Indianapolis Alleycats Playoff Journey | Divisional Round | 2026
Author: Ryan Baker
Photos: SEDIII Productions
After all the offseason excitement and a slow start, the Indianapolis AlleyCats are set to play the Radicals in Madison for the first round of the playoffs this Sunday.
Now, records are irrelevant. Madison won three games against Indy this season, but the AlleyCats dominated the fourth. None of that matters anymore. What counts is how both teams play at Breese Stevens Field in a few days.
“We have to play the team in front of us,” Head Coach Nathan Bussberg said. “We’re excited to go to Breese with an environment full of fans.”
Indy just finished a shaky doubleheader weekend. They were routed by Toronto and beat Pittsburgh, but it wasn’t a clean win. If they play like that in Madison, their playoff run could end quickly. Still, even with a tough end to the regular season, this team is ready to make an impact.
Elliot Hawkins and Jake Felton are the “sling-it brothers,” each throwing 31 hucks, the most in the league. But they’ll be heading into Madison without Jonathan Mast, William Wettengel, and Sofiène Bontemps. Wettengel and Bontemps combined for 22 assists, 31 goals, and 22 blocks in shortened seasons. Mast may not have those stats, but he’s probably the biggest loss, serving as one of the team’s most reliable players and their main handler.
“Mast is a huge loss, and it's not a replaceable one either,” Felton said. “It comes down to can we make up for his role and have no turns with our play.”
Seth Gudeman filled Mast’s role for Indy in their last game against Pittsburgh in a moments notice, and according to Bussberg, he’ll likely do the exact same role on Sunday.
On the bright side, Xavier Payne will join the Madison-Indy series for the first time in 2026. Payne has had a lot of success against the Radicals. Before playing D-line with Chicago last year, he racked up 18 assists in his last four games against Madison. The only concern is that he’s played just five games this season, but that doesn’t seem to bother him.
“I think I play a very simple game, so I’m easy to play around and plug and play,” Payne said. I also watch all the games even if I don’t play, so I can see what the guys do. Madison is Madison. They show up and play no matter what. But they are beatable. As we have seen.”
Payne will most likely see both ways, but he combined with Kai Creed could cause some disruption in Madison’s handler-heavy offensive set. We’ve also seen Joel Close and Connor Concannon make some waves defensively. It will be all hands on deck this Sunday.
If Hawkins and Felton can connect well with Gudeman, find open looks, and control the game’s pace, they’ll set the team up for success. These two can turn a game around, but their turnovers could also cost Indy the win.
I asked Bussberg whether a cleaner transition offense, which was a long-standing issue for Indy this season, or a strong game from Hawkins and Felton was more important. Here’s what he said:
“Clean offense (from anyone playing O-line) is the number one driving statistic to winning, so we’ll go with Felton/Hawkins for that reason,” Bussberg said. “Not giving Madison the ball is a good goal.”
The whole idea is to play such crisp offense that the transition offense doesn’t feel pressure to force a turnover and score all game. Felton understands what needs to happen, as he has brought his turnover numbers down, but ended the year with 15 turnovers in three games.
“We kind of know what I got to do,” Felton said. “It's all about who gets hot. For me, I can play the role of facilitator to help him [Hawkins] do what he does, and that also takes care of the turnover problem.”
It might seem unfair to put so much pressure on two players in a team sport, but that’s how it’s been for the AlleyCats most of the year. We’ve seen Hawkins and Felton take over games, and Indy clearly plays differently when they’re on the field.
A win would set the AlleyCats up with a matchup in Minnesota against the Wind Chill on August 8.
To watch the game on Sunday at 5 p.m. CT, go here!
