2018 was early in Ben's GM career, and at the end of his playing career. He had driven to and from a loss in Madison. Feldman had been on the team when they played in front of a few dozen people during their inaugural season, a season in which they lost 29-9 to the Indy Alleycats and 28-13 to the Chicago Union on their way to going 4-8. Five years later, he was driving the team van. Ten years later, he was Head Coach of a Wind Chill team that played in front of 2,000 screaming fans at the Minnesota Vikings practice facility on Championship Weekend. But even that sublime moment had its downside. Literally a second away from advancing the championship game, the Wind Chill surrendered one of the most unlikely Hail Marys in UFA history to send the game into overtime, losing in OT. The storybook ending was not to be.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All of 'em. We putting belt-to-ass all season long! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After four straight trips to the finals and three titles, the 2024 New York Empire lost Jeff Babbit and Ryan Osgar—the two previous MVPs—and missed Championship Weekend for the first time since 2017. Last season's Empire had to overcome a very unique problem: could a team designed around always having 6 or 7 best players on the field succeed if they only had 4 or 5 of the best players on the field.

 

The answer… not really. They had big wins against out of division opponents Utah and Minnesota, but were swept by DC, were stomped by the Atlanta Hustle, and lost a key Boston contest which eventually dropped them to the three seed. That put their playoff game in Boston and not New York, and they fell to the Glory in the playoffs. Wins against Philadelphia and Canada—teams they beat annually—aside, the Empire were as far from their championship form as they could have been.

 

That may be changing, as the Empire have announced 5 key additions to this year's squad in the form of Dmitry Suvorov, Everest Shapiro, Calvin Brown, Oliver Fay, and former MVP candidate (and my pick for the 2019 MVP) Max Sheppard. Two of these players, Suvorov and Sheppard, are slated for O-line. While the Empire offense does not necessarily need improvement—they were second in the league in OLC% in 2024—it does allow them to weather the loss of Elliot Chartock, and lets them shift Ben Jagt back to defense, his second home for the ‘22 and ‘23 seasons. It also lets John Randolph focus more on defensive assignments, as the “break in case of emergency” do-it-all hero found himself having to do it all slightly more than New York likely wanted in 2024. 
 

Sheppard will likely take over duties from the departed Ethan Fortin (signed with Boston) and fill the void left by Elliot Chartock, while Suvorov fits nicely into the Charles Weinberg role. Everest Shapiro accomplishes being a very tall, high powered offensive weapon that fits snugly alongside the rest of the Empire offense. Shapiro will need to tighten up his handle however, particularly if New York plans to play him alongside Jagt. Lithio and Babbitt, the other big men who played alongside Jagt in the New York offense, had a 95% and 97% completion rate respectively, while Shapiro hovers closer to 92%. (Jagt is a notoriously erratic thrower, preferring big shots over consistent completions, and last season was his first year completing greater than 91% of his pass attempts in New York. The gap between a 91% and 95% player is enormous when trying to build an offensive line).

 

More important is the infusion of youth and firepower this brings to the defense. Fay, Shapiro, Brown, and Sheppard are all excellent defensive options, and allow for a larger variety of lineup configurations than New York had last season. Moreover, it will bring much more offensive consistency to the defensive side of the disc. With the Drost’s announcing their retirement—twins Mike and Ryan are the only players in league history with 200 or more blocks—the defense desperately needs said infusion. There is no denying that the Drosts have absorbed an outrageous amount of space on the Empire D-line. Mike has played the 2nd most games in league history, and Ryan is 7th. With their retirement, Marques Brownlee is now the only remaining player from the 2019 Championship defense who played more than four games that season.

 

The Empire did not bring in someone to guard handler motion, so they may still struggle to generate turns against teams like DC, but in single game settings New York outclasses the Canada teams and Philadelphia. They are also playing their easiest schedule since 2017, as their extra away game in Vegas should prove easier competition than their out-of-division slate in recent memory. Where do I have them finishing in 2025? You'll have to read the April edition of the UFO to find out, as Johnny and I will be breaking down our rankings for each division. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keenan Plew, Indianapolis 2013
Justin Allen, Carolina, 2015
Isaiah Masek-Kelly, Toronto, 2016
Ben Jagt, New York, 2019
Max Shappard, Pittsburgh, 2019
Leandro Marx, Oregon, 2022

 

 

 

It's our “On the Move” edition of Fun With Numbers. We took a look at the numbers of some players who made big moves this off-season. 

 

1 - Number of players who have 75+ assists, 95+ goals, and 35+ blocks combined over the past three seasons; that would be James Pollard, who just moved from the Phoenix to the Wind Chill this offseason.

 

1 - Players shorter than 5’7” Dima Suvorov who scored more goals than he did in 2024 (5’6” Anders Juengst, who scored 34 to Dima’s 26). Dima moves north from Philly to New York this season. 

 

8 - Games Ethan Fortin played with Boston in 2021. He’s returning to the Glory after three seasons with New York. 

 

14 - Assists Tobias Brooks had in the 2024 post-season to lead all players. He flies from Carolina to the Summit of Colorado this year. 

 

16 - Assists Khalif el-Salaam had in his first stint with San Diego, in 2021. He heads back to San Diego after recording 55 assists the past two seasons with Seattle. 

 

22 - Players who had 10+ assists, 10+ goals, and 10+ blocks in 2024. Four of them (Everest Shapiro, James Pollard, Alec Wilson Holliday, and Tobe Decrane) are moving to new teams in 2025. 

 

52 - Assists by Tobe Decraene in 2024, 3rd in the UFA. He’s moving from Montreal to Boston. 

 

104 - Scores by Mark Lloyd in 2014, his last full season in the league. He finished second in scoring that year to Derek Fenton of the Vancouver Riptide. He returns to Toronto this season. 

 

119 - Combined 2024 scores of Alec Wilson Holiday and Sean Connole, both of whom were signed by Atlanta this offseason

 

323 - Difference in career scores between #1 on the Pittsburgh Thunderbirds (Max Sheppard with 589) and #2 (Jimmy Towle with 266). Sheppard is headed to New York this season. 

 

1019 - combined goals scored between Matt Smith (who retired from Atlanta this offseason) and Cam Brock (who Atlanta signed this offseason). 

 

 

The UFA is decades away from having the kind of data we get in other big deal sports. Football, basketball, and especially baseball are all able to leverage numbers in a way frisbee simply does not have access to currently. There are several facets of the game that, with more money and better tracking technology, would yield very interesting information. A map of player release points on throws would be huge for defenses, as would any individual defensive player tracking data beyond “blocks”. 

 

Individual statistics fail to go beyond the counting numbers, but we lack so much data in that department (and I lack so much math expertise), that it is difficult to do much to change that at the moment. However, there are two team statistics that are extremely indicative of overall team success. But before digging into the operative term break in this piece, some context: the terms hold and break in ultimate come from tennis. As in tennis—where the server is expected to score—in ultimate the offense is expected to score. So that’s why you get the term “hold”, which means your offense effectively held serve, and “break”, which means that your defense broke serve.

 

Our first important team stat is Break Percentage (BRK%), or the number of defensive line scores divided by defensive line points. That means each time the defense pulls the disc, how likely are they to get a turnover and score, versus giving up a goal to the offense, or getting a turnover and then turning the disc back over themselves. Last year, the Madison Radicals led the league in BRK% with 39.2%. That means that 39.2% of the time that their defense took the field, it scored. 

 

The top 12 teams in BRK% last season made the playoffs. 11 of the top 12 teams in BRK% made the playoffs in 2023. Since 2014, the first year BRK% was tracked, 92% of teams in the top 12 of BRK% have made the playoffs, and only one team, the 2017 Tampa Bay Cannons, have ever made the playoffs with a BRK% below 27%.

 

For offenses, the most important number is the OLC%, or the likelihood that your team will score on an offensive possession without turning the disc over. The OLC%, like BRK%, is a great indicator of success…last season, the 12 playoff teams were all top 15 in OLC%. In 2023, the top 8 teams in OLC% all made the playoffs. In 2022, 11 of the top 12 teams in OLC% made the playoffs, and the one who did not, the Atlanta Hustle, went 8-4.

 

Any team that is doing extremely well in one category is probably going to the playoffs. Any team doing well in both is a lock.

 

(If you're also a stats nerd like us, you can check out the team stats on the UFA's website.)  

 

 

 

JGT:  I'm gonna go with New York. I think people are writing their obit too soon. They CRUSHED last year's champs, the Wind Chill. They lost in the playoffs to Boston by just a single point on the final play, and they had a terrific off-season. Last I checked, they still had Ben Jagt, they still had Jack Williams, and they still had Marquess Brownlee. And this year, they've got something to prove. 

 

That said, the parity among the league’s top teams is WILD. There are legit 10 teams who I wouldn’t be shocked raising the trophy, and I don’t think that’s ever been the case in UFA history…as of two years ago, there were only two who I thought had a chance (NY or DC). But the talent has really started to even out, and we were reminded last year how big of a factor the elements (that windstorm in Salt Lake on Championship Weekend changed everything) can be in this sport. I think all of the following teams have a legit shot of winning the title: Atlanta, Boston, Carolina, Chicago, Colorado, DC, Minnesota, New York, Salt Lake, or Seattle. 

 

Shaggy: I think it is finally time for someone out West to win a title without Beau Kittredge, and I am picking Seattle to maintain their over-the-hump momentum. My heart wants Atlanta to win, but I think losing Brett Hulsmeyer, their best player, to World Games competition during the playoffs will be too great a hurdle to overcome. Similarly, losing Johnny Malks will throw a wrench in DC’s plans, and while Grant Lindlsey is not one of Salt Lake’s most important players, I do think the team is less able to overcome missing any of its pieces. Seattle is so fun to watch, and I’m willing to take an unlikely pick here with no clear contender for the top spot.

 

 

JGT: In the West, I’d take Jordan Kerr. He had a bit of a down year in 2024, but two years ago he had 45 assists and 36 goals, then went nuts in the playoffs: 16 assists and 6 goals. I expect a big bounce back in 2025, and I’ll take a 6’3” dude with speed who can throw and catch. 

 

In the South, I’ll take Alec Wilson Holiday. He’s simply unguardable, and now that he’s going to have elite throwers like Hulsmeyer and Austin Taylor tossing him the pie, he’s going to prove just how good he can be. 

 

In the Central, even though he’s old and washed up, I’ll still take Pawel Janas. Dude is averaging over 65 assists per year for his career. That’s just nuts. Also nuts is how great Chicago's off-season was (Daniel Cohen graded them an A+). This is a team with championship aspirations, and Pawel is the straw that stirs the drink. 

 

In the East, that’s really tough. I’m gonna go with an upset; I’m taking Tobe Decraene. He was great last year, but there was NOBODY like Jeff Babbitt on that Montreal team. Decraene is about to break out in a big way and put up video game numbers (if there was indeed a video game). 

 

Shaggy: Zeppelin Raunig for the West, Nate Goff in the Central, Babbitt out East, and Brett Hulsmeyer down South. And with respect to my good Johnny, I don’t think the East and the South are particularly close. 

 

Is ultimate frisbee a sport? 

 

JGT: This is one of those things that an outsider I simply don’t understand (and I suspect most fans who came here from other sports wouldn’t either). Of course it’s a sport. It’s got athleticism, it’s got strategy, it’s got defense, it’s got a (flat) ball. Every element that makes something a sport is there. I can see an argument that NASCAR racing isn’t a sport, or darts, or disc golf for that matter. But there’s no sane argument to me that ultimate isn’t a sport. 

 

Shaggy: I am a “definition of sports” libertarian. I think any competition wherein players can gain any advantage through some form of physical exertion is a sport. Any other competition is a game. Chess is a game, because there is no physical edge that can be gained. Frisbee is a sport because there is a physical aspect to the activity that improves your ability to win it. That puts Frisbee in the sports category, it also puts things like e-sports (it's in the name), darts, pool, bowling, swimming, NASCAR, and disc golf in that category. Even competitive cheese rolling is a sport for me, providing some physical skill assists in your ability to roll cheese.

 

JGT: Shaggy and I are about to have a hearty debate about whether e-sports and darts are sports. We do both agree, however, that cheese rolling is a sport. 

 

 

JGT: I don’t think the number of international players in the UFA will change much when it comes to the Olympics. But that said, I think the Olympics are a false God that ultimate chases to its own detriment. I’ve long been a fan of breakdancing, which I consider another “fringe” sport. They got their “legitimacy” in last years Olympics, and it was a disaster (remember Raygun?) The Olympics are too corporate and too clean for something I consider counter-culture, and besides that the last thing the sport needs on the big stage is the US team beating some tiny country that just picked up the sport 15-2. I think it’s time to give up on the Olympic dream and find a new one. Screw the Olympics, I want ultimate in the X-Games!

 

Shaggy: I don’t think foreign players entering into the league will have any meaningful impact on whether or not ultimate ends up in the Olympics, any more than Jordan Mailata being the best tackle in the NFL will get Australian Rules Football past the IOC. The biggest hurdle to ultimate being in the Olympics isn’t a lack of foreign players playing in American leagues, it’s that someone sat down the USAU and WFDF and explained just how much there was for those organizations to lose if frisbee was an olympic sport.

 

In order for ultimate to be in the Olympics, those two organizations would need to cede a lot of authority to local and international sporting bodies, and they would need to raise an order of magnitude more money. The Olympics are an expensive proposition for most countries, and being able to send an entire worlds team of 14 players plus alternates to the Olympic games is out of the financial realm for most countries that do not consider it worth sending a frisbee delegation. They would need to be subsidized in part by WFDF, which would mean a different sort of fundraising from the organization. It would also spark a possible groundswell of support for frisbee in the USA, which could jeopardize USAU’s current status as a monolith in the sport in the USA, particularly for youth events. I do not think there is a possibility for frisbee in the Olympics in the next several Olympic competitions.