D-I College Regionals 2026: Mega-Preview (Men’s Div.)

Combing through all the men's division storylines at this pivotal junction along the road to Nationals.

April 24, 2026 by Edward Stephens, Alex Rubin, Aidan Thomas, Matt Fazzalaro and Graham Gordon in Preview

Ultiworld’s coverage of the 2026 college ultimate season are 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.

This is it, folks. This is where the college season officially separates the wheat from the chaff as, over the course of the next two weekends, teams from across the continent compete for their place at Nationals. Between longstanding regional grudges, hopeful potential first-timers, elite teams getting one last live tune-up before the Big Dance, legacy programs trying to hold on, bumrushes at the door to Rockford in select crowded regions, and the sheer unpredictability of the division, it’s always one of the most lively times of the year.

Stick with us as we take you through all the top storylines in each of the ten regions.

Atlantic Coast

• Schedule & Results
• Location: Glen Allen, VA
• Number of Bids: 2
• Expected Qualifier: #4 UNC, #14 UNC Wilmington
• In the Hunt: NC State
• Potential Spoilers: Virginia, Georgetown, Maryland, Virginia Tech
• Excitement Level: 

The Wilmington Return

UNCW completed the nearly impossible first part of their two-step journey to returning to Nationals by earning a second bid after a very impressive 3-1 record on Saturday at Easterns, followed by a trio of “good-enough” losses in the top bracket on Sunday. Now can the Seamen do what they failed to do in 2024 and defend their bid? A lengthy list of challengers remains, but UNCW will have the best player on the field when not playing UNC (and arguably in that game as well) in Christian Belus and an assortment of great talent and depth pieces prepared to vault UNCW back to Nationals.

No Easy Path

NC State has beaten #9 Penn State. Georgetown went 17-4 in the regular season with a tournament win and a victory over #15 Georgia Tech. Maryland didn’t play a regular season game in March and then returned at Colonial Conferences to thrash Georgetown. They also lost respectably to #2 Carleton early in the year (13-9). Virginia pushed #11 Victoria and #22 British Columbia in tight contests. Virginia Tech toppled #21 Wisconsin. The pool of potential spoilers goes deep in the Atlantic Coast and could make this regional a thriller.

Postseason X-Factors

Josh Singleton (UNC) – Josh Singleton has emerged into a bona fide star and is a primary reason why UNC has remained in the top-five all season and emerged as the favorite to claim the fourth semifinalist spot at nationals after the big three. He should help UNC avoid any potential drama that occurs around that second bid.

Christian Belus (UNC Wilmington) – Bringing elite club experience (Ring of Fire) and UFA experience (Flyers) to the table, Belus has been the engine of the UNCW team this year. While he certainly has some talent around him, Belus is far and away the biggest reason the Seamen snatched a second bid out of thin air for the Atlantic Coast.

Henri Lessard (NC State) – NC State pushed UNC to double game point at the opening game of North Carolina Conferences. Lessard is a dynamic player on both sides of the disc, having cut his teeth on the D-line back in 2024 and emerging as one of Alpha’s most prominent playmakers in 2025. With an extra bid at play, he’ll hope to push Alpha back to Nationals.

Miles Grovic (Maryland) – He did this last weekend at Conferences. Not long ago, he was in the running for 2024 Catch of the Year. Grovic brings not only highlight reel plays, but also elite experience from both Washington DC Truck Stop and DC Breeze to a Maryland squad and, along with Isaac Lee, will try and engineer a stunning run at regionals for UMD.

Charlie Panarella (Georgetown) – A second-year player for the darkhorse, Justice, Panarella is a downfield nightmare for opposing defenses. After a strong rookie season, Panarella got great club reps with New York Blueprint and helped elevate Georgetown in 2026.

Great Lakes

• Schedule & Results
• Location: Grand Haven, MI
• Number of Bids: 1
• Expected Qualifier: #16 Michigan
• In the Hunt: Davenport
  
• Potential Spoilers: Chicago, Illinois
• Excitement Level: 

MagnUM Opus

Every year, #16 Michigan MagnUM coast their way through the regular season, content to equalize playing time and make sure every player on the roster gets the field time necessary to develop into the best player they can. That philosophy does not always equate to earning a lot of wins during the regular season (the team went 1-6 at Smoky Mountain Invite). But, every year when the postseason comes around, Michigan leans into their starpower and trusts that a season of growth among depth players will help carry them through Regionals all the way to the Nationals bracket.

In that sense, Regionals represents the peak of the team’s season, their Magnum opus so to speak. Similarly, with this the last season of Bartlett’s decorated career, this postseason has the potential to include his signature moment as he closes out a stellar college career.

In the Spirit of Competition

Davenport Panthers made headlines last season when head coach Mike Zaagman announced the team would move to D-I in 2026 in part because “we want better competition,” before flaming out in the semifinals at D-III Nationals. To their credit, Davenport followed through and chose the D-I route this season. They’ll certainly find more competition at Regionals, where they are underdogs to Michigan and will have to face a Chicago team to whom they lost at Queen City Tune Up in February. If Jake Felton, Kai Creed, Collin Hill, and company are up to the challenge, they could give Michigan a real scare, but there is also the possibility that they don’t even make the game-to-go. At least they’ll have faced better competition.

Postseason X-Factors

Aaron Bartlett (Michigan) – An All-American caliber player, Bartlett already has three club titles to his name and three trips to the College Nationals bracket. He doesn’t have anything left to prove, but he has a great chance to add more accomplishments to his growing list this season.

Kai Creed (Davenport) – Ultimate’s biggest influencer, Creed is also a very talented ultimate player. Coming into college as a stellar athlete, Creed’s throwing ability clearly improved over the offseason as he has been able to take a bigger role on offense and take some of the throwing pressure off of Jake Felton.

Xander Wilcox (Chicago) – The Duke transfer has transformed Chicago’s fortunes this season. A powerful thrower with a high ultimate IQ, Wilcox can create instant offense when needed and seems to be unphased by any kind of defensive pressure. It is not outrageous to think he could throw Chicago into the regional final.

Metro East

• Schedule & Results
• Location: Middletown, NY
• Number of Bids: 1
• Expected Qualifier: Ottawa
• In the Hunt: SUNY Binghamton, Yale, SUNY Buffalo
• Potential Spoilers: 
• Excitement Level:  

Canadian Invasion

For the last two seasons, an Ottawa team who had never played the USAU College Series before 2024 has easily taken the Metro East crown. Can they make it three in a row in 2026? They’ve had by far the most impressive regular season in the region, even as they only played one tournament in Easterns Qualifier. There they picked up wins against McGill and Maryland, losing only to Wisconsin. Even without Logan Keillor, they should still be the clear favorites over a crop of teams that have managed to be solid, but the best wins elsewhere in the region come over teams like Virginia Tech, William & Mary, and Emory — not all that impressive in terms of making a run for Nationals.

Battle for the Game-to-Go

If we presume that Ottawa are a write-in to play their way into the title game, it will be a mad scramble to figure out who earns the right to play their possible foil. It starts with two schools from the SUNY system in Western New York: Binghamton and Buffalo. Both schools had reasonable strong regular seasons with solid wins against out-of-region competition. Thomas Graham and Devin Hendricks will feature for Buffalo Green Eggs and Ham and James Pardo for Bing — more on him below. The other two most likely challengers might be from the Ivy League: Yale Süperfly and Cornell Buds. All four of these teams sit within 200 points of each other on projected-rankings, so these games really could go any way.

Postseason X-Factors

James Pardo (SUNY Binghamton) – As showcased in his recently dropped Callahan video, James Pardo is not only an athletically gifted monster on defense and while the disc is in the air, but also a well-rounded player who can spend most of a game in the backfield working the disc up the field. If Big Bear are to make a run at Regionals, he will have to take on a large load on both sides of the disc.

Maxime Ayad (Ottawa) – Ayad has been a cornerstone of the Gee-Gees roster for the last two years, launching terrifying pulls and making all of his teammates better with his deep bag of throws. Expect him to play a lot for Ottawa if any games are tight and throw plenty of hucks to their stable of athletic receivers.

Milo Rappoport (Cornell) – After Davith Chan graduated, someone had to step up and fill his huge role for the Buds. Although a different archetype of player, Milo Rappoport is certainly someone who’s made some of that impact. As a dogged deep threat with incredible hands who can sky most anyone, his athleticism and consistency could keep Cornell in any game at Regionals.

New England

• Schedule & Results
• Location: South Portland, ME
• Number of Bids: 3
• Expected Qualifiers: #8 Massachusetts, #10 Brown, #17 Vermont
• Potential Spoilers: McGill, Tufts, Northeastern
• Excitement Level: 

The New England Standoff

Every year New England D-I Men’s Regionals lights up on the college calendar like a Times Square marquee: it’s our sport’s Royal Rumble. There are never fewer than four Nationals-quality teams in the mix, and within that group there is rarely a reliable pecking order. For instance, here’s a question: can you say with any confidence which team will win the region in 2026? You can’t, and neither can I. The lines separating Brown, UMass, and Vermont are just too blurry.

Brown has been the most consistent of the three teams this spring, plugging along right at about a top-10 level all year after they narrowly missed Nationals a year ago. The rise of Karl Hokkanen and Owen Erdman on the O-line have let their other top players (Jason Tapper, Eli Chang, Nolan McCloskey) breathe a little, and the overall effect is another stacked BMo unit playing classic BMo Ultimate.

It has been enough, at times, to put away an immensely talented Zoodisc side who have dealt with far more than their share of bad luck.¹ Gavin Abrahamsson and Caelan McSweeney and Jonah Stang-Osborne and Roan Dunkerley and Ethan Lieman and half a dozen other players are among the finest in the country – if they don’t all have the flu (like they did at Smoky Mountain Invite) and if their airline doesn’t turn into a pumpkin at the last minute stranding the team (like it did on the way to Easterns). They have not gotten adequate competitive reps because of it, and it could lower their ceiling as a result – or, given the short drive up to Maine, they could just blast everyone out of the water.

Vermont Chill are the wildcard school here. At their best (and healthiest) they’ve got a deeper team than both UMass and Brown. They also have a comparable top end… when Casey Thornton and Declan Kervick and Dominic Chiodi are healthy, which has not always been the case this spring. The capability to win their first regional title is fully present in this group, though, especially since players like Seamus Dailey and Walter Hipps have had to leap into major roles while filling in for other starters.

For now, this one is too close to call.

Pick Off the Straggler

The favorites are the favorites for a reason, but if one of them starts to have a bad weekend, at least three other squads are capable of striking them while they’re dazed and stealing a win. Northeastern boasts a quartet in Jimmy Beckman, Ciaran Pratley, Skyler Davidman, and Ben Saterbak who have proven more than a handful of years together.

Tufts has major playmakers in Eliav Malone and several point-carrying figures: Wilson Wu, Tucker Livingston, Ram Sundaram. Neither Tufts nor Northeastern really put it together in a convincing way during the regular season, but better late than never.

McGill is an interesting prospect, too, as the team once again rides the play (and ambitions) of Aidan McKibben and Kai O’Donnell into regionals. They are likely the longest shot of the three.

Postseason X-Factors

Owen Erdman (Brown) – Erdman has been a revelation in his rookie season, flashing versatility, reliability, plenty of flinty instinct as part of the latest iteration of the BMo machine. He is seriously contending for Rookie of the Year. The best part of watching him play is seeing the opposing defensive matchup flummoxed when he inevitably does whatever they weren’t prepared for.

Seamus Dailey (Vermont) – Older teammates Thornton and Kervick have been heroic for many more years, and Chiodi can be the flashpoint of the offense, but the biggest reason for Vermont’s general success this season might be the way Dailey has transformed himself from just being a competent player to a big game beast. Look for him on either end of plenty of Chill mid-range goals, that’s where he seems to excel.

Gavin Abrahamsson (UMass) – Abrahamsson has been a major figure on the end of big plays (both offense and defense) for his entire UMass career. In 2026, he has started to take control from the backfield a little more often – not all the time, but a noticeable amount of the time. It has made him harder to game plan for and even more trustworthy in a big spot, and it will likely be one of the key reasons if Zoodisc capture the region again.

Ram Sundaram (Tufts) – The transfer has his fingerprints seemingly all over every match for Tufts this spring. Between elite club experience with Boston Slow and number one option experience at his less competitive previous school Boston University, he has gone through the recipe book to make a brilliant college athlete. Sundaram could end up being the driving force behind a thrilling upset on Sunday.

North Central

• Schedule & Results
• Location: Des Moines, IA
• Number of Bids: 1
• Expected Qualifiers: #2 Carleton
• In the Hunt: #21 Wisconsin, #24 Minnesota
• Potential Spoilers: Iowa State
• Excitement Level: 

It’s Happened Before

Defending Nationals champions #2 Carleton CUT are the favorites here. There are no qualifications needed: it is clear that CUT are the most talented team in the tournament and they’ll be among the favorites to win Nationals should they advance. Carleton was likewise favored to advance in 2019 (when Wisconsin beat CUT in the game-to-go) and 2015 (when Wisconsin beat CUT in the game-to-go). Obviously those were different teams in different circumstances, but it’s happened before so it is a possibility to happen again. CUT still need to bring their best even as heavy favorites if they’re to advance to the next stage of the post season.

Semifinal Showdown

For the presumed right to try and upset Carleton, longtime rivals #21 Wisconsin Hodags and #24 Minnesota Men’s Club Ultimate are set up to meet in the semifinal round. This season, Wisconsin has looked to be the stronger outfit, nearly coming away with a second strength bid for the region. The Hodags are 24-8 this season with a tournament win at Easterns Qualifier and wins over #15 Georgia Tech Tribe and #19 Western Washington DIRT. Minnesota is only 16-8 and without a win over a ranked team this season.

Postseason X-Factors

Nate De Morgan (Carleton) – The sophomore star is one of the most potent throwers in the division and seems to be good for a clutch block or two per game. His intelligent two-way play makes life easier for his teammates and makes CUT a legitimate threat to score from anywhere while De Morgan is on the field

Graeme Alexander (Wisconsin) – The veteran Hodag leader has spent much of this season piloting the Wisconsin D-line. With the poise needed to maneuver the team in for breaks, Alexander is pivotal to Wisconsin’s success this season. An adept thrower, Alexander can break the best marks, launch accurate hucks, and find a way to get the disc where it needs to go no matter the conditions.

Eric Crosby Lehmann (Minnesota) – The St. Olaf graduate transfer adds a much needed dose of veteran know-how to an otherwise pretty young team. The 2024 D-III champion will not be phased by anything at North Central Regionals and can help pilot Minnesota through the trials ahead.

Gabe Schoepke (Iowa State) – The no.4 seed at Regionals, Iowa State are not favored to make too much noise this weekend. But, if seeds hold they’ll get a shot at CUT in the bracket, and go look up 2019 Regionals if you want to see what that result could look like. Schoepke has some high level club experience with Chicago Haymaker and UFA experience with the Chicago Union and is the kind of all-around playmaker who can positively impact a game all over the field. If Iowa State gets anywhere close to accomplishing the impossible, Schoepke will be a big reason why.

Northwest

• Schedule & Results
• Location: Burlington, WA
• Number of Bids: 5
• Expected Qualifiers: #3 Oregon, #7 Oregon State, #11 Victoria, #19 Western Washington, #22 British Columbia
• In the Hunt: #23 Washington, Utah
• Potential Spoilers: #25 Utah Valley
• Excitement Level: 

Your Favorite Darkhorse’s Favorite Darkhorse

It feels like 2025 again. The Northwest should be the home of so much regionals drama a year after no.9 seed Utah stole a bid, as did no.6 Western Washington, with both teams making bracket play at Nationals. Both of those teams are back this year. Utah is again a major darkhorse as the eighth seed. Western Washington is a favorite if you go by our power rankings (fourth in the Northwest), but not by Regionals’ seeding (no.6 again). So last year’s most prominent bid-stealers could technically steal bids once more. Beyond those two squads, Utah Valley will also try and steal a bid, but they’re likely considered a much longer shot than the two teams that have already done it.

The Second-Place Prequarterfinals

3:00 p.m. PT on Saturday of Northwest Regionals is potentially a make or break moment. The second-place teams in each pool will play each other, with the losers dropping to the game to go bracket, needing three straight wins on Sunday, while the winners earn the right to play in a game-to-go to start the next day, with the flexibility to take a loss and still work their way through the backdoor bracket.

If things go to seed, that would be Washington vs. Utah and Utah Valley vs. Western Washington with monumental consequences on Saturday afternoon. Could any of those teams spring a pool play upset and force Oregon (probably not), Oregon State, Victoria, or British Columbia into this game? With eight teams that can play at a Nationals-caliber level, earning yourself the largest margin of error is pivotal.

Postseason X-Factors

Elijah Diamond (Western Washington) – It’s not whether he’ll make a difference, it’s whether he’s healthy. We saw at Easterns how bad the drop off is for Western Washington without Diamond. In this cutthroat region, they need their best player.

Will Selfridge (Utah) – The Salt Lake Shred star dragged Utah Zion Curtain along for the ride last year and put up jaw-dropping statistical numbers at Nationals as Utah’s go-to guy. Their Rockford hopes once again ride on Selfridge.

Mica Glass (Oregon) – Keep an eye on how often Glass plays in meaningful games. In an ideal world, Oregon will have wrapped up their bid by Saturday afternoon and play just four total games en route to Nationals. They should clean house in their pool (but they do have to beat Utah), leaving them a semifinal in the first-place bracket to clinch their Nationals bid and the regional final on Sunday morning. Glass’s health is a question mark and greatly affects Ego’s ceiling. They may not need him to advance, but his health is a major storyline.

Max Pettenuzzo (Victoria) – Pettenuzzo is comparable to UNCW’s Christian Belus in his ability to impact a team that is largely not a top-10 quality team by their roster depth and elevate them into that conversation. Victoria dropped the game-to-go last year and will lean on Pettenuzzo to avoid a repeat of that heartbreak.

Felix Moren (Oregon State) – Moren has been the guy for Oregon State (along with hefty contributions from his co-star Callahan Bosworth). Despite being the second seed in the region, the Beavers have shown dips, with losses to Victoria and Western Washington, and they need Moren to be every bit the national teamer he’s been to avoid some unnecessarily stressful situations in Burlington.

Ohio Valley

• Schedule & Results
• Location: Leesport, PA
• Number of Bids: 2
• Expected Qualifier: #9 Penn State, #12 Pittsburgh
• In the Hunt: Ohio State
• Potential Spoilers: Cincinnati
• Excitement Level: 

The Boys are Back in Town

There was plenty of fuss over Pitt’s demise last year, as they failed to make Nationals for the first time in twenty years in a one-bid Ohio Valley. With two bids on the line this year, there is far less intrigue heading into Regionals. Barring a catastrophe, Pitt will be returning to Nationals this spring. A key reason for their resurgence? The play of Micah Davis, who missed much of last season with a knee injury. With him controlling the pace of the offense, Pitt has looked like a clear-cut Nationals team this spring (albeit with some inconsistency that makes it hard to pin down how far they’ll go at Nationals). And with two wins over Penn State already this season, including one at Conferences, En Sabah Nur are the favorites to win the region outright.

Penn State Pushback

It’s safe to say that the Ohio Valley is one of the least intriguing regions this year. Who’s getting the bids is likely little more than a formality, but there is some interest in who comes out on top in the region. Penn State is the reigning champs and ranked higher in our Power Rankings, but as previously mentioned, is 0-2 against Pitt this year. For Spank, Doug Hoyer and Logan Piercy are two of the best two-way players in the region, and rookies Becker Joseph and Nolan McClintic have hardly looked like youngsters throughout their impressive debut seasons. As is the case for Pitt, everything but the final should be smooth sailing for Penn State at Regionals.

Postseason X-Factors

Ezra Beidler-Shenk (Pittsburgh) – Beidler-Shenk has made an immediate impact on Pittsburgh’s offense as an elite supporting player to Micah Davis’ brilliance. Although frankly, calling him a supporting player undersells his impact. In a loaded rookie class in region and across the country, don’t be surprised if Beidler-Shenk rises to the top when the season ends.

Drew Loughnane (Penn State) – The Dartmouth transfer has returned home (sort of) for a graduate season and made a seamless transition up to the highest levels of college ultimate, fitting in perfectly as yet another two-way stalwart for Spank. His defensive impact, both in his matchup defense and in his pulls, has been especially notable.

Will Wettengel (Cincinnati) – Wettengel has already proven himself as one of the best defenders in the world with his play for Chicago Machine in Club. He’s miscast, though, as the best player on Cincy, and it would take a Herculean defensive effort from him to get the Bearcats to Nationals. Multiple Callahans is probably the minimum required to get it done.

South Central

• Schedule & Results
• Location: Colorado Springs, CO
• Number of Bids: 2
• Expected Qualifiers: #1 Colorado, #13 Texas
• In the Hunt: Colorado State, WashU
• Potential Spoilers: Texas A&M
• Excitement Level: 

Dominant Mamabird

With the exception of an extremely windy loss to Oregon at Presidents’ Day Invite, Colorado have had, without question, the most dominant regular season in the division, winning both Smoky Mountain Invite and Easterns in strong fashion. Tobias Brooks continues to be one of the best players in the division, Zeke Thoreson has discovered an unreal throwing talent, and the ascendance of Elliott Hawkins from rookie shot-taker to lead offensive complement has been one to behold. Finn McKenzie’s emergence as a stud goal-scorer as a rookie has also bolstered their offensive attack, whose balance is awe-inducing — anyone can do anything at any point. Don’t expect them to have more than 10 goals scored on them in any game at Regionals.

Texas Tougher

Texas remains a similar caliber of team that they have been for the past two years after Zach Slayton and Matt Chambers graduated — good, definitely bid-earning, able to win some games, but on the borderline of bracket-making. This year, on paper, should be a year that they’re able to put it all together. It’s the last year of eligibility for stalwarts Xavier Fuzat, Aaron Barcio, and Jake Worthington, they have gotten strong contributions from underclassmen Owen Smith, Owen Johnson, and Mitchell Blaha, and Cullen Baker has returned home for grad school. This roster is strong top to bottom, and Regionals will be a great test for them. Can they hang tight or upset Colorado? Will they thoroughly dispatch all bid-stealing challengers? Doing either or both should jumpstart their confidence heading into Nationals, if they can get there.

Postseason X-Factors

Tucker Kalmus (Colorado) – One of the biggest reasons for Mamabird’s continued success this season has been the move of Tucker Kalmus (as well as Nanda Min-Fink) to the D-Line. Kalmus’ ability to move the disc quickly to generate offense as well as stretch the field when things are static have made worlds of difference for a Mamabird counterattack that really struggled without crossovers last year.

Owen Johnson (Texas) – As a rookie, Johnson’s height, speed, and ability to cut deep with effective timing has done wonders for TUFF’s offense. In addition to catching a million deep goals early in the season, opposing defenses having to adjust to his gravity has also opened up much more space underneath, not only for him, but for teammates Xavier Fuzat and Jake Worthington.

Mark Henke (Texas A&M) – Since his rookie year in 2024, Henke (yes, of that family) has been touted as one of the best players in the country on a team that doesn’t get much attention. Both parts of that statement continue to be true, as Dozen unfortunately have not returned to being a likely contender for Nationals, but Henke has continued to be an incredibly dynamic player, using his 6’3’’ frame and throwing acumen to frequently go every-other and score points for A&M basically all by himself. Can he take over a game at Regionals to secure an upset (or multiple)?

Dexter Luecke (Colorado State) – A transfer from Colorado and former D-Line stalwart for Mamabird, Luecke comes into his second year playing for Hibida with experience playing at Club Nationals for Johnny Bravo. Last year, he was very effective as a two-way player for Colorado State, joining Tim Elliott to form one of the best one-two punches in the region.

Southeast

• Schedule & Results
• Location: Decatur, AL
• Number of Bids: 1
• Expected Qualifiers: #15 Georgia Tech
• In the Hunt: N/A
• Potential Spoilers: Tulane, Tennessee
• Excitement Level: 

Tribe’s Quest

Georgia Tech Tribe have been waiting for this moment – their return to Nationals – for more than a decade, and the red carpet has been rolled out for them to stroll through Southeast Regionals. Then again, Tribe’s season has not exactly been smooth sailing. They had a disastrous debut at Florida Warm Up, rebounded well at Smoky Mountain Invite, and finished with middling results at Easterns. Conferences results are always fickle, but Tech’s were dominant: a 4-0 record with all wins by five goals or more. Perhaps they’re peaking at the right time. But until Sunday night comes around with Tribe on top, you’d be forgiven for listening to that little voice in the back of your head wondering whether or not you can fully trust Georgia Tech.

Closing the Gap

Georgia Tech’s status as the overwhelming favorite is more of a commentary on the quality of the Southeast than their own results. The most interesting matchup of the weekend is, frankly, who finishes second in the region. Tulane Tucks and Tennessee Prohibition are the no.2 and no.3 seeds, respectively, but the duo have combined for just one win over a ranked opponent this season (Tennessee’s upset victory over Vermont at SMI) and frankly haven’t looked like a threat to make Nationals at any point. Behind them are Emory Juice, who are 0-3 against Tennessee this season, and Georgia Jojah, who have suffered through one of the most injury-riddled seasons we’ve seen in quite some time.

Postseason X-Factors

Sam Grossberg (Georgia Tech) – The younger Grossberg has blossomed into a true star in his sophomore year. Armed with a dazzling array of throws, supreme athleticism, and a burgeoning confidence befitting his many talents, Sam makes his impact felt on every game and, usually, every point he plays.

JT Atema (Tennessee) – Tennessee’s clearest path to stealing a Nationals bid involves their offense becoming unbreakable for a weekend. Atema, as the center handler and heartbeat of the line, will play a huge role in whether that path becomes a reality. His range of throws and poise in the backfield are a key reason for Tennessee’s rise over the last few years.

Southwest

• Schedule & Results
• Location: Bakersfield, CA
• Number of Bids: 2
• Expected Qualifiers: #5 UC Santa Cruz, #6 Cal Poly SLO
  
• In the Hunt: #18 UCLA, #20 California
  
• Potential Spoilers: Stanford, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara
• Excitement Level: 

Cal Poly SLO’s Title Streak Under Threat

Southwest Regionals has been little more than a training ground for Cal Poly’s Memorial Day Weekend bracket run for a grand total of six seasons. In that time span they have won every Southwest Regional tournament (only giving up double-digit points in the final on two occasions) and reached quarters or better at Nationals every year. But a poor start to 2026 – including an unthinkable loss to Stanford – combined with a very polished UC Santa Cruz has everything wondering if the change that has long been at the distant horizon has finally arrived. Are ‘CORE going to be able to withstand the audacity and discipline of this year’s Slugs?

Anton Orme, playing the best ultimate of his college career, is a great foundation for keeping the streak going. He’s surrounded by a lot of other worthy role players, but fewer outright stars than in years past. Behind his lead, the team have surged in the late spring to reach their customary spot well inside the country’s top 10. UC Santa Cruz has Orme’s near-equal in Toby Warren though, and several more A-listers besides: Cole Mires, Milan Moslehi, Gabriel Schwartz-Ketchner, and Selim Jones are all having astonishing campaigns. What they lack (as they know all too well) is the pedigree and institutional knowledge that comes from consistent excellence. It feels like a fair fight, and it will be a joy to watch two phenomenal squads duke it out, should they meet in the final as expected.

Here There Be Monsters

As good as Slugs and ‘CORE have been, though, they still need to worry about more than just each other. There are at least two other programs with enough pop to topple the kings, UCLA and Cal. Let’s start with UCLA, the hard luck Southwesterners who have been a microfiber away from Nationals basically every year since the COVID return. Will that frustration boil over into a win in a game-to-go? Third-year Loic Billaut has been leaving a trail of broken ankle across the Western US in 2026, and super-senior Marshall Wildmann fits in like a dream on the D-line. Whether you think they have more upset potential than regular qualifiers Cal, though, depends on how much you feel Carter Lankford, Mitchell Gibson and Ridge Huang can carry. That trio have been downright unguardable at times this spring, even against the best competition.

Both of these programs have real upset potential, so don’t get too comfortable with your picks if you went with the favorites.

Postseason X-Factors

Carter Lankford (California) – Lankford is in the conversation for being the most improved player of 2026. A summer and fall with former teammate Dexter Clyburn getting a championship as part of San Francisco Revolver seems to have been the boost he needed to go from being an uber-capable role player to a superstar. He will be the best receiver at the tournament, and he’s likely to do a whole lot more than just catch jumpballs.

Henry Garcia (Cal Poly SLO) – With Anton Orme pulling a heavy load on the O-line and needing to rest, the task of running D-line possessions has fallen to precocious rookie Henry Garcia. Based on how often the lefty leads that line to the end zone, he’s the real deal and more. Cal Poly’s Nationals return might well hinge on his continued level of contribution.

Selim Jones (UC Santa Cruz) – The Slugs have been a fairly egalitarian unit in 2026: no one player stands out as the main force, not even star Warren. Despite that, it has been impossible not to be awed by Jones’ throwing poise. Somehow he meets high-difficulty execution without falling into decision-making traps – and it makes everyone else on the O-line’s job a hell of a lot easier.

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1. Author’s query: which Zoo player did a terrible deed in a past life and is reaping all of that bad karma this frisbee season? ↩