekend. After falling just one point short of Nationals in 2024, DUFF has struggled in 2025—but with Nationals on the line, anything is possible. Head coach Ken Porter is no stranger to peaking at the right time, and if Davidson leans heavily on stars Wes Smail, John Ready, and Jerry Wang, they could shake up the bracket and steal a bid.
Notably, none of the top three teams have faced each other this season. Richmond hasn’t played Elon since the 2022 Regional final, and last saw Asheville in 2020. That changes in pool play, where Richmond versus Asheville will function as a de facto semifinal. With everything on the line, coaching, mindset, and fresh legs will determine who punches their ticket to Washington in one of the most exciting weekends of the D-III season.
Southeast
Score Reporter
Location: Titusville, Florida
Favorites: #21 Berry Bucks
Contenders: Union (TN) Jaxx
Nationals Bids: 1
Excitement Level: 🔥🔥🔥
While not necessarily the most important regionals event in terms of championship outlook, with the favorites Berry sitting 20th in the D-III algorithmic standings and #21 in our Power Rankings, Southeast ConfRegionals should nonetheless be an exciting affair. Behind Berry, threatening to shake up the Southeast pecking order are five teams looking to make their first trip to Nationals, plus another hoping to return for the first time since 2018.
Leading the way, and looking to win their sixth consecutive Southeast (Conf)Regionals, are Berry. It’s been a bit of a step back for Berry over the last couple of seasons after a semis appearance at Nationals in 2022, with former stars Caleb Enright, Walter Ellard, and Collin Hill all graduating since that tournament. That’s not to say Berry are entirely talentless: Ian VanOrder and Michael Peterson were excellent in Milwaukee last spring and are still around, and Gavin Zielke has taken a step forward this year as one of the team’s primary handlers. After back-to-back years of universe point victories in the game-to-go1, Berry will certainly be hoping for a less stressful path through the Southeast this time around.
Berry’s most likely challengers (and, frankly, their only likely threat) is Union (TN), who his been in consideration for our Power Rankings throughout the season but haven’t quite been consistent enough to merit a ranking. They do have a couple of close losses to the top dogs in the region, losing 13-11 to Berry at T-Town Throwdown XX and dropping a game to #25 Lipscomb Bisons2 by the same score line at Bulldog Brawl. Connor Rigby is the star for the Jaxx, a do-it-all handler with top-level experience for Huntsville Pyro in the Club Mixed Division. He’s flanked by fellow senior Joel Salazar, a lightning fast cutter, and rookie Will Stickles, a classic jack-of-all-trades player. Also on the team? Daniel Lancaster, playing his second season after suffering a near-fatal stroke.
And though they are not a likely challenger for the ConfRegional crown, we should mention Morehouse Ultimate, the first HBCU to field an ultimate team. After playing in only the Series last year, Morehouse went to Needle in a Ho-Stack in the regular season this year. Look for them to score the first win in program history this weekend.
Lastly, we did mention at the top that there’s one other team in attendance this weekend with Nationals experience. That team, Georgia College Disconnected, is 1-10 on the season, with their only victory coming in a close contest against the previously-mentioned winless Morehouse. It would be the upset of the century for Disconnected to return to Nationals in 2025, but in D-III, you can never be too sure.
