Club Season Primer 2025: Women’s Division

The biggest stories entering the club season.

June 27, 2025 by Anna Browne, Felicia Zheng, Edward Stephens and Graham Gerhart in Preview

Ultiworld’s coverage of the 2025 club ultimate season is 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.

Ahead of Pro Elite Challenge, the first stop on the Triple Crown Tour and first major event of the 2025 club season, we’ve got you covered on all the major storylines, players to watch, and way-too-early semis picks in the Club Women’s Division.

Club Division 2025 Primers:   Men’s   |   Mixed   |   Women’s

To stay updated on the evolving storylines, teams, players, and games this season, support Ultiworld’s club season coverage and visit our subscription page.

Major Storylines

Year of the Scandal

Last year was the year of the dragon. Next will be the year of the horse. But 2025? It’s the year of the Scandal. Twice this decade they’ve reached the finals, only to fall just short at the final hurdle — always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Here’s why this season, they just might break through.

It starts with a foundation built on not just one, but two World Games players. Claire Trop, the first back-to-back club Player of the Year in the history of the award, might be the most unstoppable force in the division right now. No one seems to have figured out how to stop her from exerting her will on the game. Kami Groom’s speed and grit are simply unmatched, and she’s currently one of the most effective players on the World Games roster. But it’s not just about the headliners. Marge Walker has proven her ability to marshal the team from the backfield with clean handler movement. Marie Périvier was last season’s breakout player for good reason: she can’t be denied, whether as a thrower or in the endzone. Allie Wallace has been making offenses sweat for a season now, and shows no signs of slowing down. Kira Flores makes scoring look effortless. And the list goes on. This roster has never looked more dangerous.

Defense wins championships. As strong as Scandal are offensively, it’s their clamp-down person defense that delivers, time and time again. Don’t get me wrong, the Scandal zone has paid dividends. But in an era where the meta favors poachy, switchy looks, Scandal prioritize winning the matchup — and they do, every time. We saw how effective that was against a notoriously difficult-to-defend, fast-paced team like Raleigh Radiance in the PUL final. Individually, Scandal have the personnel to put relentless pressure on any team’s O-line.

Of course, the best reason for the fans to care is the plot. A team that hasn’t won it all since 2014, risen from the ashes post-COVID to become a perennial contender. Twice denied, but never deterred. And it would be a fine change of pace to break the Fury-Brute Squad stranglehold threatening to grip the division once more. The storylines practically write themselves. This could be the year Scandal finally claim the crown.

Section Redraw Shakes Up Bid Picture

The regional redraw hit the women’s division the hardest. The big change sees Toronto and SW Ontario moved from the Northeast to the Great Lakes region. While this change affects all divisions, the Great Lakes already has very strong teams in the men’s and mixed divisions, with Machine and Hybrid respectively — so, not much changing on the strength bid front..

In women’s, however, the strongest team for years has been Chicago Nemesis. The perennial Nationals representatives from the Greaty lakes typically find themselves right around the big bubble, with last year qualifying solely due to the autobid for the region. Now that Toronto 6ixers have come into the region, they will almost certainly earn the regional autobid.

Given Nemesis’s struggles, they’ll be hard-pressed to earn a second bid for the region. That means the 6ixers’ former strength bid in the Northeast is up for grabs. Also, last year’s bid earners are looking a little weak, as Pittsburgh Parcha lost most of their travel players and a chunk of their long term core, Washington DC Grit made few changes, and Quebec Iris lost a few stars to the mixed division with next year being a WUCC year. That means that bids are truly on the table for several regions who have felt short-changed in recent years.

The biggest challengers to rising up to steal a bid come from a few main regions. For the South Central, Colorado Kelp hope to shake things up after phenomenal offseason recruiting, and Austin Vengeance have been on the up-and-up for years. The final region attempting to make a push for a strength bid is the Southeast, where Atlanta Ozone features a few major returning players to compliment a roster filled out with many of the top contributors from a surprisingly strong Atlanta Soul squad in the PUL.

Not to be ignored, the West Coast is hoping to retain their placement from last year, as that will likely net them a strength bid or two. For the Northwest, Utah Dark Sky narrowly missed out on earning another strength bid for their region. In the Southwest, San Francisco Nightlock, Oakland LOL, and San Diego Wildfire hope to send a second team from their respective metropolitan areas this year.

Darker Horses Gallop Towards Semis

Nothing comes automatically at Nationals, not even for the perennial contenders. So while we all expect to see Brute Squad, Fury, and Scandal playing on Saturday, there’s plenty of opportunity for any of them to slip up along the way. Between what a lot of the ‘experts’ consider an open door for the final slot and the chance that something goes awry for the top contenders, there’s opportunity for anyone poised to take advantage of it. And for all your Flipsides and Mollies Brown and 6ixers — that is to say, teams expected to be in the mix — there are some dark horses ready to jump into the fray.

One of the upstarts could well be New York BENT. BENT have been absorbing talent regularly for the past several years, and they might finally have reached a saturation point. From international stars (Yina Cartagena) to fresh-out-of-college leaders (Ella Juengst and Abby Hecko) to mixed division crosstown defectors (Genny De Jesus, Nina Finley) to — now — three former intraregional rivals in the form of Samiya Ismail, Zoe Hecht, and Amy Zhou (all from Brute Squad), BENT have become masters of the recruiting season. 2025 is when the last three season of promotional work could well pay off.

But they’ll need to look over their shoulders for Seattle Riot, on a violent upswing back toward the division’s summit after having spent the better part of five seasons fighting for scraps. There’s no roster info out for them yet as of press time, but between the glow-up of several of their Washington Element stars and what appears to be a softening of the mixed division scene in Seattle, Riot are in a good position to surge back to the division’s big kids table.

Tiered Powering Rankings

Possible Champs

• Fury
• Scandal
• Brute Squad

Fury show no signs of slowing down this season. With elite coaches, a roster full of stars, and depth most teams can only dream of, their 2024 victory may have been the start of a multi-year run. Scandal have been knocking on the door of a championship for the past couple of years, but haven’t broken through yet. Still, their PUL proxy team’s performance suggests they’re ready for another deep run. Winning a PUL title without Trop or Groom on the field is a testament to DC’s wealth of playmakers. Rounding out the top contenders are Boston Brute Squad, who clearly put in work this off-season, recruiting rookies that come with their own lists of impressive accolades. Liv Player and international standout Ximena Montaña will be key additions to watch. Brute Squad look more than ready to avenge last season’s heartbreaking semifinal loss and go all the way this year.

Semis Shot

• Flipside
• BENT
• Molly Brown
• Phoenix
• 6ixers
• Riot

It’s tough to place Flipside, BENT, and Riot in the rankings. They consistently attract top talent from their regions, but their performances in the bracket have been less than picture perfect. A regular season tournament win could really boost their stock. Molly Brown could make a case for being right up there with the top three, but the emergence of regional rivals Kelp is definitely cutting into their talent pool. Last season, they squeaked into the semifinal round by a single point, so it’s anyone’s guess whether their roster will have the firepower to make it back this year. As for Phoenix, with some of their go-to players heading elsewhere this year, it’s harder to see them as a semis-tier team. They’ll need to outlast several of these tough opponents if they want to earn a spot. There’s not much to criticize the 6ixers for, but while they’ve always been talented, it’s been a second since they’ve broken into the top tier. Ultimately, come October, all these teams will be hungry for a semifinal berth.

Absolute Wildcards

• Iris
• Traffic
• Schwa

The water gets murky here. We have a group of teams that can put up numbers against anyone, but they aren’t proven Nationals performers. Iris had strong results last season and took teams to the brink but just a season prior they weren’t even at the Big Dance. Traffic and Schwa haven’t reached beyond quarters in recent history. When these teams are firing on all cylinders, they have what it takes to play spoiler. When they aren’t, a pre-quarters exit is likely in the cards.

No Guarantees

• Grit
• Dark Sky
• Nightlock

This group has more than an outside shot at Nationals, but they’ll need to continuously prove themselves to earn the opportunity. Grit find themselves in a tough spot, sharing both a city and a talent pool with their big sib, Scandal. The question is: who can they retain or bring up to fill out the roster? Utah ultimate has been having a moment recently at several levels. Can Dark Sky capitalize on that momentum for the first time in women’s club? Nightlock, meanwhile, were just outside of a bid last season. To make their mark, they’ll need to lock down a bid this year and defend it against other strong challengers from the Southwest. For all these teams, nothing is guaranteed — but I’d bet on at least one of them punching their ticket to Nationals.

New Kids on the Block

• Kelp
• Nemesis
• Ozone
• Vengeance
• LOL
• Wildfire

It’s always tricky with this group — some teams are bound to flame out, while others will rise as standouts. Exactly where each will land is anyone’s guess. The South Central upstarts Kelp have picked up some notable names, but they’ll need to do more to prove they’re more than just a nice roster announcement. It might be a stretch to call perennial Nationals attendee Nemesis a new kid on the block, but with the recent redraw, it’s up or out for the Chicagoans. Ozone have been given new life with the return of a few key players. The question is whether that will put them within striking distance of securing a bid. As for Vengeance, LOL, and Wildfire, while they had some strong games last season, they lack the consistency against lower-level teams to truly set themselves apart from the next tier down. Expect the unexpected.

Trust the Process

• Pop
• Starling
• Parcha
• Flight

This group should be approaching the season as a marathon, not a sprint. Each team faces its own challenges and opportunities, and long-term development will be just as important as short-term results. Pop enjoy the luxury of playing in an uncompetitive region, which allows them to focus on building toward the postseason and aiming for a couple of wins at Nationals. For Starling — a team that has come close so many times in its short history — this could finally be the year, but it’ll take a combination of bid machinations and a little luck for things to break their way. Parcha have recently been hit hard by the loss of some key players. Both Parcha and Flight are relatively young teams, so finding the right balance between developing talent and winning enough games to boost their rankings is the name of the game. For all these teams, the season is about keeping an eye on the bigger picture.

 

Preseason Rankings

 

Bids Per Region

Great Lakes – Minimum: 1  / Maximum: 2