League News
Championship Weekend arrives with no clear favorite. Seattle, Bay Area, San Diego, and Colorado combined for a 25-7 regular season, and every loss came against another team in the field. From Seattle's explosive attack to Bay Area's patient precision, and from San Diego's depth to Colorado's star power, the race for the 2026 WUL title is as open as it's ever been.
Arizona's Madison Speagle earns Week 12 Player of the Week honors after a career-high 5-goal performance against San Diego Super Bloom, adding 3 blocks and 0 turns in a dominant two-way showing. This weekend brings a league-wide bye, giving teams one final chance to recover, regroup, and prepare for Championship Weekend as the race for the 2026 WUL title reaches its conclusion
Championship Weekend is set. Seattle Tempest, Colorado Alpenglow, San Diego Super Bloom and Bay Area Falcons all punched their tickets Saturday in a playoff-clinching slate packed with pressure, late-game swings and season-defining moments. Same four teams as 2025. Different road to get there. Now, with one regular season weekend left, the race for seeding begins.
The playoff field is officially set, but the final weekend of the regular season still has plenty left to fight over. Seeding remains unsettled, rivalries are still simmering, and a few teams would love nothing more than ending someone else’s season on a loss. With four games left before Championship Weekend, the 2026 regular season still has a few twists remaining.
Arizona captain Kez Gesell earns Week 10 Player of the Week honors after a career-best all-around performance that highlighted one of the league's best comeback performances. Now the WUL hits pause. Week 11 brings a league-wide bye, giving contenders a chance to heal up and challengers one last opportunity to reset before the race for Championship Weekend enters its final stretch.
Championship Weekend is set. Seattle Tempest, Colorado Alpenglow, San Diego Super Bloom and Bay Area Falcons all punched their tickets Saturday in a playoff-clinching slate packed with pressure, late-game swings and season-defining moments. Same four teams as 2025. Different road to get there. Now, with one regular season weekend left, the race for seeding begins.
Colorado’s Kennedy McCarthy earns Week 9 Player of the Week honors after delivering another all-around performance: 5 goals, 3 assists, 416 total yards, and just 0.5 turns in a dominant showing that further cemented their breakout season. Now the playoff picture tightens heading into Week 10. Seattle Tempest, San Diego Super Bloom, Bay Area Falcons and Colorado Alpenglow all have a chance to clinch their spot in the championships this weekend, while Arizona Sidewinders and Oregon Soar fight to stay in the conversation.
LA’s Sabrina Belkin earns Week 8 Player of the Week honors after helping power Los Angeles Astra’s furious comeback push against San Diego, finishing among the league leaders in both assists and throwing yards. Now the focus shifts to a massive Week 9 slate. Seattle Tempest can become the first team to clinch a Championship Weekend berth with a win over San Diego Super Bloom, while Super Bloom can secure the same spot with a victory over Seattle and a Bay Area loss.
Chip Yen earned Player of the Week honors with 5 goals, 328 receiving yards, and 4 assists in a dominant Week 7. Week 8 features a high-stakes rematch as Los Angeles Astra host San Diego Super Bloom, plus Game of the Week: Arizona vs Oregon—two rising teams looking to reshape the standings after winless 2025 seasons.
In Week 5, Karli Steiner delivered a record-setting performance to earn Player of the Week honors, posting 7 assists and 516 throwing yards in a windy showcase while rewriting the Los Angeles Astra record book. In Week 6, San Diego Super Bloom travels to face Bay Area Falcons for a 2025 Championship Weekend rematch with Bay hunting for redemption; Oregon Soar heads north to take on Seattle Tempest in a game with heavy playoff implications.
In Week 4, Rachel Egan delivered an outstanding two-way performance to earn Player of the Week honors, leading Oregon Soar with control on both sides of the disc. Across the league, early identities have emerged as teams begin to separate in the standings and point differentials. In Week 5, the schedule intensifies—Seattle Tempest and the Arizona Sidewinders hit the road for doubleheaders across three days of action, as four games from Friday through Sunday start to put real pressure on depth, endurance, and early playoff positioning.
Three weeks into the 2026 WUL season, the numbers are starting to reveal each team’s identity.
San Diego continues to lead with efficient, low-turnover play, while Arizona’s improved D-line conversion has fueled early success. Bay Area and Colorado are finding rhythm after slower starts, and Oregon’s offensive growth has already led to a historic first win.
From efficiency gains to evolving roles, the stats highlight what’s driving teams—and what to watch next.
In Week 3, Caitlin Fitzgerald delivered a dominant two-way performance across Oregon’s doubleheader to earn Player of the Week honors, leading Soar to a historic first win and continuing to drive their early-season identity. Across the league, momentum began to build as teams found rhythm and separation. In Week 4, the stakes rise—a UT doubleheader and playoff positioning start to take shape as teams look to turn early flashes into consistency.
In Week 2, Kennedy McCarthy delivered a historic performance to earn Player of the Week honors, despite a tough road matchup in Seattle. Colorado split their Pacific Northwest doubleheader with a win over Oregon and a loss to the Tempest, while standout performances and record-setting moments defined the weekend. In Week 3, teams look to build momentum as early-season identities continue to take shape.
The 2026 Western Ultimate League season is just days away, kicking off with a 2025 WUL Championship Game rematch between last year’s winners San Diego Super Bloom, and runners-up, Bay Area Falcons. Both teams and the league as a whole have undergone significant changes over the past nine months. Between the return of Los Angeles Astra (and with them, an eight-team league), seismic cross-country roster moves, and everything in between, here is your primer on a very exciting fifth season of the WUL!
We’re excited to announce that the 2026 Western Ultimate League Championship Weekend will take place in Portland, OR!
Portland’s passionate sports community, vibrant culture, and deep roots in ultimate make it the perfect stage for our league’s most competitive and meaningful weekend of the year.
After our 12 week regular season, the top two teams from the Northwest Conference and Southwest Conference will travel to WUL Championship Weekend to determine the league winner. The event will take place in the NE Complex at UO Portland. Expect a fun-filled family-friendly frisbee event with food trucks, games, merch, and more. Tickets coming soon.
This will be the first time the WUL has had its Championship in Oregon.
Semifinal 1 - Northwest #1 vs Southwest #2
Semifinal 2 - Northwest #2 vs Southwest #1
3rd Place - Loser of Semifinal 1 vs Loser of Semifinal 2
Final - Winner of Semifinal 1 vs Winner of Semifinal 2
Can’t make it live? Catch the games streamed live and FREE on the WUL YouTube channel.
Seattle and Oregon come together once again for a high-stakes ultimate showdown that blends elite competition, regional pride, and a format you won’t see anywhere else. Seattle captured the Cup last year on Oregon’s turf in front of a packed stadium in Eugene. Can Oregon flip the script to steal it back in 2026?
Hosted at Interbay Stadium in Seattle, the event features top professional athletes from both the Western Ultimate League (WUL) and the Ultimate Frisbee Association (UFA). The showcase features the Seattle Tempest and Seattle Cascades facing off against the Oregon Soar and Oregon Steel in a unique crossover format designed to highlight talent across both leagues. The evening will conclude with a mixed-league matchup, reflecting the collaborative spirit and depth of talent within the Pacific Northwest ultimate community.
Longstanding rivalries between Seattle and Oregon extend across many sports, and the Northwest Cup continues that tradition within professional ultimate. The event provides fans with an opportunity to see multiple teams, styles of play, and divisions represented in a single competition.
Interbay Stadium | Seattle, WA
February 28, 2026
5:00 PM
Can’t make it in person? Watch live and FREE on YouTube.
The Northwest Cup uses a three-period structure, with total points across all periods determining the overall winner.
Period 1 (15 minutes | UFA rules)
Seattle Cascades vs. Oregon Steel
Period 2 (15 minutes | WUL rules)
Seattle Tempest vs. Oregon Soar
Period 3 (20 minutes | WUL rules | Mixed League)
Seattle Tempest & Cascades vs. Oregon Soar & Steel
The Northwest Cup highlights the growing partnership between the WUL and UFA and the strength of professional ultimate in the Pacific Northwest. For athletes, it is an opportunity to compete alongside and against familiar rivals in a fun and exciting format. For fans, it offers a rare chance to experience multiple professional teams in one setting.
The mixed period in particular underscores the region’s commitment to collaboration and innovation, bringing together athletes from both leagues in a shared competitive environment.
by Noam Gumerman, WUL Lead Writer
Full roster drops for the 2026 WUL season are coming soon, but that hasn’t stopped teams from making big moves early in the offseason. From locking in cornerstone players to landing major transfers, the groundwork for 2026 is already being laid. Which teams are leveling up? Who’s changing jerseys? And how will the return to an eight-team league reshape the competitive landscape? Let’s break down the most impactful roster moves so far.
Robyn Fennig Highlights Returning Vets to Bay Area Falcons
After falling just two points short of a first-ever WUL Championship—on home turf, no less—the Bay Area Falcons have re-signed their offensive engine, Robyn Fennig. Fennig helped propel the Falcons to the final, commanding the offense throughout the season. She finished with the second-most throwing yards across the league, earned First Team All-WUL honors, and was an MVP finalist.
Fennig adds a level of verticality to the Bay Area offense that, in recent years, only Colorado—with Ari Nelson—has consistently matched. But she’s also an elite decision-maker who controls the pace of play at a very high level. With another year in Bay Area’s system, she’ll be an even greater threat.
And it’s not just Fennig. Bay Area has also signed five other multi-year Falcons veterans who have been key contributors, signaling a continued commitment to building an experienced roster. Georgia Cardosa (2025 DPOTY finalist, Second Team All-WUL) and Margo Donahue (2024 BPOTY finalist, Second Team All-WUL) headline the returning group. We’ll see if any big-name rookies join the Falcons once again, but even if Bay Area brings back the same roster as last season, they’ll enter 2026 with a strong chance to capture the WUL title.
Kyra Khoroujnikova (UT) and Megan Maxfield (CO) Join Defending Champs
The biggest news from San Diego Super Bloom’s roster announcement (the first of the 2026 team rosters to drop) was the addition of longtime Utah Wild stalwart Kyra Khoroujnikova and standout defender Megan Maxfield, who previously starred with Arizona Sidewinders and Colorado Alpenglow. For a team that—despite their offensive firepower—rode a dominant defensive performance to their first-ever WUL Championship in 2024, the additions of Khoroujnikova and Maxfield feel like a case of the rich getting richer.
Both players add depth, range, and versatility to a defense that stifled every offense in the league last season and seamlessly shifted between zone, person, and hybrid looks. Perhaps even more notably, it’s a talent-stealing coup for San Diego. Both the Wild and Alpenglow will look noticeably thinner without Khoroujnikova and Maxfield and will have to adjust to life without two players who consistently did the little things right for their teams.
San Diego Super Bloom Enter New Era Without Dena Elimelech
Despite the flurry of signings, perhaps the most significant news of the pre-signing period is the departure of Dena Elimelech from the defending champion San Diego Super Bloom to the PUL’s Atlanta Soul. Elimelech has been a cornerstone of Super Bloom’s core for several seasons and was a critical contributor to their championship run a year ago. Among her many accolades, she is the WUL’s all-time leader in both blocks and receiving yards.
Khoroujnikova and Maxfield will help fill some of the gaps, and Super Bloom has also signed Cam Helm and Naomi Guzman from Los Angeles Astra, along with 2025 USAU College Callahan Award winner Laura Blume. Still, none of those players—at least so far—replicate exactly what Elimelech brought to the field. Who steps up to fill the void left by one of the greatest players in league history will be the central question facing the Super Bloom roster in 2026.
Kristen Reed, Kez Gesell Make Returns To WUL With Arizona
Arizona has endured a challenging couple of seasons, but the Sidewinders have made several moves aimed at stabilizing the roster and pushing toward the franchise’s first-ever winning season. Chief among them are the return of a healthy Kez Gesell and the addition of offensive powerhouse, Kristen Reed.
Gesell and Reed both address one of Arizona’s biggest struggles in recent years: scoring goals.
Reed, a proven goal-scorer at every level she’s played, immediately raises Arizona’s offensive ceiling. In her lone WUL season with Colorado in 2023, Reed finished with 21 goals—third-most in the league—including an unforgettable seven-goal performance against Bay Area that showcased her ability to completely take over a game. Known for her elite timing and natural instinct for finding space in the endzone, Reed has consistently been one of the most difficult downfield matchups in the league. Her résumé beyond the WUL only reinforces that reputation, having led top club programs (namely Molly Brown) as a primary scoring threat.
Paired with Gesell—2023’s Breakout Player of the Year and a relentless cutter—Reed gives Arizona something it has lacked in recent seasons: a reliable, high-volume finishing duo capable of converting possessions into points. If the Sidewinders can complement that firepower with even modest improvements in throwing depth and offensive consistency, Gesell’s and Reed’s return could be the catalyst that finally allows Arizona’s offense to operate with confidence and pace.
As full rosters for the 2026 WUL season begin to take shape, these early moves offer a glimpse into how teams are positioning themselves for the year ahead. From defending champions doubling down on depth, to returning stars reshaping offenses and departures forcing new leaders to emerge, the ripple effects of the offseason are already being felt across the league.
With eight teams back in the fold and more signings still to come, this is only the beginning. The next few months will reveal which teams have built on their momentum—and which still have work to do—before the opening pull of the 2026 season.
