April 1, 2025
By Evan Lepler
First things first: if you’re a current UFA player, thank you for clicking on today’s Toss.
I truly appreciate you, and I’m flattered that you would choose to read my weekly disc deep dive throughout the season.
With all that said, if you’re still actively competing in the league, I strongly recommend closing this tab right now.
No, this is not an April Fools joke.
Seriously, I think you should find the “x” in the corner of this browser window and move on to whatever is next on your Tuesday to-do list. I hope you’ll be back in future weeks as we build momentum towards the 2025 season.
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Have all current players left yet?
Last chance. No hard feelings. Linger at your risk.
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Why am I encouraging fewer people to stick around? Perfectly fair question.
There will be perspective in this column that could be perceived as piling additional pressure on some of the UFA’s greatest players or focusing on their past shortcomings. I promise that is not my primary goal or intent. Rather, I am striving to look at the landscape of elite individuals across our league and think about whose legacy could change the most by winning a championship this year.
In professional sports, championships are the number one measuring stick for greatness. No doubt there have been many phenomenal players who have never won titles, but the best of the best hoist trophies and raise banners.
Now, the circumstances of the Ultimate Frisbee Association are massively different than the most lucrative leagues in the world. We are not making millions of dollars. The vast majority of our athletes have other careers completely unrelated to their dedicated pursuit of disc domination. The relationship we have with our sport—and that fans have with our top stars—is hard to compare with the reality of more mainstream, high profile sports. But while this distinction should not be disregarded, every competitor in the UFA is still a pro, with a desire and determination to fulfill their potential and help their team win titles.
In fact, during my decade-plus spent broadcasting ultimate and narrating some of the biggest games in the history of our sport, I have consistently strived to try and treat our athletes with the same type of respect, reverence, and skepticism that we often prescribe to the pantheon of mainstream sports performers. By doing this, I have attempted to elevate how our sport is perceived and create a world where ultimate frisbee is moving toward this mainstream, providing fans with the framework to fiercely follow their favorite players and teams, along with creating a historical context through which to gauge greatness.
After all, to be a sports fan is to passionately debate the supposed superiority of one athlete over another, whether it’s Jordan vs. LeBron, Brady vs. Mahomes, Federer vs. Djokovic, or Kittredge vs. Jagt. It’s not exclusively about the rings, but the titles won will always be a huge part of the story.
Consequently, today I wanted to look at the 10 players in our league who would have their legacies transformed the most by winning a championship in 2025. These are my perceptions, and mine alone. I’d like to think they’re reasonably well-informed based upon everything I’ve seen and heard over the past 11 years covering this league, during which I’ve had thousands of conversations with players, coaches, owners, and fans.
There’s no doubt that every player here has already accomplished a ton in our sport, but deep down, I would imagine that each of these dudes are still envisioning that the best is yet to come.
Can any of these stars rise into a different stratosphere in 2025?
Note: Players are listed alphabetically
Alex Atkins, Colorado Summit
The confident, loquacious, and immensely talented Atkins is the youngest of the 10 individuals on this list. He’s just 26 and has only been in the league for three seasons, with year four set to begin later this month. His counting stats were superb last year—he was one of just two players in the league who produced at least 4,000 throwing yards and 2,000 receiving yards—and he earned First Team All-UFA recognition, but his team still fell short of the playoffs out West.
Atkins knows he’s a somewhat of a polarizing presence across the league, but by all accounts, his teammates love him and believe in him. Furthermore, few if any teams have added as much potential offensive firepower around him for 2025, with Tobias Brooks, Keenan Laurence, and a healthy and rejuvenated Quinn Finer all poised to help make Atkins’ life easier on the field.
He’s no stranger to Championship Weekend, but that’s not because he’s ever played in the UFA’s marquee event. He was injured when the Summit were walloped by Chicago in the 2022 semis, and he’s been holding a microphone on the Gameday set each of the past two years after his team had been eliminated, affably sharing his candid opinions and confidently picking against Minnesota.
But for a guy whose puts and posterizations are clearly superior to his prognostications, it’s relatively easy to imagine a world where the only media Atkins is doing is a postgame interview after he’s just been named Championship Weekend MVP. If Colorado could actually reach the Summit, Atkins would suddenly ascend to a different tier of stardom.
And man, what a postgame interview that would be!
Jeff Babbitt, Boston Glory
The only former UFA champion on this list, Babbitt was part of three different undefeated seasons as a member of the New York Empire. It was fully expected that Babbitt would stay with the Empire for the duration of his playing days and then likely become the team’s head coach.
But after he won his first MVP award in 2023, contract negotiations heading into the 2024 season reached an impasse. Shockingly, he abruptly left the Empire and joined the Boston Glory, where all he did was win a second straight MVP and eliminate his old team with an insanely clutch buzzer-beating sky in the opening round of the playoffs.
As far as narratives go, it was both storybook and stunning.
But it also was not a perfect conclusion, as the DC Breeze vanquished Babbitt and Boston’s title quest in the East Division final a couple weeks later.
While some might say the legacy of the two-time MVP is secure no matter what the Glory achieve in 2025 and beyond, I would argue that leading Boston to the top would be Babbitt’s greatest ultimate achievement. He doesn’t necessarily need to win a third consecutive MVP Award in this pursuit, but if he did, and he won a championship with another team, it would immediately vault him into the Kittredge conversation. Remember, Beau won two MVPs and five UFA titles with four different teams from 2014-19.
With physical gifts that are eerily reminiscent of the iconic Alaskan, Babbitt, along with his former Empire teammate, Ben Jagt, is one of the two players in the league who could potentially match Kittredge’s five championships by the end of the current decade.
Cameron Brock, Atlanta Hustle
As good as Babbitt’s been, he’s scored less than half as many goals as Brock. And the aforementioned Jagt enters 2025 in second place on the all-time list, a cavernous 252 goals shy of Cam’s still-growing collection. But the goal-scoring record takes the back-burner compared to the former AlleyCat joining Atlanta late in his career to pursue a title.
Are frisbee fans in 2025 familiar with Ray Bourque? Probably not.
The quick story: Bourque—pronounced “Bork”—was a hockey icon in Boston, a brilliant defender for the Bruins for more than two decades, spanning 1979 to 2000. But throughout his legendary career wearing black and gold, he never lifted the Stanley Cup as a champion.
He requested a trade in 2000, joined the Colorado Avalanche, and won the Cup in the spring of 2001, after having waited longer to win the championship than any other hockey player in the previous century of the sport. He played 1,612 regular season games and 214 more in the postseason before winning the ultimate prize.
Certainly, there are parallels here.
Brock has played more games than anyone in UFA history. Everyone else in the top five in games played, in fact, has retired. His 644 career goals in those 158 all-time games, has virtually lapped the field.
Yet he’s still hunting an elusive championship, and he’s hopeful that the Atlanta Hustle can help him transform his legacy. After all, he’s going to be the league’s all-time goal-scoring king for a long time; it’s hard to fathom anyone coming close to passing him in the next 5-10 years, at least.
But at age 36, his remaining window to win a championship is tantalizing small. He’ll probably never have a better shot than with the Hustle team he’s joining this season.
After Bourque won the Cup with Colorado, Boston fans rejoiced, celebrating with Bourque and the Cup at a City Hall rally three days after the Avalanche finished off their championship victory. Would Indy fete Brock in the same fashion if the AlleyCats legend experienced similar success in Atlanta? Who knows, but there’s no doubt his legacy would be forever shifted in the ultimate history books if he could take that last final step this summer with the Hustle.
Travis Dunn, San Diego Growlers
Along with Ben Jagt and Jack Williams, Dunn has earned a spot as an All-UFA honoree for six consecutive seasons. Obviously, this speaks to the veteran Growler’s astonishing consistency. He has averaged nearly 53 assists and 30 goals per season since 2018, during which the Growlers have advanced to a pair of Championship Weekends. Overall, there’s no doubt he’s been one of the top 10-15 players in his era.
Like many other elite players, the fact that he’s never won a title is not his fault. The Growlers were relatively sizable underdogs in both of their trips to Championship Weekend—San Diego fell by five against Dallas in 2019 and lost by four to New York in the 2021 semis. Furthermore, Dunn deserves a ton of credit for sticking around San Diego and helping the city develop a significantly stronger frisbee reputation than it once had. As the Growlers join the coast-to-coast South Division in 2025, the fact that many are expecting them to be competitive with powerhouse programs like Atlanta and Carolina is a tribute to what Dunn has helped build.
All that can be true while also acknowledging that Dunn’s perch in the ultimate pantheon would be completely rewritten if the Growlers found a way to get one or two wins at Championship Weekend. The team has boosted the talent around him, creating slightly more favorable circumstances, even if San Diego still feels like an unlikely contender. But after Minnesota went all the way last year, the Growlers are one of the middle-of-the-pack teams perhaps thinking, ‘nobody believed in the Chill; why can’t we do that too?’
Khalif El-Salaam, San Diego Growlers
Could Khalif be the Kevin Garnett to Travis Dunn’s Paul Pierce?
It’s far from a perfect comparison, but Dunn’s tenure in San Diego is somewhat similar to Pierce’s career with the Celtics prior to KG’s 2008 arrival. These were two guys who were perennial all-stars but only rarely advanced deep into the playoffs. They never made the finals prior to joining forces. Then, combining their powers, they achieved together what they could never reach alone.
Clearly, El-Salaam has a wildly impressive ultimate resume, most recently bolstered by helping to get the Seattle Cascades to Championship Weekend in 2024. Playing mixed ultimate outside of the UFA, he’s undeniably one of the most decorated players ever, highlighted by multiple titles and a roster spot on the 2022 USA World Games squad. Some would argue that he’s got nothing left to prove, and that might very well be true, but he has always been an incredibly ambitious competitor.
Remember, this is a guy who declared early in his career that he wanted to become the best player in the world by the time he was 27. When asked about that boldness many years later, he said he had no regrets, but he did not feel like he had reached his goal.
He’s now 31, back with the Growlers for a second stint—he also played for San Diego in 2021. I truly think he’s poised for a big year, if healthy, and can absolutely help the Growlers get back to the playoffs. Surpassing the Flyers and Hustle in the South is a more lofty desire, but clearly El-Salaam has never been one to temper his ultimate goals.
Brett Hulsmeyer, Atlanta Hustle
Less than a week removed from his 27th birthday, Hulsmeyer might be the oddsmakers preseason favorite to win the 2025 UFA MVP Award. He’d absolutely be amongst the top two or three in the conversation.
After all, he finished third in the MVP voting last year and has been a First Team All-UFA performer in each of the past two seasons. His combination of speed, skill, size, and age should place him on anyone’s short list for best frisbee player alive right now. He’s matured into a focused and determined leader, capable of anchoring both an offense or defense in various ways. With his throws, instincts, and downfield athleticism, he can take over a game from either the backfield or the deep space.
He’s also been involved in three of the UFA’s most painful and excruciating playoff losses, which is a burden that he’s still working to overcome. To be clear, this is not just on him. It’s on the entire Atlanta Hustle franchise, a fact that everyone must understand but not dwell upon, an admittedly tricky distinction to play through.
Thinking back to last year, though, I thought Hulsmeyer’s public comments after the Hustle’s one-goal loss to the Flyers in the South Division final were the right amount of introspective, honest, and vengeful. He remarked, “For me personally, it means I wan’t good enough yet. I hope that one day I will be, and I feel sorry for the teams that have to play against me when I do.”
Can that attitude carry the Hustle in 2025? Ultimately, so many uncontrollable circumstances will impact whether Hulsmeyer and Atlanta can actually get to the top of the mountain, but he also possesses a powerful role in determining the team’s destiny. Considering his quest along with the aforementioned Brock and the Hustle’s collective scar tissue, it strikes me that Atlanta’s storylines are probably the most emotional and fascinating in the entire league.
Pawel Janas, Chicago Union
The enigma that is Pawel Janas returns to Chicago after two seasons in La La Land, where
he added 119 more assists to his all-time league leading total, but also seemingly struggled to find his footing at times. Yes, the Aviators made a surprise run to the West title game in 2023, but the team regressed immensely in an injury-marred 2024, winning just three games. After averaging an eye-popping 77 assists per season through his six years in the league, Janas tossed a career-low 41 last year in LA.
Looking ahead, there will be no excuses about a lack of surrounding talent with the 2025 Union. Chicago was perhaps the biggest winner of the offseason, luring back five key members of the Union’s 2022 team that went to the finals along with bringing in a bevy of other noteworthy UFA and European playmakers. With so many athletic, experienced targets, it’s hard to fathom Janas finding himself in a better position to distribute the disc and potentially win his first pro championship.
Like several others on this list, it’s hard to look back at a team Pawel played for and declare that they should have won the whole thing. The fact that he hasn’t won a title yet is not a disqualifying characteristic when contemplating the greatest throwers in UFA history.
But when I think of Janas’s career, my first thoughts are about his scintillating stats. With a championship in 2025, that would certainly change. Obviously, it’s not all on his shoulders, but amongst all the exceptional talent on Chicago’s roster, no one else on the Union has more to gain by winning it all than Pawel.
Jordan Kerr, Salt Lake Shred
A likable lefty with undeniable physical gifts, Kerr slipped from back-to-back First Team All-UFA nods the previous two seasons to the honorable mention realm in 2024, meaning he wasn’t voted among the top 21 players in the league. A midseason hand injury was at least partially responsible for this regression, as he dipped from 121 scores in 2022 and 103 in 2023 to just 50 last season.
Now entering his fourth year with the Shred and fifth year in the league, Kerr is 27 years old, poised to enter his athletic prime, and has a super solid infrastructure around him. But Salt Lake also has more preseason questions heading into the 2025 season than perhaps we’ve asked in years past. And several of those queries involve Kerr, who’s seemingly evolved into a slightly more risk-averse player over the past couple seasons. There may be some intent in that, but it also felt like the Shred offense was at its best when Kerr was controlling the tempo with his speedy legs and quick-release throws.
Look, I won’t be at all surprised if Kerr’s back in the mix as an MVP candidate this summer as the Shred march toward another double-digit win season, but the 2024 valley felt like a little bit more than just a blip. And with Salt Lake losing fellow O-line stalwarts like Sean Connole and Grant Lindsley, the Shred will likely lean on a healthy Kerr even more.
Quite frankly, it’s hard to fathom how Salt Lake can remain a championship contender if Kerr isn’t great. But he absolutely can be. We’ve seen it before, and I suspect we’ll see it again.
If Kerr could lead his Utah boys to the pinnacle, it would elevate him to a new and transcendent tier of ultimate acclaim.
Rowan McDonnell, DC Breeze
No matter what happens in the years ahead, Rowan McDonnell will always reside amongst my favorite players in the UFA. His unique and creative throwing arsenal combined with his relentless determination and his social media savvy have made the former MVP one of the faces of the league throughout the past decade. He’s become an admired ultimate ambassador both in DC and around the globe, connecting and inspiring kids in dozens of different countries. He’s been a foundational piece to his team’s culture, and he’s also always been a winning player, helping the Breeze reach the playoffs in each of his eight seasons in the league.
But for Rowan and his DC brothers, an elusive championship remains unachieved. Like the Hustle, the Breeze have been haunted by some painful postseason ghosts, who revisited the franchise in the form of wicked winds in last year’s semifinal against Minnesota. McDonnell finished with six throwaways and two drops amidst the brutal conditions last August, numbers that do not tell the story of that particular game but do perpetuate an eyebrow-raising trend: he’s endured multiple turns in all eight of his playoff losses as a member of the Breeze.
Despite all of these disappointments, it’s not farfetched to envision DC finally delivering for their fans in 2025. They’ve lost some key players, to be sure, but they’ve also added and returned some marquee individuals who can help get the Breeze over the hump. McDonnell may be turning 36 in June, but he’s still seemingly as motivated as ever to be in superb shape and help carry his team.
Winning a UFA championship feels like the last thing for McDonnell to accomplish on the field. It would be surely storybook and legacy-shifting if he and his teammates could get the job done this season.
Max Sheppard, New York Empire
With all due respect to Marques Brownlee, Ben Jagt, and Jack Williams, if these three Empire stars were to win their fourth UFA championship this August, it would not be as transformative for them as it would be for Sheppard finding his first.
In nine years with the Thunderbirds, Sheppard competed in seven playoff games and produced nearly 600 total scores, but the Central Division title eluded him throughout his tenure in the Steel City. That’s not to say he didn’t offer Pittsburgh fans a ton of highlights and memories. From buzzer-beaters to all-star games, Sheppard consistently registered as one of the most exciting players in the league.
With New York, though, he absolutely could rewrite his story. He’s turning 30 in June and has plenty of passion left in the tank. He’ll also be playing alongside the most talented roster he’s ever been a part of in his UFA career, with the possible exception of that 2019 All-Star squad, when he shined brightest on that one glorious evening at Breese Stevens Field.
Every championship has the power to reshape legacies, and great teams etch themselves into the history books by finding ways to win when the stakes are the highest. If Sheppard can help get the Empire back on top, it will put his ultimate career into a new context.
It’s not like he’s a failure without it. Far from it. Individually, he’s been one of the most accomplished and thrilling players in the league over the past 10 years. But there’s no doubt that everything changes after winning a championship.
Time will tell whether Shep or any of these other UFA stars can experience that ultimate victory, but it will be mighty captivating to keep tabs on everyone as they continue to chase history, one day at a time.
