February 4, 2026
By Ryan Baker
Minnesota has taken the crown of the Central Division for three years in a row and has restocked for a run at its fourth straight division title. On paper, the Indianapolis AlleyCats have their best roster we’ve ever seen, and the Chicago Union is losing some marquee players. To say the least, there has more movement in the Central than we have ever seen before.
There are whispers that Daan De Marrée will not be rejoining the Union team, which went 12-0 but fell short in the Divisional Championship to Minnesota. There are also other commitments by major key players that could dismantle the Union for 2026.
They already lost William Wettengel and Xavier Payne, but could also see the losses of or, at least, incredibly minimal play from Paul Arters, Nate Goff, Pawel Janas, and a few other impact guys. That shake-up, alone, would change the landscape for the Central.
“The Union roster will certainly see some turnover this year, but the captains and coaching staff are excited for the guys we're bringing on board and the fit they'll have with our returners,” said Union head coach Charlie Furse.
As for Indy, they’ve added Max Squires, Jonathan Mast, and Joe Cubitt to their roster, giving them bigger names and more veteran presence. These were just three recent signings in the last few weeks. This has been the theme for Indy all offseason. Head Coach Nathan Bussberg recalls starting to tip the dominoes over when he contacted Cameron Brock within 60 seconds of the window opening for coaches to contact players, asking him to come back.
“I think it's important for everybody to realize that losing isn't sustainable, and we were trending down that road,” said Bussberg. “I think following the 2024 season, the AlleyCats had, in their history, one of the more talented rosters that dramatically underperformed. Then, you lose franchise staple after franchise staple. That's pretty alarming, and there's got to be a reason why.”
Madison was boxed in as the third-best team last year in the division, but quietly added Victor Luo back to the team after a year in Chicago, according to the Radicals Head Coach Jacob Spiro. If Luo can stay healthy, he and Kainoa Chun-Moy are going to be a deadly and dynamic duo in the handler space.
“I can only speak for myself, but I am excited to have more competition across the board in our division,” said Spiro. “Iron sharpens iron. Last year, it was hard to get into a good competitive rhythm with only two other playoff-level teams in the division. I love that every game will take our best this year.”
We can’t go without mentioning that Minnesota added Lukas Ambrose and Noah Coolman, two of the most explosive players in the league. A team that can now construct a D-line that has First Team All-UFA Defense selections across the board.
“I think the speed that Coolman and Ambrose bring to the table will make us more dangerous in transition, but we certainly are still digesting personnel, and it will take some time for us to learn where everyone fits best,” said Wind Chill head coach Ben Feldman. “We have a ton of talent, and the job of our coaching staff is to implement lines and strategies to maximize that talent.”
The landscape of the Central provides a level of uncertainty for the 2026 season. Indy is revamped. Chicago will have glaring holes. Madison is on the rise, and Minnesota still seems to be the top dog. Pittsburgh will be a gritty matchup, but it’s hard to put them in the conversation with the previous four, given the quiet offseason.
I checked in with some of the major players and head coaches throughout the division on all the movement and changes that are coming to the Central in 2026.
Head coach perspectives
“I think we are where we were last year,” said Bussberg. “We have a lot of things to work on. We are not going to come out in game one and shock the world. We have a lot of things to prove, and that's going to happen each and every day we go to practice and games. Our goal is to compete.”
“It's exciting to see elevated talent and competition in the Central Division,” said Wind Chill Head Coach Ben Feldman. “I have a lot of confidence in the group we've assembled here in Minnesota for another deep run in 2026. Final rosters haven't been published, so hard to say, but I think both teams will have the ability to perform at a high level this season.”
“While you see some free agency working with Boston and Minnesota, there are other examples, such as Toronto last year, and one could argue Chicago last year, who devoted huge amounts of financial resources and development time to out-of-division pieces that are no longer with the team this year,” said Spiro. “It remains to be seen how Indy’s experiment works out. I respect them for devoting a ton of resources to their team this year. They have a lot of talent and could be successful; however, I’ve seen enough teams to know that bringing talent in can result in success, but it is no guarantee.”
“As far as strategy and messaging, for sure players get antsy seeing other teams in the division bringing in outside talent,” said Spiro. “I believe in the core of athletes we have and believe that long-term success comes from commitment to our community.”
“The talent Minnesota and Indianapolis have added, combined with the absence of Detroit, will ensure a much more challenging schedule week to week,” said Furse. “We're all for it. We're happy for the test of earning every win through preparation and execution. We won't go undefeated in the regular season this year, nor do we care to.”
“I'm not too worried about people's perceptions,” said Bussberg. “I’m more worried about stacking successes over and over and over again, whether that looks like wins or whether it looks like successful points. At the end of the day, if we miss the playoffs, is that missing our goal? Not really. Our goal is just to be better as a unit than we were in the past.”
“Our talent level is deeper than it’s been in years,” said Spiro. “Additionally, we get back the vast majority of our roster from last year with another year of playing together under our collective belts, so it is reasonable to expect continued improvement from our team. We believe in our players and the strength of our community as a whole and are eager to celebrate that together. I firmly believe that even in the face of strong and, at times, intimidating opposition, relying and building upon the strength of our community will result in victory.”
“Learning our collective strengths and addressing our vulnerabilities over twelve games is paramount,” said Furse. “Our goal, same as last year, is to make the playoffs and play our best ultimate. We failed in this last year and are fortunate to have a fresh go this year.”
“I don't think people realize that Seth Gudeman was, by far and away, our driving engine last year,” said Bussberg. “If he isn't a part of the team, I don't think we get most of these people. It's definitely the reason why we are where we are, and I want to make that known. He holds the standard, and that's the reason he's a captain. If things are going awry, he gets the team together and fixes that quickly.”
Player perspectives
“I’m happy our division is getting stronger, and I think both of those teams [Indy and Minnesota] know they can’t expect an easy game out of Chicago,” said the Union’s Ben Preiss, who was 12th in plus/minus last season. “Last year we coasted through our regular season, so the opportunity to get pushed by great teams and grow through it is really exciting. Just speaking for myself, I’m looking forward to catching and taking those hard matchups.”
“I think we match up well with any team in this league,” said one of the Wind Chill’s First Team All-Defense selections, Noah Hanson. “You never know what a team is truly made of until you get into battle, so I'm hoping for a challenge. I think it would be foolish to actually worry about anyone other than ourselves right now. How good either of those teams is is out of our control, so I'm really just focused on making sure we are ready for whatever gets thrown our way week to week. It'd be a waste of energy to focus on anyone outside of ourselves right now.”
“It's not going to be an easy grind to the playoffs this year,” said Madison Radical and 2025 UFA leading goal scorer Anthony Gutowsky. “We were able to win all those games against Detroit and win most of the games against Indy. This year, there are no easy ones. It's going to be 12 hard, competitive games. If you're playing at the highest level and not expecting a challenge, then you're not playing at the highest level.
“Obviously, with an influx of new players, our play style may have to adapt to play to our team’s strengths,” said Gudeman. “I think that this season we have a real opportunity to put the ball into the scoring box more often than last year. We went 1-8 last season, when you don’t count Detroit wins. Until we earn a new reputation, that’s the one we have to carry.”
“We’re focusing on building a younger core, developing players in consistent roles and systems year over year, and rostering players invested in the long term success of the program. Additionally, we’re looking to retool our offense to better put players in positions to maximize their strengths. That means playing with pace and space as a unit.”
“It’s hard to gauge,” said Captain of the Wind Chill Bryan Vohnoutka. “Indy will be better, but the question is, how will all the pieces come together? We have proven the past few years that we are the team to beat in the Central. Our defense has been the hallmark of our program. Adding two All-UFA Defenders to an already loaded unit should make us an even more daunting opponent.”
“We're not a team that wants to rely on bringing other guys in to make the team better,” said Gutowsky. “We want to bring in guys and develop them from the ground up to make them top-tier players in the league. I feel really good about our group of guys. It's going to be a great chance to show that Madison can really compete this year.”
“Between ‘22 and ’25, we’ve had two very successful seasons followed by significant roster turnover,” said Preiss. “We could let it frustrate us, but working to build the program up with folks who really want to wear a Union jersey is a much better use of our energy.”
“Obviously, it feels good to hear the recognition of being a perennial Champ Weekend squad,” said Vohnoutka. “With some big new additions and a majority of the main contributors coming back, it’s easy to see a path. That being said, Boston won last year and has also reloaded. I’m excited to get to work and let the results speak for themselves.”
“Last year was a huge step forward for the program, at least for my era of Union. Both the good and bad of it taught us a lot about what we need to do to reach that next level,” said Preiss. “I have a lot of respect for the Wind Chill and would love to emulate their year-over-year roster consistency and buy-in.”
“I'm excited,” exclaimed Gutowsky. “I finally moved to Madison. I'm established here, and I can put a lot more time into the team and focus a lot more on working with my teammates. The season just got tougher, and we get more chances to prove ourselves.”
Division outlook and biggest questions
There are so many outcomes that we could see out of the Central this year. However, no matter the number of different scenarios that could be in play, I think we are going to see Minnesota at the top of the division in every single one of them.
It will be a matter of who fills those two last playoff spots. We could see Indy’s star power propel them above Madison and Chicago. We could see that Madison’s core, which has been together for the last few years, finally hit its stride. We could see Chicago not skipping a beat and staying at the top of the league. There’s no telling what could happen.
The biggest question for each team will be:
For Minnesota, can they establish better offensive consistency, or will they still rely on their defense to keep them in games? For Chicago, will they look the same, or are they going to be gutted? For Madison, can they get over their repeated third-quarter breakdowns? For Pittsburgh, can they put up a fight with these other teams despite the lack of star power? For Indy, how quickly will all of these new acquisitions gather chemistry with one another?
We are only in early February, so that means rosters aren’t set, and there could still be some major moves remaining to be announced, but for now, the Wind Chill have the biggest target on their backs. What is for certain is that we are going to see some of the most exciting ultimate in 2026 to ever come out of the Central.
