Eleven teams in our top 25 take the field in the most competitive D-III event of the season - with bids on the line
March 26, 2026 by Josh Katz in Preview, Video
Ultiworld’s 2026 college coverage 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.
The last weekend of the regular season brings us Division III’s premier tournament, and with it, the most competitive field of teams we’ll see before Nationals. 11 of the 14 teams in attendance appear in our latest Power Rankings, including our #1 and #2 teams. Aside from that potential showdown, many other squads below the top tier find themselves right on the edges of the bid picture, with Easterns their final chance to secure a bid as the Series approaches.
Tournament Profile
- Date: March 28-29
- Location: Wilmington, NC
- Weather: Mostly sunny, with upper 40s to low 60s temperatures. Winds 10+ mph
- Top 25 teams: #1 Middlebury, #2 Elon, #10 Bowdoin, #13 Richmond, #14 North Carolina-Asheville, #15 Williams, #16 Claremont, #18 Berry, #20 Wesleyan, #23 Brandeis, #25 Oberlin
- Ultiworld Event Page
- USAU Score Reporter
How To Watch
We’ve got you covered for all the exciting action this weekend. You will need an Ultiworld Standard or All-Access subscription to be able to watch games from Easterns 2026. Or get access for your entire team and coaching staff with a 2026 College Team Pack!
The event begins March 28, LIVE on Ultiworld.com. All broadcasted games will be available on-demand for viewing immediately following the live broadcasts.
Full Broadcast Schedule
Tournament Preview
Championship Preview?
#1 Middlebury Pranksters entered the year atop the Power Rankings and have done nothing since to dispel that notion, going 12-2 thus far with comfortable wins over their closest in-region challengers and an impressive takedown of D-I #20 Wisconsin. Peter Mans and Louis Douville Beaudoin have, somehow, become an even more dynamic duo this season. There are so few defenders in D-III that can keep up with Douville Beaudoin’s pace and timing downfield, and even fewer players that can match Mans’ awareness and throwing ability. Adding Oscar de Swaan Arons and Geir Hartl to the offense, as was the case in Florida, gives the Pranksters a near-unstoppable quartet. Expect plenty of offensive excellence from Middlebury, who don’t need to do much else to prove their championship bonafides.
Thanks to inclement weather, we’ve only seen #2 Elon Big Fat Bomb at one (full) tournament1 this year, a respectable 5-2 outing at Easterns Qualifier against a fully D-I field. This weekend will be our first look at BFB against D-III teams and a first glimpse at what Brayden Morrison picked up during his time with Raleigh Ring of Fire in the club division last summer. For as good as Reed Burkert, Kalen Morrison, Justin Brader-Araje, and Ben Patterson are, it’s Brayden’s handler ability that will dictate how far Elon will go this weekend and this season. Then again, Elon won this tournament last year and still struggled to a quarters defeat six weeks later at Nationals, so who’s to say their results this weekend actually mean all that much for them?
Hoping to disrupt either of the top two are a pair of New England teams in #10 Bowdoin Clown and #15 Williams WUFO, each of whom lost a superstar senior (Cole Fairfield and Charles Tantum, respectively) but have hardly missed a beat in their absences. Led by Theo Barton and Zach Widmyer, Clown’s results have been slightly more impressive, albeit in one fewer tournament. Both teams are sitting pretty firmly within bid-earning range and just need to avoid disaster this weekend to hold onto their strength bids. But should either suffer a fatal misstep, we could be on for a repeat of last year’s thrilling (for Clown) and devastating (for WUFO) game-to-go at Regionals.
Who’s Getting A Bid?
Last year, #13 Richmond Spidermonkeys and #14 UNC-Asheville Mudpuppy entered Easterns in position to earn a bid. Only Richmond maintained that position throughout the weekend, and Mudpuppy were unable to steal the bid back later on. One year later, and the position is flipped. Both of the Atlantic Coast squads find themselves outside the bid picture and will try to play their way in over the weekend. With Elon once again looking like the clear favorite in the region, at least one of these teams is going to need to make a sizable jump to give either a realistic chance at getting to Nationals.
#16 Claremont Braineaters are making the rare (for D-III) foray across the country, but they do so in a perilous position. The Brains are just within bid range, sitting a mere seven rankings points above the cutoff. With #17 Santa Clara SCAB a formidable challenger for the Southwest crown and also in range for a bid, losing that second bid would greatly diminish Claremont’s chances of getting back to Nationals. Even a single additional point conceded could prove disastrous for Claremont.
Further down the rankings are a number of teams – #18 Berry Bucks, #20 Wesleyan Nietzsch Factor, #23 Brandeis TRON, #25 Oberlin Horsecows, Davidson DUFF – that are probably too far away from the cutoff to earn a bid this weekend, but could conceivably steal one at Regionals next month. For any of this quintet, Easterns presents a final chance to generate some positive momentum into the Series, and maybe put a scare into their rivals in the process. Keep an eye on Wesleyan in particular, who have been limited to just three games this year due to inclement weather. They ran all the way to the final of this tournament last year and, despite graduating plenty of talent, still retain some of the core from last year’s squad. Don’t be surprised if they shoot up the rankings after this weekend.
Elon played two showcase games on Friday night before the rest of Carolina Kickoff was canceled. ↩
