Minnesota is once again the division favorite. After them, several teams will be competing for playoff spots.
April 22, 2026 by Alex Rubin in Preview
As far as I know there are not sportsbooks that take bets on the UFA, but if there were I would be pounding the unders in Central Division games. The division’s defensive talent and poor weather forecasts project to a series of low scoring games this season. Besides, with the contraction of the Detroit Mechanix, there is not an easy win to rack up big scores on the schedule. Nevertheless, the Central Division presents one of the most intriguing collections of teams in the league, and the defensive battles will be exciting across the board as Minnesota looks to defend its last two division titles.
Minnesota Wind Chill
The Minnesota Wind Chill are once again not content to rest on their previous success. Like last season, Minnesota spent their offseason improving an area that is already a key strength by bringing in Lukas Ambrose and Noah Coolman to fortify a defense that led the league in blocks. With those two joining Justin Burnett, Dylan DeClerck, Noah Hanson, and Cameron Lacy, the Wind Chill could have a starting line all contending for UFA All-Defense spots by the end of the season. That’s only six names, so good thing the Wind Chill will also add Nate De Morgan once the college season ends.
“Minnesota is as good as any team in the league in having vision for what they want to do, executing that vision, buying into that vision,” division rival Cam Brock said. If Josh Klane, Will Brandt, Paul Krenik, and Leo Sovell-Fernandez can be above average on offense, the Wind Chill’s defense should be enough to carry them to another Championship Weekend appearance.
Key Additions: Noah Coolman, Lukas Ambrose, Nate De Morgan
Key Losses: Matt Rehder, James Pollard
X-Factor: The weather forecast in Madison in late August
Biggest Game: July 11 vs Boston in a 2025 Championship game rematch
Expected Ceiling: UFA Champions
Expected Floor: Upset in Central Division title game
Indianapolis AlleyCats
There has been plenty of digital ink spilled already about the Indianapolis AlleyCats, and there is no reason to shy away from the excitement generated around the Crossroads of America. Coming from all different directions, Cam Brock, James Pollard, Jon Mast, Xavier Payne, William Wettengel, Elliot Hawkins, Jeremiah Branson, Isaiah Mason, Nate Little, Jake Felton, Max Squires, Kai Creed, Carter Hawkins, and Joe Cubitt will all make their AlleyCats return or debut this season. Bringing in a ton of new talent, the AlleyCats appear to have the inside track at a playoff spot — should all of their new players coalesce together well.
This is a new team-building approach for a squad with lots of ambition and realistic goals. New head coach Nate Bussberg is very grounded and knows that nothing will be handed to the team just because they signed a lot of talented players.
“We’re just going to have to keep building throughout the season,” Brock said, “to get a little bit better every week if we want to accomplish some of those bigger goals. I think we have a roster, talent wise, that definitely could go to Championship Weekend. But we have a lot of steps to do to get there. And of course, the biggest hurdle is that Goliath [Minnesota] that we have in our division.”
Key Additions: see above
Key Losses: none
X-Factor: Integrating so many new and travel players
Biggest Game: May 15 vs Minnesota, an early test for a team that might still be finding its footing
Expected Ceiling: Championship Weekend
Expected Floor: missing out on a playoff spot
Chicago Union
Though they lost a lot of talent (much of it to nearby Indy), there is still much to look forward to for the Chicago Union. The demise of Chicago is overblown. UFA all-time assist leader Pawel Janas returns alongside downfield playmaker John Lithio, who sat out last season with a knee injury. The Union reloaded with young players ready to make their splash in Max Devine, Charlie Vukovic, Cullen Baker, and Dylan Nice, who all could play their way into stardom. And the team returns several important contributors like Ben Preiss, Jake Rubin-Miller, Wilson Matthews, and Jack Shanahan.
While the Union might not reach the heights of their Championship Weekend teams of the past, the team will absolutely be competitive in the division, and could surprise the division favorites by the end of the season. Nobody on this Chicago team is ready to just cede the division to Minnesota simply because they won the division the last two years, but it will take an uphill battle to do what last year’s team could not and beat Minnesota when it matters.
And as an aside, for those who have not yet seen it, the Union are currently releasing a TV series about their 2025 season. The first episode is up for free on YouTube and is worth your time to watch.
Key Additions: John Lithio, Max Devine, Charlie Vukovic, Edgar Sumbi
Key Losses: Daan De Marrée, William Wettengel, Xavier Payne, Tim Schoch, Brandon Van Deusen, Jeff Gao, Jake Steslicki, Kyle Rutledge, Simon Dastrup
X-Factor: Finding the right roles for players with an increased workload
Biggest Game: July 17 at Madison, which could functionally be a playoff play-in game
Expected Ceiling: earning a playoff win
Expected Floor: missing out on a playoff spot
Madison Radicals
With Chicago’s anticipated step back, there might be room in the playoff picture for the Madison Radicals. Behind Eric Sjostrom, Kainoa Chun-Moy, and a returning Vic Luo, Madison has a pretty strong offensive backfield to get the disc to goal scoring machine Anthony Gutkowsky. Combined with a strong defensive structure (and excellent defenders like the returning Sterling Knoche, Luke Marks, Pieran Robert, and Mitchell McCarthy), the Radicals have a simple formula to win the games they should to put themselves in position to make the playoffs.
An underappreciated part of the Radicals overall success is their team infrastructure and set-up. With a coaching staff that goes back to the early days of the league and one of the best stadium atmospheres in ultimate overall, the Radicals have a lot of off-field contributions that benefit their on-field product. While such advantages are hard to quantify, they’re also impossible to ignore. It would not shock anyone if a favored Minnesota, Indianapolis, or Chicago team dropped a game at Breese Stevens Field, and that mystique combined with the talent on this team should be giving Radicals fans hope for their best season in recent memory.
Key Additions: Vic Luo
Key Losses: none
X-Factor: home field advantage
Biggest Game: June 18 vs Salt Lake, a rare out-of-division test for a team with a strong home field advantage
Expected Ceiling: playoff appearance
Expected Floor: missing out on a playoff spot
Pittsburgh Thunderbirds
Without Detroit in the division, wins will be hard to come by for the Pittsburgh Thunderbirds, who saw last season’s assist leader Jon Mast depart to Indianapolis. Veterans like Anson Reppermund, Will Hoffenkamp, and Clint McSherry should keep the team’s floor at a competitive level, while the promise of youngsters like Jude Schmiesing could impact the team’s ceiling.
Finding the right roles for the young players who are still developing their games will be a fun challenge for this coaching staff. While the Thunderbirds will not be favored for too many wins in 2026, they should be setting the foundation for the next generation of stars to bring Pittsburgh a playoff appearance in 2027 or 2028.
Key Additions: Jude Schmiesing, Clint McSherry (returning)
Key Losses: Jon Mast, Marcel Oliart
X-Factor: development of unproven players
Biggest Game: May 30 at Philadelphia, the Commonwealth Cup returns and will be the game that both the Thunderbirds and Phoenix care about the most this season
Expected Ceiling: five wins would be a big success
Expected Floor: suffering through a winless season
