July 25, 2025
By Daniel Cohen
Playoff ultimate has arrived, and with it a fresh list of must-watch stars for the first round of games. Dependable vets, explosive athletes, and loads of talent on both sides of the disc headline this week’s watchlist.
Lukas Ambrose, Seattle Cascades
Currently leading the league in blocks with 26, Lukas Ambrose has a chance to become the first player in UFA history to finish as the league leader in blocks in consecutive seasons. The leading candidate for Defensive Player of the Year—by a considerable margin, in my mind—has played a massive role in Seattle’s ascent this season as both a takeaway machine and counterattack weapon; among all players this year that have played at least 80 percent of their points on defense, Ambrose ranks second in both scores (35) and total yards (2,295). He made several highlight-reel plays in last year’s round one playoff game against Colorado, and he should have plenty of opportunities to wreak havoc against a Spiders squad averaging over 18 turnovers per game.
Jeff Babbitt, Boston Glory
Against his former team this season, reigning MVP Jeff Babbitt recorded five scores and a block in each of their two meetings without committing a turnover. Babbitt’s usage has skyrocketed in recent weeks; despite leaving this past week’s Montreal game halfway through the third quarter with injury (he’s ok and will play vs. New York), Babbitt has played 65 percent of all Glory points over his last three games, including two games with over 30 points played. He’s been a menace throughout his career in the playoffs, averaging 3.0 goals and 1.3 blocks per game in his 15 starts, and will of course have that extra bit of motivation suiting up against his former team. Revenge games in the playoffs can have that extra edge to them, and with Babbitt’s big-game experience, he should be the guy to set the tone for Boston this week.
Tobias Brooks, Carolina Flyers
Since switching over to full-time O-line in Week 10, Tobias Brooks has averaged over five scores and nearly 500 yards of offense per game. He’s been heavily involved in his second pro season—Brooks never had more than 20 touches in a game last year, while he’s recorded 20-plus in all five of his O-line starts in 2024—and when you watch him play it’s easy to see why. His in-air ability downfield has been particularly impressive, and he has a clear confidence in his throws to hit continuation looks and cap scoring drives. Springy athleticism paired with decisive disc movement has made him a spark plug for this Flyers O-line, and Carolina is going to need his playmaking this week to keep pace with an Austin team that has the explosiveness necessary to punch with the best in the playoffs.
Elliott Chartock, New York Empire
In his fourth season with New York, handler Elliott Chartock is having a standout year as one of the team’s most consistent pieces. On a per-game basis, Chartock leads the team in assists, scores, completions, and total yards, and he also leads New York in individual offensive efficiency—when he’s been on the field this season, the Empire have scored on 66.3 percent of their possessions. He’s playing the best ultimate of his pro career, and he just set season highs in both throwing yards (505) and total yards (674) last weekend against DC. The team’s been experimenting a bit with switching him over to D-line periodically to help punch in breaks, so it’s worth watching how his role continues to shift in the playoffs. This Empire D-line is going to need all the help they can get against a Jeff Babbitt-led Boston offense that has been the stingiest unit in the league when it comes to allowing break conversions.
Kyle Henke, Austin Sol
In two South Division playoff games last year, Kyle Henke combined for six assists, six goals, two blocks, and nearly 1,000 total yards of offense. There’s clearly an extra gear Henke can hit for critical late-season games, and this week’s round one playoff rematch against Carolina presents another opportunity for him to pop off. Henke’s been shouldering a heavy throwing workload this season due to some lineup absences and injuries, and still continues to be one of the best downfield hybrids in the division; for his first time since the league began tracking yardage in 2021, Henke eclipsed 5,000 total yards in the regular season, and he topped 2,000 receiving yards for the fourth straight season. As was the case in 2023, it’s still hard to pin down just how good Austin is this year given their Texas-heavy schedule, but if last year proved anything, this feisty Sol squad has the ability to flip the switch for do-or-die games—look for Henke to be the catalyst.
John Lithio, Chicago Union
In his first season with Chicago, John Lithio has been a model of consistency. He leads all Chicago O-line players in individual offensive efficiency—the team scores on 55 percent of possessions when he’s on the field—and he leads the team in completion percentage (97.1 percent; minimum 20 completions). He’s excelling as a sort of glue hybrid, often serving as a midfield focal point to connect the backfield to the rest of the downfield cutters, and this role has led to a new regular season career high in total yards (3,800). And yet, it still doesn’t feel like he’s reached his ceiling in this offense, as he’s averaging just three scores per game. Lithio has shown dominance throughout his career as a midfield distributor, deep thrower, and downfield receiver, and he just makes offense look easy; if Chicago plans on pulling off the first round upset over Madison, they may need a ‘try and stop him’ type of game from Lithio.
Pat Shriwise, Madison Radicals
Suiting up for his 16th career playoff game this Sunday, Pat Shriwise will look to lead this young Madison Radicals team to their first playoff win since 2018. Shriwise’s veteran leadership on the O-line has been a big part of Madison’s recent surge—they’ve now won five straight games when he’s been in the lineup—and he’s playing as solid as ever in his age 36 season. Shriwise leads the team in both completions and throwing yards over the last three games as Madison’s backfield rock, and he’s completing 96.6 percent of his throws on the year. With the way the Radicals defense has been playing, the O-line needs to be just dependable enough to get the D-line back on the field, and the backfield stability provided by Shriwise is exactly what they’ve needed to allow both units to thrive.
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