Recognizing the next seven top performers of the 2026 season.
June 12, 2026 by Theresa Diffendal, Zack Davis, TJ Lee and Keith Raynor in Awards
Each year, Ultiworld presents our annual College Awards. Our staff evaluates the individual performances of players from throughout the season, talking to folks around college ultimate, watching film, and look at statistics, voting upon the awards to decide those to be honored. The regular season and the college Series are both considered, with extra emphasis for performances in the competitive and high-stakes environment at Nationals.
Our All-American teams recognize the top seven and next seven players who had the best seasons.
- All-American First Team
- Player of the Year
- All-American Second Team
- Offensive Player of the Year Award
- Defensive Player of the Year Award
- Rookie of the Year Award
- Breakout Player of the Year Award
- Coaches of the Year Award
- Full Awards Voting Breakdown
D-III Women’s All-American Second Team
Elleythea Smith (Davenport)
All year Davenport proved they could compete with the rest of the nation, but it wasn’t until Nationals that Elleythea Smith was able to show just how much impact she had for the Panthers. Smith led the team in goals and blocks, all with a very impressive level of possessing the disc by only having 13 turns. But her layout blocks were what really made her stand out as a threat on the field.
Scout Noble (Wesleyan)
The main offensive driver for Vicious Circles, Noble could always be relied upon to bail out a high-stall situation with a jab upline for power position, from which she launched the lion’s share of the team’s hucks. A high turnover count is simply a mark of the responsibility the team asked of her, and even then Noble was able to employ her speed to great effect on defense: unofficial numbers show she led Wesleyan in blocks for the season by a wide-margin.
Amy Li (Middlebury)
For the second straight season, a first year player has found their way to the division’s All-American list, but you’d be forgiven for not knowing Li was a rookie until now. Coming from outside of the North American youth system might have obscured her skills initially, but it took only a point or two of watching her explosive movements, confident throwing, and hard-nosed defense to realize this was a baller with a bright future.
Erica Collin (Haverford/Bryn Mawr)
Collin has a palpable passion for the game and oozes swag. Her energy is contagious and is a propellant for the Sneetches. On top of the intangibles are plenty of tangibles. Collin is excellent with the disc, delivering buttery backhands and sharp flicks. The real ability is in the deep space, working in perfect sync with teammate Rufus Helmreich to deny anything deep.
Sofia Canoutas-Nadel (Wesleyan)
A consistent threat as the mark, Canoutas-Nadel’s pressure on throwers not only earned herself hand blocks throughout the year, but also opened the door for other teammates to attack less well-executed throws. While this effort is not always shown on the statline, her seven blocks at Nationals more than makes up for the lack of flashy play that allows others to stand out.
Maddy Brown (Carleton)
The most likely player in the division to leave a defender touching earth, Brown’s quickness and footwork made her one player a defender wouldn’t want to be their lone companion on an island; that relationship was sure to wind up separated in short order. With equal parts skill and effort, Brown was highly effective on both sides of the disc, but at her best keying the Eclipse attack and helping them push the pace to their preferred tempo.
Presten Berg (Lewis & Clark)
Death, taxes, and Presten Berg making crazy layout plays. The Lewis and Clark senior bounced back from early season injury to lead Artemis to not just Nationals, but another seed breaking run into the bracket. Her biggest contribution came in the game-to-go to prequarters, where she put up a 2G/1A/5B/2T statline en route to beating Kenyon. And her 14 blocks on the weekend proves that her runner-up block of the year was not just a fluke.
