One of the most competitive divisions in the Association will see four teams compete for just three playoff spots.
April 21, 2026 by Alex Rubin in Preview
Since the 2021 post-COVID restart, the Carolina Flyers have owned the South Division…until last season when Atlanta reached Championship Weekend and Carolina missed the playoffs entirely. Entering 2026, both Atlanta and Carolina have their sights set on a division title while Austin and San Diego are likewise liking their chances at least of making the playoffs. Sharp fans might notice that those four teams are competing for just three playoff spots, meaning that one seemingly deserving team might be left out when all is set and done in August.
Atlanta Hustle
Coming off of their first Championship Weekend appearance in franchise history, the Atlanta Hustle enter this season hoping to carry over momentum from their greatest success and knowing that they still have higher peaks to climb.
From a personnel perspective, the team is quite similar to last year’s outfit. Austin Taylor and Adam Miller have proven to be stellar together in the backfield, and this year will be joined by Pat Earles. The longtime Atlanta resident has not played in the UFA since his college days in the late 2010s suiting up for Pittsburgh.
Brett Hulsmeyer and Alec Wilson Holliday return to their downfield roles, with the addition of Will Selfridge. This will be the first time we see the Utah product outside of the Salt Lake system, and it will be very interesting to see how his playstyle meshes with a Hustle team that has their own unique approach to both offense and defense.
With four games against Carolina this season, including three in a row, Atlanta will have plenty of opportunity to scout and game plan for their primary competition this season. The Hustle are favored to return to Championship Weekend, but the Flyers, Austin Sol, and San Diego Growlers will all think they have a chance to take the Hustle’s place. For years Atlanta was the team struggling to break in despite obvious talent, but now they will need to reframe their expectations as division favorites and get ready mentally to be the team that everyone else is targeting for the first time in franchise history.
Key Additions: Will Selfridge, Pat Earles
Key Losses: Michael Fairley, Cam Brock, Isaiah Mason, Tyler Randall
X-Factor: late game execution
Biggest Game: July 18 vs DC, the last game of the season could have huge playoff implications for both teams
Expected Ceiling: Championship Weekend appearance
Expected Floor: losing in the playoffs
Carolina Flyers
In the post-COVID UFA, it is rare to enter a season without the Carolina Flyers as division favorites. They ceded that title to Atlanta in the preseason, but the Flyers have a legitimate chance to earn back their spot at Championship Weekend with their talented collection of motivated players.
The offseason headline of course focuses on bringing back Tobias Brooks, who starred for the 2023 and 2024 Flyers before playing last season with Colorado, where he is attending university. Brooks is one of the most athletic players in the league, and has the throwing talent and ambition to spread the disc all over the big UFA field. Brooks was nice enough to bring a Mamabird teammate, Zeke Thoreson, who is among the top college players this season and will be an excellent addition no matter where the Flyers slot him. Thoreson started as a defensive grinder in college, but with the Colorado (then-)Summit really opened up his offensive game and became a prolific goal scorer. With some added throwing chops developed during the offseason, Thoreson is blossoming into an incredibly well-rounded player and will certainly boost the Flyers’ chances of returning to title contention.
Enough about the additions–they won’t be playing until college ends in late May at the earliest anyway. Carolina also returns MVP candidate Allan Laviolette, who is playing some of the best ultimate of his career entering his 10th season in the league. Similarly, Jacob Fairfax only seems to get better with time. Entering his 10th season, he has solidified his place as one of the best receivers in the game, causing matchup challenges no matter who is lined up to stop him.
Last season, Carolina’s slow start left them out of the playoffs. They will need veterans like Laviolette and Fairfax to lead the team to a stronger April and May than last year’s before college aged reinforcements like Brooks, Thoreson, Josh Singleton, Christian Belus, and Brayden Morrison are able to play. If they can avoid the O-fer start of last year, the Flyers will be well positioned to return to their spot atop the division.
Key Additions: Tobias Brooks (returning), Zeke Thoreson, Josh Singleton
Key Losses: Rutledge Smith, Ethan Bloodworth
X-Factor: finding early season wins before the full team is available
Biggest Game: June 26 vs Atlanta, in what could be a very important game for playoff seeding. By this point, the Flyers will have all of their college players available so they should be at or close to full strength for the stretch run of the season
Expected Ceiling: Championship Weekend appearance
Expected Floor: losing in the playoffs
San Diego Growlers
A surprise playoff team last year, the San Diego Growlers only got stronger this offseason and will be pushing to advance even further in the playoffs this time around. Every conversation about San Diego eventually has to bring up Travis Dunn. The All-UFA lifer is still producing goals and assists with the best players in the league. Dunn’s production comes alongside Khalif El-Salaam, who is one of the most powerful athletes and facilitates offense around him as well as anyone. Adding in the relatively youthful injection of Matt Miller, KJ Koo, and new addition Brandon Van Deusen brings together quite the powerful collection of offensive talent. It will be very hard to take the disc away from the Growlers when they’re playing their best.
The Growlers were also the beneficiary of the contraction of the Los Angeles Aviators. Jonathan Lyle and Max Combs are among the players making their way south down I-5, and both should be legitimate difference makers in their first season with San Diego.
The Growlers have one of the most interesting schedules in the league. Off the bat, they’ll be favored for a minimum of five wins, given their matchups with Houston and Vegas. On the other hand, they have difficult travel weekends to Oakland (twice!), Austin, and Colorado. Their toughest tests of the season might come in the first two games of the season when Carolina and Atlanta visit. Stealing a win then will give the Growlers important leverage in the fight for playoff spots. Otherwise, they might need to find some wins on the road to get back to postseason play.
Key Additions: Jonathan Lyle, Brandon Van Deusen, Max Combs
Key Losses: Jesse Cohen, Max Hume
X-Factor: handling a very heavy travel load, including two cross-division trips to Oakland
Biggest Game: April 24 vs Carolina. Last season the Growlers rode an upset over Carolina to their playoff spot, and they could do the same this year against a Flyers team missing their college players.
Expected Ceiling: South title game participant
Expected Floor: missing the playoffs
Austin Sol
Since their 2023 Championship Weekend appearance, expectations have been high for the Austin Sol. Though they have yet to return to the final four, the Sol have built a competitive program that is the top destination for Texas-based players looking to play in the UFA. With starpower in Kyle Henke and Joey Wylie supported by a strong cast of contributors (Matthew Armour, Jackson Potts, Eric Brodbeck, Reese Bowman, Brandon Dial, etc) and a bright crop of young players ready to make an impact (Mark Henke, Owen Johnson, Saaketh Palchuru, and Myles Armstrong to name a few), the Sol have a pretty deep roster of contributors.
Austin benefits from six games against Houston and Vegas which gives the team a nice cushion of expected wins going into their tougher games against Atlanta, Carolina, San Diego, and Seattle. If everyone is clicking on the same page, they should be able to find enough wins to return to the playoffs. But, the teams in Atlanta, Carolina, and San Diego are all saying the same thing, and there are just three playoff spots for the four teams who think they can make it. Austin will not want to be on the outside looking in.
Key Additions: Evan Swiatek (returning), Duncan Fitzgerald (returning), Ryan Drost
Key Losses: Elliott Moore
X-Factor: home field advantage with the strong central Texas heat
Biggest Game: July 10-11 at Carolina and Atlanta, a doubleheader weekend that will surely have playoff seeding implications based on the results for all three involved teams
Expected Ceiling: South title game participant
Expected Floor: missing the playoffs
Houston Havoc
The Houston Havoc have not yet found a way to get by their rivals in Austin (and previously in Dallas). Though they bring back talented players like Ben Lewis, Jimmy Zuraw, Jordan Salazar, and Mark Turner, the team does not yet have the depth of talent to compete with the best teams in the division. Houston also introduced a new head coach, Sean McCall, previously the team’s GM and a longtime leader in Houston ultimate with Team USA coaching experience. Though the Havoc won’t be favored to win too many games, they can define success with other metrics based on player development that could improve the team’s outlook for future seasons while still being a joy to watch on the field.
Key Additions: Joe Thachet
Key Losses: Kyle Kolafa, Dalton Smith, Chase Cunningham
X-Factor: Growth and development of returning players
Biggest Game: May 2 vs Austin, an early opportunity to make a statement against an in-state rival
Expected Ceiling: Beating a team other than Vegas
Expected Floor: An unexpected loss to Vegas leaves them last in the division
Vegas Bighorns
Last season’s Sin City ultimate experience did not result in any on-field wins for the Vegas Bighorns. This offseason the team lost its best player in Joel Clutton, its leading assist thrower Ryan Hiser, leading goal scorer Brad Ellis, and a promising youngster in Porter Stobbe. At least leading block getter Braden Distel is back? It is difficult to be particularly optimistic about the Bighorns, but at least with Stobbe (who is now with Salt Lake), the team proved to be an adequate launching pad for young players looking to break into the league. If the team can find a few more prospects to promote, then perhaps the team will become a bigger destination for players who are not yet at the level to make their hometown team but still want to play. Barring a positive change like that, it’s hard to see Vegas sticking around the Association for too much more losing.
Key Additions: N/A
Key Losses: Joel Clutton, Brad Ellis, Porter Stobbe
X-Factor: motivation and buy-in
Biggest Game: June 26 vs Houston is probably the team’s best chance at a win this year
Expected Ceiling: winning a game would be an accomplishment
Expected Floor: a winless season that leads to contraction
