January 30, 2026
By Ryan Baker
Over the last three years, you could put the teams in the South Division into a hat, pulled one at random and would’ve had a solid chance in ending up with the division winner. In 2023, the Austin Sol took the divisional crown. 2024 was the Carolina Flyers. And in 2025, after numerous close-but-no-cigar finishes, it was the Atlanta Hustle.
Could 2026 be the year we see a fourth different division winner in as many years? The San Diego Growlers were one game away from Championship Weekend in 2025, and with a heap of their main stars set to return, they aren’t showing signs of slowing down.
The South underwent some reconstruction to their divisional alignment over the winter as well, with the Los Angeles Aviators gone and in their place last year’s expansion team the Vegas Bighorns. Vegas and the Houston Havoc are still on the developmental end of the standings, but their young cores remain punchy and opportunistic.
Teams are still in the process of tryouts and roster decisions, but here’s a lay of the land and outlook for what could be the league’s most unpredictable division.
Atlanta Hustle
The loss that the Hustle suffered in the semifinals at Championship Weekend against Minnesota wasn’t just a one-time endeavor. This has been a repeated happenstance for this Hustle team year in and year out. They can’t close games in the playoffs.
“I think it was a tough loss last year, but also progress for the franchise,” recalled Second Team All UFA honoree Brett Hulsmeyer. “We've dealt with tough endings, and all you can do is not have that be the last chapter, keep trying, and keep going.”
“Anytime a season ends short of your goals, it leaves a mark,” said last year’s team leader in goals, Alec Wilson Holiday. “For us, the most important piece is not letting that moment define us, but letting it sharpen us. We learned a lot about where we need to be more connected, more disciplined, and more resilient, especially late in games. 2026 is about applying those lessons from day one, so when we get back to those moments, we close games instead of letting them slip.”
This team will be coming back nearly the same as last year, assuming no major switch-ups happen between now and April. The only change is that Cameron Brock will not be returning to the team, as he returned to Indianapolis. That will be hits to their offensive efficiency and experience, but this was also a team that had the best offense in the league by a long shot. We could see Wilson Holiday’s numbers go up because of this.
The Hustle were the best team in the league at limiting mistakes last season. They are not averse to aggressive looks—Atlanta hucked it at the fourth highest clip in the UFA in 2025—and still they graded out as a top three team in offensive success rate, huck completion percentage, and overall pass completion rate.
The big question remains: Can they execute at an elite level when it matters the most?
“We have to focus on being our best in August when the games matter more,” said Hulsmeyer. “We've had a lot of amazing regular seasons that haven't transitioned to the playoffs. It means focusing more on how we play in each game and trying to maximize our chances of winning that one game that matters most.”
The three-headed monster of Austin Taylor, Adam Miller, and Hayden Austin-Knab will likely continue their success. Those three combined for 138 assists in 2026. It will be tough to replicate those numbers, but if they do, it won’t come as a shock to anyone.
If any team needs to look within themselves, it’s the Hustle. They are easily one of the best teams in the league, but if 2025 haunts them in any fashion, we could see a shake-up in the South this season.
San Diego Growlers
The Growlers are a team that I expect to be a bit more in the headlines as the offseason progresses. They got their core back with Travis Dunn, Matt Miller, Kyle Rubin, and Marcel Osborne all returning for 2026, but could add some California talent since the Aviators are no longer a program.
“We’ll see what talent from LA we get and how they fit in our O- and D-lines,” said Miller. “We are building off a good system with a lot of returners. I hope we will be able to build a strong foundation of an offensive system that we can rely on in crunch time.”
This is a team that has the experience, and they have the talent. They just need that extra piece to push them over the edge. The Growlers struggled last year with valuing each possession and locking down on defense. To explain, they were middle of the pack when it came to turns and completion percentage, and they allowed the seventh most goals in the league. Those are areas that need to improve if the Growlers want to play more than 14 games in 2026.
“I think all the close games come down to execution in the fourth quarter,” said Miller. “We have to be prepared to win our matchups in crunch time. We learned a lot from the end of the season last year and hope to be back in those tight games. The biggest challenge playing away games against good teams is limiting the damage after mistakes. Letting the crowd and moment take over your team mentally can be the difference in a one-goal win and a five-goal loss.”
Keep an eye out for this team to add some names in the coming months, and even if they don’t, they are still going to be right in the thick of it all season.
“I like our odds to win the division this year,” stated Miller.
Austin Sol
The Austin Sol are dangerous, and in my opinion, the biggest threat to Atlanta’s hopes of winning another division title. If it weren’t for an absolute monsoon in their lone game against the Hustle, we could’ve seen Austin atop the division last year. There are no excuses, and Atlanta rightfully won that game, but that’s just food for thought.
They are looking real similar to the team they had in 2025, and much like Carolina, turning back the clock to look even more like their 2023 team that made it to Championship Weekend. The three main headlines heading into 2026 are the returns of Evan Swiatek and Matt Armour, along with new leadership in Casey Hogg and Joel Iannacone as coaches, replacing Steven Naji.
“I expect the South Division to once again be extremely competitive, and I believe we can be right up there with the best in our division,” said 2025 team leader in goals Mark Henke. “I am extremely excited for what the leadership of Coach Innacone and Hogg will bring to the squad. I am confident that we will be competing for a spot at Champ Weekend come August.”
Henke had a breakout year last season after switching to offense and had top-five production on the team in terms of assists (fifth), goals (first), and blocks (second). His brother, Kyle, has proven to be one of the best talents in the league, also putting up top-three production in those same categories for the Sol.
A big factor in Austin’s success will be if Jackson Potts can put together a full season. In just eight games last year, Potts was third on the team in assists and fifth in goals. He is a young playmaker who fuels this team, but the biggest question will be if they can last against Carolina and Atlanta. In the last 19 matchups with the Sol and those two squads, they are 4-15.
“I absolutely believe our next step as a program is to be consistently competitive against both of these teams,” remarked Mark Henke. “I think it starts with the depth of our squad, and that is something our initial leadership council was focused on: how can we get the best players in Texas on the Sol, and what does it take to do so? I am very excited for the Innacone-Hogg Era and confident they will lead us to success.”
Carolina Flyers
Let’s not forget that this is a Carolina team that played for the title in 2024 against the Minnesota Wind Chill, and as stated in the roster update article a couple of weeks ago, they got a whole more 2024-esque by bringing back Tobias Brooks, who was a crucial part of that success.
“I’m super excited to be back with the Flyers in my hometown,” exclaimed Brooks. “I have great chemistry with those guys and their systems, and I think adding one more dynamic player is going to lead to a lot of possibilities for our offense. Personally, I’m really happy to play in front of my friends and family and hopefully bring a trophy back home.”
The question will be if Brooks can be enough to get Carolina over the hump of the three teams that finished ahead of them in 2025. That’s a tall order given that the Flyers went 1-3 versus Atlanta, 0-1 against San Diego, and 2-0 versus Austin.
“I don’t care about the other teams much; we have the personnel, and as long as we maximize our potential, we will be successful,” said Brooks. “We have a lot of the same personnel as 2024 and lots of buy-in from the players and organization, which I think was lacking last year. Playing to our strengths of size, throws, athleticism, grit, stretching the field, got us there before, and we’ll do it again.”
First Team All-UFA selection and 2025 league leader in assists, Allan Laviolette will look to continue to be at the helm of their offense and realizes that each week matters in terms of the outcome at the end of the regular season.
“With the depth in this division, we have to give our best every week to stay within striking distance of the playoff picture,” said Laviolette. “I expect most teams will look different than last season, but we match up well with all of them. This is one of the league’s most physical divisions, and our defensive tenacity keeps us competitive in every game. I expect that to be true again this year.”
They have been building a base in the gym for the season and running small pods that meet about once a week to throw and run, according to Laviolette, so we will have to see if that hard work can turn back the clock for Carolina in 2026.
Vegas Bighorns and Houston Havoc
These two teams can be grouped together because both of these programs are relatively new to the league. Let’s start with the newbie to the division. Vegas’ first year in the league had them in the West division, where they held league-low marks in most categories on both sides of the disc. It’s simply hard to create a whole new team and expect a lot from them.
“With the challenge that the realignment poses, I’m happy to have Vegas provide the clearest solution possible,” said owner and player James Shorey. “On top of that, I genuinely am looking forward to having the Bighorns in the South. Logistically, it’s a wash. Yes, that away weekend with Atlanta and Carolina will be a challenge, but we also really look forward to playing the Texas teams and really getting to know the Growlers this upcoming season. I think it keeps things fresh and interesting for us.”
In 2025, the team was led by Ryan Hiser, who led the team in assists, Brad Ellis, who led the team in goals, and Brandon Distel, who led the team in blocks. They will most likely lose Ellis, but if they can keep the rest of the core, develop them, and continue to add talent, Vegas could surprise some teams this year in terms of optics. Shorey even explained that the focus for them is to build multi-year momentum and that the team needs to find their identity.
“I believe the greatest challenge is inward,” remarked Shorey. “We have many ways to go to answer the question of who the Bighorns really are, which comes with the new. We didn’t set who the Bighorns are before joining the league, and we set off on that journey after we joined. “The reality is, it takes longer than a season or two. So, our opponents aren’t as big of a focus for us as maybe other teams just because we have so much self-growth to accomplish first.”
The first goal for them needs to be notching their first win in program history.
“I know I speak for the core we have, that the message and team we want in year two are those willing psychos who want nothing more than to get wins,” Shorey said. “I’ve been lucky to learn from some special team leaders and coaches in my past and subscribe heavily to relentless positivity. But, the real Bighorns do not want to go 0-12 again and we’re going to lean into that focus, do what it takes to win with the brothers we got.”
That win could come against the other team that has been struggling, the Havoc. Houston’s inaugural season was in 2023, where they won just two games, followed by a five-win season in 2024, but dropped back down the ranks with another two-win season last year.
Despite the struggles, Houston showed some grit last year. Their two came against the now-disbanded Aviators and Colorado. While those two may not be the most impressive wins, they had games where they lost to the Sol by only two and lost to Carolina by four.
The team struggled to find its groove defensively as they were last in blocks and had the third-most goals scored on them in 2024. That could have been a determining factor in the head coaching change they made this offseason. Sean McCall is now calling the shots for the Havoc and has an illustrious resume when it comes to coaching and playing. After all, McCall has been the USA National Team coach for the last five years.
“We’re excited to see what the future will hold with Sean at the helm,” said Jimmy Zuraw, team leader in assists in 2025. “As a fairly old team, we're working on recruiting and developing new talent. Lifting, conditioning, and film study are pretty standard, but we'll also be putting more emphasis on building offensive chemistry centered on local players that will get lots of reps together.”
Can the coaching change turn the tide for the Havoc? They are still a few years out from competing in this division, but a culture change could provide an earlier than expected spark to this team.
Closing Thoughts
The Hustle comes out of this as the clear favorite to most to take back the division, but I think we are going to see a much more intense race between them and the Sol. How do you get more intense than last year? Take out the monsoon, add another game or two between them, and let them duke it out over and over again.
The Brooks signing may not be enough for Carolina, and unless the Growlers can add some more talent, it’s tough to put them over Austin and Atlanta on paper.
There is going to be a squad out of the four contenders that won’t make the playoffs, but deserve to be in the playoffs over teams from outside divisions. However, this is how the sport works. Come August, we could finally see a repeat winner or we could see a fourth team in four years take home the division title.
