Half of the regions will decide their representatives at the D-III College Championships this weekend!
April 23, 2026 by Josh Katz, Calvin Ciorba and Hunter Lang in Preview
Ultiworld’s coverage of the 2026 college ultimate 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.
There are few more exciting portions of the ultimate calendar than spring College Regionals. For some, these events will be the culmination of a season — or even college career — while for others it’s just another step on their path toward the D-III College Championships in just over a month. Count on plenty of dramatic action and unexpected results along the way as every team fights to ensure they fall into the latter group.
Five regions — half the division! — will take to the fields this weekend across the country to decide their representatives heading to Waukegan. We’ve got you covered on the storylines to watch.
Metro East
Score Reporter
Location: Batavia, NY
Number of Bids: 1
Expected Qualifier: No clue
In the Hunt: #23 Wesleyan Nietzsch Factor, #24 Ithaca Nawshus, Rochester Piggies, Central Connecticut State Yetis, Skidmore Wombats
Potential Spoilers: SUNY Cortland Team Rocket
Excitement Level: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
The Metro East may be one of the wildest regional tournaments in recent memory. In past seasons, the region has typically had clear favorites heading into the weekend, and those teams have taken care of business, with Rochester qualifying for the past three years and Wesleyan winning the bid last season. This year, though, it’s a complete toss-up with no obvious frontrunner. Let’s break down how we got here.
First of all, the weather on the East Coast this season was particularly snowy, leading to multiple tournament cancellations and fewer overall results. Rochester Piggies didn’t even reach ten games, while #23 Wesleyan Nietzsch Factor finished with exactly ten. Despite the limited sample size, Rochester still played fairly well while adjusting to life without David Leder. They only lost by one to a strong Georgetown team and beat every other D-III opponent they faced besides UNC Asheville. Wesleyan also dealt with heavy graduation and coaching turnover, but still put together a solid resume, including two wins over UNC Asheville and a victory over Brandeis, though they did drop a pair of games to Oberlin.
Everything went haywire at Conferences, however. Rochester dropped its first two games of pool play to Ithaca and Hamilton, sending them tumbling into the prequarters bracket and all the way down to the no.13 seed at the bottom of Pool A. That leaves the Piggies in a fascinating spot, as a pool win would suddenly put them right back into a favorable position heading into bracket play. If Rochester is going to make a run, it will be on the back of Cameron Lowe. Meanwhile, Wesleyan fell to Central Connecticut State in pool play, setting up a 9-8 semifinal loss to Skidmore. Nietzsch Factor now enters as the no.5 seed, and will need strong performances from Eli Fellus and Malen Cheung if they want to get back to Nationals.
The one, two, and three seeds are currently held by Skidmore Wombats, Ithaca Nawshus, and Central Connecticut State Yetis, respectively. While Skidmore holds the top spot, their best regular season win came against a mid-tier Amherst squad, and though a one-point win over Wesleyan gives the Wombats some credibility, it came in a low-scoring, windy game that leaves some doubt about their ability to win a full tournament.
#24 Ithaca, on the other hand, could be considered the favorite, finishing as the highest-ranked team in the algorithm and only behind Wesleyan in the Ultiworld rankings. With much of the roster playing club over the summer, Nawshus is making a serious push for the bid, led by difference-makers Jalen Bolton-Steiner and Fisher Griesel. Meanwhile, Central Connecticut State, a team that flew completely under the radar, has put together a 14-4 record and enters the weekend with a legitimate shot at Nationals, even if all of their games came against teams ranked 200 or lower in the algorithm.
With rain predicted in the forecast for Saturday, some interesting results could pop up. Expect the best to emerge by Sunday, however, as it will be sunny and low winds in New York. Who will win? That could be anyone’s best guess.
North Central
Score Reporter
Location: Des Moines, IA
Number of Bids: 3
Expected Qualifiers: #4 Carleton CHOP, #7 St. Olaf Berzerkers, #9 Maclester Flat Earth
In the Hunt: Wisconsin Eau Claire Eau Zone
Potential Spoilers: Minnesota Duluth Northern Lights, Michigan Tech DiscoTech
Excitement Level: 🔥🔥🔥
After a disastrous end to the 2025 regular season, when the North Central saw its second bid slip away, the region has come back with a vengeance in 2026, earning three bids. #4 Carleton CHOP, #7 St. Olaf Berzerkers, and #9 Macalester Flat Earth look to be the clear favorites heading into the weekend, but with a loaded field and high winds and rain predicted for Sunday in Des Moines, it’s shaping up to be a wild one.
The favorite once again is Carleton CHOP, who entered the season as heavy picks to make the National Championship game. Their season has largely lived up to the hype, with wins over Claremont and Colorado College among many others, and just four losses on the year. A 13-7 loss to Lewis & Clark and a universe point loss to non-qualifiers Richmond are somewhat puzzling, but overall their body of work has been strong. The bigger concern now is health, as star Nathan Wang is out for the season with a knee injury, and Dash Brenner could miss time after a bad concussion. Even so, CHOP handled St. Olaf 15-6 at Conferences, reinforcing their status as the team to beat. Handler Julian Kagi, along with cutters Danny Shope and Tomomi Perry, will need to step up in Des Moines and beyond.
St. Olaf was the last team to fall victim to the D-III curse1 after they won Nationals in 2024, but failed to qualify in 2025. After a great regular season, the Bezerkers have left little room for doubt they belong in Waukegan this year. Beating Macalester multiple times as well as formerly ranked D-I Chicago is a great way to prove they belong. On offense, this Northfield squad is led by Max Sponseller as the center handler and also relies heavily on the speed of Ian Westerberg. When things get rough, they will crossover star Jonas Geere from defense to right the ship. Expect to see the Zerks back at Nationals after this weekend.
The final bid-earning team is Macalester, who has been knocking on the door for the past few seasons behind superstar twins Kyle and Owen Suelflow. Flat Earth have finally put it together this year, taking care of business in the regular season thanks in part to the growth of sophomore Sanjeev Sridhar and standout freshman Julian Ricco. Their top wins include a victory over Whitman and a dominant showing against regional rival Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Still, there’s little room for error: Macalester only got past Minnesota Duluth by three in the second-place semis, a reminder that the margin is thin. Especially with their shallow roster, the stars will have to bring their best if they want to reach Nationals for the first time in program history.
The two teams with the best chance to steal a bid are the division’s newcomers, Wisconsin-Eau Claire Eau Zone and Minnesota-Duluth Northern Lights. Both programs previously exceeded the 7,500-student cutoff, but are now eligible for D-III under the new rule change. Eau Zone have struggled against the bid earners, going 0-4 against them, along with a 1-1 split with Duluth, but they are coming off a Conference Championship and remain the highest-ranked team outside the top three.
The Northern Lights find themselves in an interesting spot. Their regular season results were uneven, but they regain star Tommy Donahue for the Series after he missed most of the year with an injury. Donahue’s experience with Minneapolis Mallard could provide the boost Duluth needs to sneak into the bid-stealing range.
Again, with the weather looking pretty ugly on Sunday, anything could go. Any lucky bounce, drop, or catch will all have to be capitalized in this blood bath of a region where anyone could come out on top.
Ohio Valley
Score Reporter
Location: Allentown, PA
Number of Bids: 1
Expected Qualifier: #10 Franciscan Fatal
In the Hunt: #18 Kenyon SERF, #21 Oberlin Horsecows
Potential Spoilers: Haverford Big Donkey Ultimate
Excitement Level: 🔥🔥
It’s been over a decade since a team from outside the state of Ohio won the Ohio Valley, and that streak is unlikely to change in Allentown this weekend. The top three seeds all hail from the Buckeye State, each of whom has won the region once in the last three years, headlined by the longtime regional behemoth.
That behemoth, of course, are #10 Franciscan Fatal, who have won the region six times in the last ten seasons and are seeking their third straight Nationals appearance. The story for Fatal is a familiar one: Jude Schmiesing is going to touch the disc a lot, and frequently do very impressive things with it. He’s been one of the best handlers in the country ever since his breakout sophomore campaign. This year, he’s taken on a bit more of a hybrid role for the offense, acting as an initiating cutter and giving Justin Wallace and Andrew Carmody more run as handlers. In those three, Fatal have the disc skills and throwing ability needed to handle any defensive look. Joseph Duerr and Matthew Gregor can be counted on to step up with a timely block for the defense, and Schmiesing frequently crosses over as well to punch in break opportunities.2 Franciscan haven’t yet lost a game this season, and all signs point to that streak continuing this weekend.
If someone is to dethrone Franciscan, the most likely candidate are #18 Kenyon SERF, last year’s runner up. SERF were expected to take a step back this spring after some key graduations, but they’ve remained in a similar spot to previous editions: right on the edge of the bid picture. This year’s version came up just short of that second bid, making their path back to Nationals all the more difficult. If Kenyon is going to pull off the upset, it will likely come thanks to some heroics from Tobias Hughes. He’s easily Kenyon’s best player, an outstanding defender with enough throwing chops to effectively marshal an offense. There would also be some deep scores from Aidan Martin-Weinbaum, Nicky Forsyth doing a lot of little things right, and rookie Miles Ford playing some outstanding defense. But Franciscan’s 10-7 victory in the Ohio Conference final two weeks ago proved there’s a sizable gap that Kenyon will need to overcome to make their first Nationals trip since 2023.
The other possible spoiler are the #21 Oberlin Horsecows, who have a lesser record than Kenyon or Franciscan, but entered the Series far more battle tested than either team seeded above them. The Horsecows have, occasionally, flashed the potential of a Nationals team, like in their win over Richmond or playing Bowdoin within two at Easterns. But other results, such as a loss against Berry, too-close wins over Wesleyan, or their third place finish at Conferences, make it hard to envision the Horsecows playing with enough consistency to win the region. But a strong handler can make all the difference in D-III, and Oberlin has two of them in Ryan Ward and Jack Ryan. There’s currently some less-than-stellar weather in the forecast for Allentown this weekend, and the Ohio Valley may come down to which team handles it best. Oberlin’s experience at an extremely windy Easterns last month may prove quite useful if that happens.
South Central
Score Reporter
Location:
Number of Bids: 2
Expected Qualifier: #3 Oklahoma Christian Eagles, #13 Colorado College Wasabi
In the Hunt: #17 Colorado School of Mines Entropy
Potential Spoilers: Truman State JujiTSU
Excitement Level: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
No region has had more excitement at this time of year than the South Central. It’s been far and away the most upset-filled region in Division, and probably the sport as a whole. In 2023 and 2024, the reigning champion fell trying to make it through this gauntlet. Though the SC doesn’t boast a reigning national champion this season, with two bids up for grabs, there are certainly upsets to be had.
The presumed favorite in the region is a familiar one. #3 Oklahoma Christian Eagles have been a regular at Nationals and in the bracket — outside of their 2023 season, which kickstarted the D-III champions curse. This year’s Eagles team may be one of the most battle-tested teams in the Division. They played perhaps the most difficult schedule at Florida Warmup, more than holding their own against teams like Brown and Carleton, and holding late leads against Utah State and Tennessee. In a division where top talent rules, OC has one of the best duos in the country in Couper Kerns and Sammy Roberts. When games get close (and if past Regionals performances are any indication there will be close games), expect Kerns and Roberts to play both ways, using their big arms to lead OC back to Nationals.
The other bid earner is also a recent victim of the champions curse: #13 Colorado College Wasabi are looking to get back to Nationals for the first time since their dominant 2023 title run. Wasabi’s ceiling is clear: they knocked off reigning champs Lewis & Clark early in the season and have played universe games with Whitman and regional rival OC. But the question for CC is whether they’ll be healthy. With star handler Oliver van Linder hurt the past few years they’ve struggled, and with OvL battling more injuries this year, there have been some ups and downs. In his stead, Nico Martinez has established himself as one of D-III’s premier players. If Wasabi can win through the gauntlet that is the South Central on the strength of their defense and limit the number of close games they play, thus saving the legs of Martinez and van Linder, they should be able to get back to the promised land.
No region boasts as many potential bid stealers as the South Central. #17 Colorado School of Mines Entropy were one of the first teams outside strength bid range, and for much of the season, they looked poised to make the SC a three-bid region. A pair of universe losses to OC has Mines licking their chops thinking about a rematch; with the first two games being as close as they were, odds are high we’ll see another close one in the Sunday bracket. If Colorado School of Mines is going to make it back to Nationals for the first time since 2023, they’ll likely have to repeat that season’s regionals performance and finally pull off the upset over OC.
Also lurking in the shadows are Truman State JujiTSU, who performed well at Conferences against non-OC teams. Though they didn’t play very many high-level teams in the regular season, they’ve been known to cause issues in the bracket. Speaking of postseason performers, Missouri S&T Miner Threat doubled their season win total at Conferences. It’s been a tough year down in Rolla, Missouri, with Miner Threat graduating nearly their entire team from last year’s Nationals. But counting out Missouri S&T has led to bid-earners falling in years past, and teams with the pedigree of Miner Threat almost always up their game at Regionals.
Southeast
Score Reporter
Location: Milledgeville, GA
Number of Bids: 1
Expected Qualifier: #8 Ave Maria Gyrenes
In the Hunt: #15 Berry Bucks
Potential Spoilers: Embry-Riddle
Excitement Level: 🔥🔥
Since the creation of D-III, and probably since the start of time, only a sole member of this region has booked a spot D-III Nationals, and that trend continues this year. For the past six years, that team has been the Berry Bucks, who made Nationals for the first time in 2019 and managed to remain the dominant regional force since. But that’s changed this season, as #8 Ave Maria Gyrenes, fresh off a fifth place finish at D-I Southeast Regionals last season, has moved up to the People’s Division to try and be the first team from Florida to make D-III Nationals.
Ave Maria has had about as strange of a season as any D-III team in recent memory. Until they step foot on the field this weekend, they will not have played any D-III competition, nor have they traveled outside of their home state to play any sanctioned games. They also lost almost half their roster from last year, and despite it all, they finished with an above .500 record, knocking off teams like Georgia, Cornell, and Florida in the process. With a comparatively small roster, the Gyrenes pride themselves on being in great shape and are a threat to out-athelete most teams in the Division, let alone their region. Joe Drost and Sam Monastra are two of their standout athletes, while sophomore Rudy Arnold and freshman Thomas Carr handle large parts of the team’s throwing burden.
Standing between Gyrenes and their first trip to Nationals are the Berry Bucks. Heading into the season, Berry looked poised to earn a bid, with Florida Warmup a good opportunity to steal some algorithm points off D-I teams, and RCS and D-III Easterns serving as chances to score some out-of-region wins against D-III teams. But after a 9-12 regular season, it’s fair to say that Berry under-performed expectations, finishing well outside of bid-earning range. Berry does however have a couple of things going for them heading into what should be an easy path to the game to go against Ave Maria. First is an encouraging 14-12 loss to Middlebury at Easterns; with Ave Maria (and most teams in the country) not being nearly as good as the Pranksters, a close loss has to inspire confidence. Second is the fact that Mikey Curtis is probably the best player in the Southeast. The Bucks will need him to dominate on both sides of the ball in order to pull off the upset. Last but not least is the recent and relatively one-sided history between these two rivals, with Berry winning on universe in the game-to-go against Ave Maria in both 2023 and 2024. Will history repeat itself, or has Berry’s run at the top of the region come to an end?
Outside of Ave Maria and Berry, the Southeast has struggled for much of the year. The most intriguing of the group are Embry-Riddle Dirty Birds, who stacked up 15 wins on the season, though mostly against B-teams and lower level competition. Winning is contagious though, and perhaps Dirty Birds can put some of those pieces together and make a run. With losses to Georgia B and Northeastern B, however, that seems unlikely. Union Jaxx may also pose a challenge to the top two teams if they get hot. Last season, Jaxx were in the game-to-go (with Ave Maria absent) and played Berry to a tight 15-12. Though they lost a good chunk of their roster, reinforcements arrived on campus this fall, with freshmen Isaac Taylor and Andrew Skinner leading the charge. Without much experience (or wins) this season, Union may be a year or two away from making a serious challenge at a bid.
