December 2, 2025
By Evan Lepler and Adam Ruffner

Sometimes you just gotta go for it all immediately. Sure, we appreciate careful consideration and nuance, but every once in a while, you have to huck and hope. Welcome to “The Quick Huck", a new back-and-forth column where Evan Lepler and Adam Ruffner of the "Swing Pass" podcast will ask questions, offer perspective, and debate what the future holds in the Ultimate Frisbee Association. (CLICK FOR PREVIOUS EDITION)

Today’s Prompt: Which team’s new signings are more impressive: New York inking Alex Atkins, or Indianapolis adding James Pollard and Nate Little?

Ruffner’s response:

Make no mistake: The Empire getting Atkins is massive, and injects one of the 10 best two-way players in the league—just entering his prime, no less—to an aging roster still brimming with championship aspirations. Capable of handling one of the largest workloads in the UFA, Atkins can take over games singlehandedly with his throws and his downfield playmaking, and his stint last season as a defensive starter showed a lot of promise; in just four games, Atkins averaged three assists, 1.5 goals, and 1.5 takeaways per start while spending 80 percent of his playing time on the D-line as a primary puller. Plus, Atkins’ swaggerish attitude has a perfect home in an Empire lineup packed with big personalities; New York now rosters both executors of “The Triple Spike”, after all.

But the Pollard and Little signings are more than just an unexpected talent grab by a small market franchise—this could be a cultural reset in Indianapolis. The ‘Cats are perennially scrappy in the Central Division, with four playoff appearances since 2018, but they are seldom contenders, and often subjugated to the “little brother” position when matched up against their rivals from Chicago, Madison, and Minnesota. The size—Little is listed at 6’3”, while Pollard is 6’5”—and defensive prowess of the newly added duo could transform the AlleyCats defense overnight from a bottom tier unit into a potential top 10 team; the AlleyCats surrendered the fourth most goals per game last season, and were in the bottom half of the UFA in breaks per game. Indy already re-signed 2025 All Defense selection Xavier Payne for next season, Little makes a second All Defense addition, and there’s rumors swirling of a third player of equal caliber joining the club for 2026. 

Little may enter 2026 as the best big defender in the division, and yet the real change may come at the point of attack. Payne and Pollard are two of the top pullers in league history, and there’s been a demonstrable benefit for defenses to have multiple pull throwers in recent years. Most notably, Minnesota (Pollard’s previous team) and Salt Lake employ multiple pullers to great effect, giving opposing offenses numerous coverages and field positions to process at the start of their drives. The result for the two franchises has been an increase in short field and fastbreak chances for their defenses, and a direct increase in break scores. Indy sneakily finished second in the league in blocks per game in 2025, and could easily and precipitously increase their break scores as well with their new personnel. If the AlleyCats can rise to a top 10 defense in a Central Division filled with mediocre, inconsistent offenses, there’s some real upside for one of the league’s youngest teams. 

Is Indianapolis a championship contender entering 2026? No. They’ve got too much development left ahead and too much to prove in the win column to suddenly leapfrog to the top of the standings. But could they host a first round playoff game with a much more stout defensive presence? Suddenly, it’s in the cards.

Additional thought: My co-commentator and former Madison Radicals legend Colin Camp is pushing for “Kinsanity” (think “Linsanity”). Thoughts?

Lepler’s Response:

Kinsanity, eh? I don’t hate it, but maybe let’s wait and see if Atkins can actually create some fervor in the Big Apple first. Jeremy Lin was a phenomenon and Linsanity was the perfect moniker for the moment. I view Atkins more as another cocky television character who absolutely can blossom into a superstar on the grandest stage. More on that in a moment. 

I see this question through the prism of which of these three additions could become the league MVP in 2026. And with all due respect to Pollard and Little, the answer is obviously Atkins.

One one hand, you got two Philly guys going to the Philly of the Central. Pollard and Little are clearly nice players, but the two defenders had competed in just one playoff game between them prior to Pollard’s Minnesota experience this past summer. These are important additions for an AlleyCats team that’s hoping to be more competitive in the Central, yet Indy was not exactly on the doorstep of the playoffs last year. Three of their four wins were against Detroit, and their six games against the three top teams in their division were decided by a whopping 70 goals. Yea, they lost those half-dozen battles by an average of 11.7 goals per game. 

Call me callous, but I just don’t see Pollard and Little transforming the Cats into a contender all by themselves. When you add in the returns of Cameron Brock and Xavier Payne, I certainly get a bit more intrigued, but I’m still not ready to vault the AlleyCats into the realm of preseason favorites just yet. I’m not sure who the other rumored addition might be, but unless it's Daan De Marrée following Payne from Chicago, the AlleyCats, in my mind,  aren’t rising from scrappy underdog to fierce favorite quite yet. 

Meanwhile, Atkins joining the Empire is absolutely fascinating. In part because it might go terribly. 

Atkins continues to be a polarizing player and personality, but he’s also undeniably gifted, toolsy, and extraordinarily versatile. He’s got the size to become New York’s deep target a la Jagt, and we’ve also seen him orchestrate the offense from the backfield, which could be super valuable if Calvin Brown’s 2025 injury keeps him on the sideline early in the ‘26 campaign. He could also jump on the D-line and join forces with John Randolph and Marques Brownlee, adding more firepower to an Empire defense that struggled mightily in the playoffs.

No matter how the Empire decide to use Atkins, it can work. His complex skillset can find a fit athletically. The bigger question is how he’ll mesh with New York culturally. 

Ironically, Atkins is also a Philly guy, born and raised. Unlike the Fresh Prince, ‘Kins’ identity evolved in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado rather than the posh, glitzy Bel Air. But there are certainly some parallels between the semi-fictional Will Smith who moved out west and the ever-confident, goofy, and thoughtful Atkins, who’s now heading back east. After a half-decade living a mile high, the Philly kid is finding a new home in the big city, and there will be big expectations that come with it. 

From the New York perspective, this is an impressive signing. It’s a big swing for a team that needed to add a guy like this. And while there’s a chance it blows up miserably–Atkins hasn’t exactly been the epitome of durability throughout his career–I also think there’s a chance that he could have the best season yet.

He’s now 27 years old. Today, December 2 is his birthday. (Happy Birthday, ‘Kins!)

He’s at the perfect age to play his best ultimate with the league’s winningest franchise. There will be plenty of pressure to perform, but I think he’s ready for this role, this spotlight, this responsibility. 

If he can stay healthy–and if the Empire can continue to foster development of the young core of their admittedly aging roster--New York could absolutely find its way back to Championship Weekend in 2026. 

Last but not least, if you need a quick huck, you know that ‘Kins is your guy to let it fly.