Buzzer Beater: School’s Out for Summer [UFA Week 5, 2025]

After an exciting College Championships, plenty of young players are set to make their UFA season debuts.

May 30, 2025 by Alex Rubin in Rankings, Recap

Hi everyone, welcome back to my weekly Buzzer Beater column. Here I will focus on one major storyline each week. The column will also share some news and notes beyond that big story and will be the place to share our most up-to-date power rankings. If you have questions about the UFA, you can also write in to [email protected] to fill up the mailbag.

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You might notice that this column typically comes out on Mondays, and it is…well not Monday. I spent this past weekend reporting at the USA Ultimate D-I College Championships. It was really exciting and I wrote a lot of words already about what I saw. Congratulations to Carleton CUT and UBC Thunderbirds for their championship game wins.

The benefit to the college season ending is that many college players who are also on UFA rosters are now free to join their professional teams. In other sports, college players might need some seasoning before they become stars, but in the relatively young sport of ultimate, college stars are among the best players in the game. Here are some stars who took the fields at D-I Nationals last weekend who we should see on a UFA field as soon as this week.

Meet the Next Generation

Aidan Downey (Georgia Jojah > DC Breeze)
Downey is a premier thrower who is athletic enough to play real D-line minutes if needed. A former Hustle player, it will be fascinating to see how he fits into the Breeze system. DC could use a thrower in the mold of Jonny Malks, who is not with the team this season; perhaps Downey slots in on offense once he moves up there.

Tobias Brooks, Elliot Hawkins, Zeke Thoreson (Colorado Mamabird > Colorado Summit)
This trio will all be in contention for end of season awards based on their stellar play in college. Brooks is a Player of the Year candidate who changes the shape of the field with his throwing range and confidence. Hawkins is in the running for Rookie of the Year after showing poise beyond his years with the disc. Thoreson is likely to find his way to the Defensive Player of the Year podium after his performance limiting former Cascades player Declan Miller in the college national final.

Will Selfridge, Oscar Brown, Grayson Rettberg (Utah Zion Curtain > Salt Lake Shred)
This trio has all played for the Shred before, but they each got significantly better this year as they led Utah on a cinderella run to the championship bracket despite entering the tournament as a bottom seed. Selfridge is an All-American candidate, while Brown and Rettberg each looked like much more confident players in their second season.

Xavier Fuzat (Texas TUFF > Houston Havoc)
Fuzat was a late signing for the Havoc, who he played for in 2023. His off-the-charts athleticism and penchant for creative throwing shapes should fit in perfectly on the UFA field, especially for an over-achieving Havoc team.

Ben Thoennes (Oregon State Beavers > Oregon Steel)
Thoennes was the engine for the Beavers this season and should also assume that role with the Steel. He will instantly become the best thrower on the team, and will be a positive on the defensive end should the Steel coaching staff decide to deploy him there.

Ethan Lieman (UMass Zoodisc > New York Empire)
Lieman was an offensive force for Zoodisc, who entered Nationals ranked as the top team in the division. He plays much bigger than his size and uses really impressive footspeed to catch up to discs no matter how uncatchable they look. With an offensive void left by the departures of Ryan Osgar, John Lithio, and Charles Weinberg, expect Lieman to contribute well on that side of the disc.

Alex Mullen (Penn State Spank > Pittsburgh Thunderbirds)
Mullen’s steady hand helped propel Penn State to their best performance in several decades. His careful throwing and sense of calm will be an asset to the Thunderbirds

Peter Mans (Middlebury Pranksters > Minnesota Wind Chill)
Bonus D-III pick here, as Mans was a huge part of the Middlebury team that went to the D-III final two weekends ago. His athleticism and intelligence should fit in well for a Minnesota team that is not afraid to give its young players chances to impress.

 

News and Notes

• San Diego took their first East Coast trip as a member of the South Division, and they made quite a splash. The Growlers held on for a double overtime win over the Carolina Flyers despite heroics from Allan Laviolette (nine assists!) and Jacob Fairfax (seven goals!). Khalif El-Salaam was an instrumental handler, going every other on the last possession of the game as the Growlers’ D-line broke for the win.
• Atlanta kept their undefeated season going with a win over the Growlers the next day. Adam Miller led the game with eight assists.
• The New York Empire held on for a 17-16 win over a surging Philadelphia team. Antoine Davis came away with the game-clinching block as time expired in the fourth quarter.
• Salt Lake came away with a shocking win, recovering from a six-goal deficit to stun Seattle and likely knock the Cascades out of playoff contention. The West’s representative at Championship Weekend last season, Seattle is just 1-5 this year while languishing in 5th place in the division.
• The Oakland Spiders continued their undefeated season with a five goal win over the Cascades the next day. The Spiders clearly look like the team to beat out West.
• The Oregon Steel got their second win of the season, dispatching the Vegas Bighorns 14-13. David Barram’s 2G/2A stat line helped lead the Steel to an important win.
• Colorado got their season back on track with a get-right win over Oregon. Quinn Finer led the way with five assists and three goals.
• Minnesota crushed Pittsburgh 31-14. The Wind Chill have a much tougher test coming up with Atlanta on their schedule for the weekly Friday Night Frisbee game.
• Indianapolis maintained a multi-year winning streak against the Mechanix by coming away with a 21-18 win. Seth Gudeman had three assists and seven goals.

 

Mailbag

Have a question about the UFA? Send it in to [email protected] with UFA Mailbag in the subject line. Subscribers can also DM me in the Ultiworld Discord or post questions in the UFA channel so others can chime in.

 

UFA Power Rankings Week 5

• Very few changes this week, as the favorites ended up winning despite exciting games in Salt Lake and New York threatening to upset the order.
• San Diego moves ahead of Carolina based on their head to head win and their closer performances against Atlanta this season.