On the second day of Christmas Ultiworld gave to me...the likelihood of seeing familiar teams atop the podium!
December 13, 2025 by Graham Gordon in Preview
Ultiworld’s coverage of the 2026 college 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.
It’s time to unwrap some presents as we introduce the 12 Days of College Ultimate. For the next 12 days, we will be releasing one gift per day, though don’t count on getting any holiday fowl: it’s all college ultimate. From highlight videos to player chatter to a season predictions, we’ve got a little something for everyone. On the second day of the 12 Days of College Ultimate, we’re looking at the likelihood of a repeat champion in each of the divisions!
British Columbia Thunderbirds
All the way up until the sloppy and exciting finish that was their universe point final victory over Carleton Syzygy, UBC was utterly dominant in 2025. They shellacked Oregon and Vermont in the bracket and had their way with every other team in the Northwest region. Mika Kurahashi is certainly the preseason top player in the division, with one of the most stacked resumes of recent memory. The T-Birds still also probably have an unmatched depth of top players, returning Amelie Marshall, Ella Bolan, Lauren Szeto-Fung, Claire Weng…and the list just keeps going. The loss of longtime handler Madison Ong will hurt, but this team is still incredibly stacked.
UBC should again expect that Carleton Syzygy are nipping at their heels at the top of the division in 2026.
Odds: -100
Carleton CUT
This CUT team’s outlook is eerily similar to the Carleton team of eight years ago, after they were last defending champions. The sophomore rising stars of Nate De Morgan, Axel Olson, Ellis Newhouse, and Thomas Shope mirror the profile of Joe White, Dillon Lanier, Stan Birdsong, and Ethan Bloodworth. It doesn’t end there, as the upperclass captain trio of Declan Miller, Fin Fuhrmann, and Ryan duSaire provide experienced leadership not unlike Sol Yanuck and Eric Taylor did for CUT teams of yore. The aforementioned 2018 team made it back to the semifinals only to be upset by an upstart Pittsburgh team, but this Carleton team feels a little bit more well-oiled, and with some boosts from rookies like Sarek Mallareddy and Archer Burns, they should be less likely to fall to the same fate.
However, the top of the division is extremely competitive, and both Colorado Mamabird and Oregon Ego return almost all of their key pieces and should prove capable foils. I see all three teams as having roughly equal chances to win a title in 2026, with the next tier of competitors a reasonable step below.
Odds: +300
Wesleyan Vicious Circles
Wesleyan were incredibly dominant at Nationals in May, highlighted by a 15-2 drubbing of Lewis and Clark Artemis in the semifinal and a less dominant but still decisive victory over the Haverford/Bryn Mawr Sneetches in the title game. In 2026, I fully expect more of the same. Milo Brown is back. So are Scout Noble and Maggie Brown. They lose the consistency of Natalie Sweet, but handler and captain Nola Busansky returns to fill a similar role after missing Nationals last year with an injury. In Keith Raynor’s second year as head coach, the Vicious Circles are poised to build on the chemistry and success that they had last year without missing a step.
Looking around the division, the team most likely to give them a real challenge are the Middlebury Pranksters. Their formidable duo of Ella Widmyer and Lucy VanNewkirk can never be counted out, but Wesleyan should still be the odds-on favorite, especially as other consistent challengers like Carleton Eclipse and the Haverford/Bryn Mawr Sneetches lose large senior classes and might take a step back.
Odds: -150
Lewis & Clark Bacchus
Bacchus had an incredible run to be crowned national champions in 2025. After a 15-9 loss to Middlebury in pool play that denied them a bye to the quarterfinals, they won their first two bracket games handily, held off a Carleton CHOP comeback in semifinals, and proved the more resilient team in the final against, you guessed it, Middlebury. Much of their success came from the transcendent play of seniors Leo Farley as an offensive do-everything dynamo and Max Zwerin as an athletic monster in the deep space on both sides of the ball. They’ll also miss the steady handling of Topher Olson and consistent presence of Jonas Bray.
While L&C still return a strong cadre of players like Orlando Impas, Sam London, and Levi Stahl, the aforementioned losses definitely at least lower the floor for Bacchus in 2026. I’d bet on them to still be a Nationals-level team, but to return to the level that they played at in Burlington, it would require some of their role players or rookies to step up into much larger roles.
Odds:+900
