The masterminds behind the division's best teams
November 21, 2025 by Edward Stephens, Patrick Stegemoeller and Alex Rubin in Awards
Ultiworld is pleased to announce our annual Club Awards. While we consider both regular season and postseason performance, because of the nature of the Club division, we weight success in the Series and at Nationals above all else. The Club Awards are voted on by Ultiworld reporters, contributors, and editors.
The Coach(es) of the Year closes our annual awards. As so many teams have added more and more sideline-savvy consultants to their roster with less asked of a single head coach, this has essentially morphed into “Coaching Staff of the Year.” Coaches can impact the game in so many ways — tactics, motivation, communication, personnel management, program development, skill-building, etc. — and it can be hard to divine what exactly each has contributed to their team. But good coaching is something that we feel that “we know it when we see it.”
Player of the Year Award
All-Club First Team
All-Club Second Team
Offensive Player of the Year Award
Defensive Player of the Year Award
Breakout Player of the Year Award
Coach(es) of the Year Award
Club Awards Voting Breakdown
Snubs and Superlatives
2025 Men’s Division Coach(es) of the Year
Molica Anderson, Adrian King (San Francisco Revolver)
I’d like to put it on the official record that I think it’s really cheesy when the coaching award goes to the team who won the national championship. It’s like Shania Twain said: Okay, so you’ve got the best players… That don’t impress me much.1
But Revolver were a completely different beast in 2025. Everything about the way they approached and attacked the season, from PEC West through Nationals, showed poise, dedication, and excellence. Yes, there were the switch-heavy, mark forward defensive schemes that made opposing offenses uncomfortable and inefficient. (Bonus point for never losing faith in those schemes when, as would happen every now and then, the players on the field blew a switch.) Yes, there were the set plays and read plays to take advantage of Mac Hecht’s capacious throwing bag. Yes, there were several other prime offensive sets to keep defenses playing catch up. All of which is to say that Anderson’s and King’s tactics were on point.
But what made Anderson and King an obvious choice for the award – even more so than last season, when they also won top honors – was the way they seemed to have a role designed to suit every single player’s strengths. Every single day that Revolver played ultimate, it seemed like every single player, from the super-veterans to the transfers to the greenest rookies, found a way to make a big impact. It was a feat of elite resource management and radiant inspiration that was apparent all the way through the championship. Honestly, the coaching might have been Revolver 2025’s x-factor.
– Edward Stephens
First Runner-up
Michael Avila (Raleigh Ring of Fire)
Ultimate may be increasingly a young person’s game, but no top club team had to put that to the test the way Ring of Fire did this season, fielding a roster of players all under the age of 30. After shedding some of the team’s biggest names over the past few seasons, Ring put players into new roles this year, coaching confidence into them over the course of the season. Growth was shown after a rocky start at PEC, as Raleigh came back at Pro Champs and put up wins over PoNY and Truck, won Southeast Regionals, and then went the distance against Sockeye in prequarters, one of the best games at all of Nationals.
Ring had to build the plane while they flew it to an extent this season, and Avila deserves accolades for being a hell of a pilot.
– Patrick Stegemoeller
Second Runner-up
Joe Durst, Mike Lun, Tim Kefalas (Denver Johnny Bravo)
Johnny Bravo always find a way to play their best at Nationals. Michael Lun, Joe Durst, and Tim Kefalas each contribute to a culture that puts its players in position to succeed when the stakes are highest. After an up-and-down season that saw Bravo replace their O-line centerpiece and never play an entire tournament with a full roster as semi-pro commitments left Bravo fielding a JV team for the early part of the season. Despite the disruptions, Bravo found their footing at Nationals and won their pool. The Bravo coaching staff’s trust in young players and ability to help develop talent like Elliot Hawkins and Zeke Thoreson helped them overcome the obstacles in their path and end their season on a high note.
– Alex Rubin
Editor’s note: The first coach to rock Shania’s fit from that video on the sidelines automatically becomes the coaching GOAT. Must include valise and headscarf. ↩
