Fast Takes With Fast Break: 2026 MLQ Roster Reactions
By: Nicholas Love
One of the most exciting times on the Quadball calendar is early May. April showers go away, May flowers begin to bloom and MLQ franchise rosters finally drop. On May 7, all 12 franchises released their rosters for the 2026 season. With tons of new additions, departures and cross-team transfers, we wanted to give you a quick rundown of the changes for what could be the most open MLQ Championship race in recent history.
The East Division
New York Titans
The runner-up at the 2025 MLQ Championships, the New York Titans, look a little different heading into 2026. The Titans still return their Big Three of Leo Fried, Molly Potter and Lindsay Marella. They stand alongside familiar contributors like Christian Barnes, Tate Kay and Mike Li. However, several key pieces from last year’s championship run are no longer on the roster. These losses include Annika Kim, Mo Haggag, Devin Lee, Jon Jackson (now rostered for the Detroit Innovators), Ryan Leary (now rostered for the Boston Forge), Tessa Mullins and Zach Armantrading, all of whom played valuable minutes during their second-place finish.
Even with those departures, New York added several intriguing pieces that could fit seamlessly into the roster. Justin Cole transfers in from the Chicago Prowl, Zach Donofrio joins from Boston and practice squad call-ups Jalen Brooks and Ad Ojo are expected to take on larger roles this season, especially with the loss of Mo Haggag. If those additions can quickly settle into the Titans' system, New York should once again find itself at the top of the East Division and firmly in the championship conversation.
Washington Admirals
The Washington Admirals are holding the line and look steady heading into another strong MLQ season. They had an up-and-down 2025 campaign, but finished the year with an impressive Champs performance compared to how they started the season. The usual captains of the ship remain in Washington. However, the Admirals did lose Rob Rice, Athilesh Thanigai (to Boston) and Levan Tsiskarishvili, who proved invaluable in the seeker game time and time again last summer.
Washington was able to pick up some strong recruits from UVA in Elizabeth Reinhardt and Khamari Parker. Jordi Sancho transfers in from the Aviators and should provide solid depth for the Admirals. The squad has continuity, but we’ll see in the coming weeks whether that can translate into wins.
Charlotte Aviators
Out of every team in MLQ this season, the Charlotte Aviators’ roster may be the most similar to last year’s. In 2025, the Aviators surprised a lot of people during their regular season upset over the Washington Admirals and clawed their way out of the play-in bracket at Champs. Two additions that should bring even more experience and chaser depth to Charlotte this year are Gwyn Sofka and Lindsey Simpson. Both are capable playmakers who give the Aviators more energy and flexibility heading into the season.
Charlotte did lose Jordi Sancho to Washington, along with Wren Morgan and Mohamed-Yahia Monawar (MY) in utility roles, but the Aviators have always been a team built around adaptability and players willing to step into any role needed. Expect them to be ready to make noise again at East Division Champs.
Boston Forge
The 2025 Boston Forge and the 2026 Boston Forge are two completely different teams. That shift mainly comes from Boston turning the page from the old guard to the new. The Forge have notable departures all over the roster, including Max Havlin, Lulu Xu, Carsen Olazaba, Ian Scura, Jessica Lee, Luiza Nicolae, Karsten Assoua and Zach Donofrio (to the Titans). It’s going to be difficult for teams to watch film from last season and expect the same style of play because Boston is likely going to look completely different in pace, identity and personnel.
That also creates a huge opportunity for a lot of MQC players stepping into franchise roles this summer. Andres Zalowitz and Matan Schwartz join Boston from Brandeis, Molly French and Evan Sciarabba come over from Boston University and Ryan Leary transfers in from the Titans. The Forge also added veteran experience with Thanigai from Washington, former practice squad head coach Jordan Smiley earning a franchise roster spot and Sena Morimoto returning after injury. Building chemistry early will be important, but the depth is there for Boston to potentially reclaim the East.
Detroit Innovators
New to the East Division this year are the Detroit Innovators. Detroit punched its ticket to MLQ Champs last season and picked up wins in August that helped prove the franchise’s legitimacy beyond just being a fun expansion story. The Innovators showed they could win real games against quality opponents.
Detroit retooled quite a bit this offseason. Key departures include Julien Theuerkauf, Ashton Glenn, Anna Klein, Sarah Multer, Neil Peterson and Levi Medeiros (to the Toronto Raiders). The team lost a lot of chaser depth and will need players to step up and fill those cleats.
Fortunately for Detroit, some major names are stepping in. Brooke Erwin joins from Kansas City alongside Atlas Mitchell, Andrew Mueller, Thomas Chang-Davidson (TCD) and Jon Jackson. Jackson might be the same force just as Fried was for his return to Detroit in 2024. Detroit has always been a team willing to punch opponents in the mouth and force physical games, much like they did two seasons ago. Could we be looking at a repeat?
Cleveland Riff
The 2026 Cleveland Riff are looking nice heading into the season and getting started earlier than any team in MLQ, which shows they have a lot to prove this season. The 2026 Riff did lose a few strings from the franchise, including Abby Engle, Austin Howe, Dominik Twarowski, Martin Meinert and most notably Pete Brechting, a huge piece to the Riff’s beating and chasing game.
New to the Riff and looking to strike some chords are Ashley Chow, Varun Krishna, Marin Neill, Tymir Bevel and Titus Chan, a USNT Development Academy chaser. The Riff are reaping the benefits of a strong Pitt / Case Western program that’s able to provide a lot more depth and talent than in recent years. That being said (according to MLQ Stats page, don’t come for me because some games didn’t get logged online), Joe Lombardi led the league in total goals last season with 31, but also led the league in turnovers with 32. Sharing the wealth across the program with new pickups is going to make the Riff a lot scarier to see than in recent years.
The Central Division
San Antonio Soldados
Wow. That’s really all I have to say. The 2026 San Antonio Soldados have a completely new look from their 2025 Championship run, and in the new look of the South…it’s about to be one heck of a season. Elephant in the room — the Soldados lost a lot of people, and when I say a lot, I mean a lot from their Champs run. Brandy Gomez, Catherine Hay, Christian Cortez, Daniel Williams, Jay Stewart…should I continue…John Alvarez, Kyle Bryant, Louis Sanchez, Luke Langlinais, Matt Blackwood, Nate McCall, Riley Moehlmann, Milena Sousa and Javi Tijerina all joined the Houston Legends. You could take all the players I just named and make a whole new team right there.
That being said, the Soldados did pick up some new pieces: CJ Dumas, Dilan Freeman, Ella Jordan, Sam Regardia and Sohum Sharma (from Chicago). Even with the large number of departures from the Soldados, they still have an incredible roster for 2026, which speaks to the depth of the 2025 Benepe Cup winners. And when you have three players in Hayden Boyes, Miguel Esparza and David Avilla who can give you 30 goals each on the season, who says they can’t repeat?
Houston Legends
I don’t know if it’s safe to say, but Houston doesn't have any problems now. A big Achilles heel for the Legends has been a numbers issue; even with a full franchise roster of 30 players, they’ve always had difficulty bringing a sizable force to tournaments outside of Texas. Player availability, travel for tournaments, and the depth to make competitive runs in longer series have hurt Houston in years past. From the 2025 roster, the team did lose some players, including Gabi Lopez, Juan Acevedo, Sam Reagan and Sarah Doverspike.
But, Houston was able to land some big names back on the roster, including Moehlmann, Sousa, Tijerina, TJ and Logan Farrow, Paulina Dominguez, Ashton Butler and Daisy Alfaro. The team added pieces that should help the team find success against a new-look Southwest, hopefully making the trip to MLQ Champs and showing the league what Houston is truly made of.
Kansas City Stampede
Well, look at who got beefed up this summer! Kansas City stampeded your 2026 MLQ Champs…oh is that too early? The Kansas City Stampede have always been an incredibly solid team, but because of their position in the former MLQ South, they never found much footing to propel them far come MLQ Champs. From the 2025 team, KC lost Aaron Grant, Aaron Stout, Alex Tidler (to Minneapolis), Erwin (to Detroit), Janessa Duce, Nivash Jayaram (to New York) and Rachel Rader.
But let’s call this season what it is: a homecoming. KC was able to add Bitzy Archibald, Ryan Cleary and Ryan Mehio, all from Minneapolis. Mimi Baldwin and Tiffannie Chang are rostered from 2x USQ National Champion Creighton. Riley Usami returns to the squad after a one-year hiatus, and back from the Prowl is Darian Murcek-Ellis. 2026 KC is looking dangerous, and I would say the frontrunner currently for the Frontier division, but none of what I say matters until they put some wins on the board in 2026.
Chicago Prowl
The Chicago Prowl are getting just a little bit younger in 2026. The Prowl have struggled in MLQ to finish the big game, struggling through tough opponents to make it to the finals or finding themselves on the wrong side of the bracket. Whether or not that Prowl curse continues under new Head Coach Tad Walters is yet to be seen, but for Chicago’s sake I hope not. Not rostered for the Prowl this season include Murcek-Ellis (to Kansas City), Kailey Fugate, Leah Osborne, Mae Overholt, Sharma (to San Antonio) and Justin Cole (to New York).
Joining Chicago this year are some young cats from the Illini Program, including Niamor Romain, Kevin Fantozzi, Veronica Hoffman and Ojas Turekar, with the last three being pulled up from the practice squad. Andrew Parchim also gets the call-up after a great USQ season with the Boom / Trainwreck Program. Ally Peachey is also rostered, hinting at a return for the USNT chaser after an injury in 2025, which could be the piece the Prowl need to get them back into the finals.
Minneapolis Monarchs
Ready to reign in a new era of Minneapolis quadball are the 2026 Monarchs. A lot of very familiar faces for the Monarchs are not rostered for the 2026 season, including Alexander-Paul Ogbeide, Ben Zimet, Ben Schlueter, Nathan Podolsky and Zeke Majeske. Also transferring from Minneapolis to Kansas City are Bitzy Archibold, Ryan Mehio and Ryan Cleary.
That being said, the Monarchs are building their franchise around their college programs in both the University of Minnesota and University of Wisconsin. Looking to make their mark on the season include Norah FitzGibbon, Jake Bradach, Josh Neuenschwander, Emma Vasquez (from 2024 Chicago Prowl), Alex Tidler (from Kansas City) and Lauren Gomez. It’ll be interesting to see how the Monarchs this season can help develop their young talent with their veteran teammates to make a solid push at MLQ Central Conference Champs.
Toronto Raiders
Toronto prepares for their season as the only MLQ franchise to represent Canada QC on the map. While their path to the championship remains difficult with the retooling and strengthening of their Central Division opponents, Toronto has dedicated themselves to the challenge by picking up several players from the Ottawa Black Bears. Notable additions for the Raiders include Sinan Keyder stepping into a player role, Tiera Velasco, Levi Medeiros (from Detroit as well as Alex Naftel and Hailey Yhap from the Black Bears.
The Raiders did lose some cornerstone pieces, including Brittany Taylor, Derek Taylor, Michael Wanless and Nathan Reid. It’ll be interesting to see how the new additions fill those shoes, but if you don’t know the name Hailey Yhap yet, you probably will by the end of the summer.
