Fast Takes With Fast Break: Houston vs Kansas City

Collision Course: Legends and Stampede Open the South with a Bang

Author: Brandon Borges

The 2025 season for the MLQ South kicks off with a rematch of last year’s highest-stakes showdown, as the Houston Legends host the Kansas City Stampede. Their 2024 faceoff delivered fireworks and playoff drama. If the Legends had taken just one of the three games, they would have clinched a spot at MLQ Championships. But the Stampede stormed through the series with a 3-0 sweep, winning 165-120, 150-145, and 195-90 to keep their own title hopes alive. The matchup was gritty, physical, and emotionally charged, certainly a fitting chapter in one of MLQ’s most compelling rivalries. Now, with both teams reloaded and restructured, they’ll meet again on June 7 with a clean slate but no shortage of urgency. For Houston, it’s a shot at redemption. For Kansas City, a chance to send a message. Either way, this is a season-opening clash that promises to deliver another dramatic entry in the Legends-Stampede saga.

Both the Legends and the Stampede enter 2025 with retooled rosters and a new wave of talent ready to step into the spotlight. While some familiar faces are gone, the narrative this season shouldn’t be about who left, but about who’s ready to rise.

For Houston, the offensive system will look different without longtime centerpiece Hayden Boyes, but the foundation remains strong. Mallory Hughes is expected to take on a leading role as ball-carrier and playmaker, while Andrew Acosta’s blistering speed makes him a transition threat every time Houston gains possession. Billy Nellums brings physicality near the hoops, and the beater pairings of Conner Mason and Gabi Lopez, both tested at the college level last season with Sam Houston State University, will be key in maintaining Houston’s signature pressure-heavy style.

Kansas City, too, has seen its share of rotation shifts, but the Stampede may be even more dynamic this year. New head coach Lauren Smith, a star chaser who helped establish Mizzou’s sharp-passing system, takes the reins, and will likely emphasize ball movement, spacing, and smart off-ball cuts. Smith is joined by fellow Mizzou products Janessa Duce and Jackson Herdade, whose familiarity with her system could fast-track the Stampede’s offensive cohesion. Herdade clocked in a number of assists against the Legends last season, and will look to continue the team’s smart offense this season. Duce, a first-time MLQ player, brings sharp passing and poise from her Mizzou days, an ideal fit for a Stampede team that has consistently elevated rookie talent. Miles Himmelman has returned as well with his crushing hoop defense and ability to turn that defense around into fast break points, while a revamped beater line, led by veterans Justin Dewick and Chanun Ong and bolstered by college standouts Alex Tidler and Audrey Shivley, gives Kansas City flexibility and firepower in key moments.

Stampede in Motion: Experience, Energy, and Emerging Firepower

Kansas City enters the series with a roster that blends veteran firepower and youthful upside, anchored by a powerful beater corps. Headlined by Dewick and Ong, the Stampede’s beaters are built for control, physicality and disruption. Dewick’s physicality and willingness to jump slow offenses with aggressive beats has flummoxed teams like the Legends in the past, while Ong brings relentless offensive pressure as a high-motor enforcer who regularly clears out multiple players before opposing defenses can respond. Keighlyn Johnson adds a punishing physical edge to the beater game, excelling at gaining and keeping dodgeball control and making opposing ball-carriers think twice about initiating transition play, while Vincent Reyes has used his athleticism and motor to take advantage of opposing beaters who are slow in retrieving dodgeballs when they transition from defense to offense, netting the Stampede dodgeball control at opportune times. Purvi Mujumdar rounds out the experienced core, giving Kansas City stability deep into games.

But the most exciting development might be the influx of rising talent. Tidler and Shivley bring key minutes and chemistry from Mizzou’s USQ Cup run. They excel at maintaining bludger control, an asset that pairs perfectly with Kansas City’s drive-heavy chaser strategy. Look for that stability to create room for downhill threats like Nivash Jayaram and Herdade to attack the hoops at full speed.

With another tight series likely to come, a major question for the Stampede is where their seeker production will come from. JD Hopton and Ryan Dickey, both capable seekers for the Stampede, will not be available for this series. While Kansas City’s veteran beaters can buy time, their flag pulling success will hinge on a newer line of seeker talent.

Stabilizing the Launch: Houston’s Identity

Houston enters the 2025 season in a moment of reinvention. With the departure of several longtime anchors, the Legends are turning the page to a new era built on speed, structure and depth. And while the faces may be different, the team’s aggressive DNA remains intact. Head coach Brandon Kubena comes in with intimate knowledge of the roster, having coached many of these players through the Texas Copperheads program. His offensive system is at its best when tight and efficient: quick passes near the hoops, deliberate hammer plays and a tempo that keeps defenses on their heels.

Much of Houston’s success will depend on how quickly their beater corps can adapt. Mason and Lopez step into central roles after strong collegiate seasons, tasked with providing the support and pressure that Houston’s aggressive style demands. The Legends will also look to their newer beaters, such as Sophia Araujo and Raymundo Nuñez, to quickly develop in the Legends system. If they can hold their own against Kansas City’s elite beaters, the Legends’ backfield–heavy defense could turn turnovers into fast-break opportunities. Defensively, Houston plays high and physical, pressing opponents near the midfield line and looking to generate chaos. It’s a system built for disruption, and one tailor-made for a player like Acosta. But for that disruption to turn into dominance, the beaters must win key exchanges and prevent Kansas City from settling into its structured offense. Finally, Juan Acevedo has emerged as a dangerous seeker for the Legends. His ascension could prove critical, as each game between Houston and Kansas City last season was hard-fought and tight until the end, and another close series is likely on the horizon. The raw tools are there. The question is whether Houston can turn that talent into polish, and prove that last year’s narrow losses were growing pains, not a ceiling.

Prediction

The Houston Legends and Kansas City Stampede may be entering 2025 with different strengths, but they share the same goal: setting the tone early in a loaded South Division. Kansas City’s edge in beater control, seeker depth, and system familiarity gives them the inside track, especially early in the season. With Dewick anchoring the defense and Ong applying relentless offensive pressure, the Stampede can dictate pace and positioning from the jump.

But don’t expect Houston to fold. The Legends have a habit of punching above expectations, and with high-motor athletes like Acosta in the open field and Hughes organizing the offense, they have the tools to make every game competitive. If Houston’s beater duo of Mason and Lopez can hold their own against rising talents like Tidler and Shivley, the Legends could turn the tide with quick goals and early flag pulls.

Ultimately, Kansas City’s experience, infusion of new chaser talent, and structure give them a slight advantage in the quadball game, while Houston should have a slight edge in flag runner play if their beater corps can rise to the occasion. Expect a tight series with at least one game coming down to the final possession or flag pull.

FBN Prediction: Kansas City 2 - Houston 1