Minneapolis Monarchs 2026 Preview - Will Butterflies Take Flight or Will They Stay in Their Cocoons?

By: Lauren Gomez

Last Season

The 2025 Minneapolis Monarchs soared in a manner befitting the butterflies adorned on their uniforms. After losing the North Division second seed to the Detroit Innovators in 2024, the Monarchs started last season with a statement 3-0 sweep against the Innovators. Both the Cleveland Riff and the Toronto Raiders forfeited their series against Minneapolis, meaning the only other regular-season action the Monarchs got was against the North Division powerhouse, the Chicago Prowl. While Minneapolis dropped all three games, the first and third games of that series were 120-115 and 170-155, respectively, indicating that the Monarchs were not outmatched by the Prowl and could very well have won the series had a bounce or two gone their way.

This regular-season performance set the stage for one of the best quarterfinal matchups, if not one of the best MLQ series, in recent memory, as Minneapolis duked it out with the Boston Forge. After dropping the first game of the series, Minneapolis came back with two wins by scores of 155-150 and 125-100 in climactic fashion, a series befitting the retirement of the Forge’s longtime aces Max Havlin and Lulu Xu. Two straight losses to the eventual champions, the San Antonio Soldados, should not taint the journey of the Monarchs, who made the MLQ semifinals for the first time in franchise history. It does, however, place expectations upon Minneapolis, who come into this season with a new head coach in Mike Devine and a significant roster shake-up. With a newly realigned league that features Minneapolis doing battle with old rival Chicago and a retooled Toronto, the Monarchs will need to quickly refind their footing if they hope to continue their ascension.

Returners

Addie Sobczak (Twin Cities)

Aidan Curley (Minnesota Quadball)

Ben Schlueter (Twin Cities)

Brady Charles (Minnesota Quadball)

Bryn Gustafson (Minnesota Quadball)

Cecelia Voth

Cody Narveson (Twin Cities)

Craig Tarnowski (Minnesota Quadball)

Denay Hering (Twin Cities)

Emily Sveda (Twin Cities)

Jake Bradach (Minnesota Quadball)

Joseph Goulet (Twin Cities)

Max Meier (Twin Cities)

Matthew Bessard (Twin Cities)

Meredith McDowell (Twin Cities)

Mike Devine (Twin Cities)

Nicole Nelson (Twin Cities)

Peyton Schwiebert (Twin Cities)

Phoebe Thomas (Macalester)

Rory Uskavitch (Twin Cities)

Samantha Schwartz (Twin Cities)

Seth Swenson (Twin Cities)

Terry Carlson (Twin Cities)

Rookies

Bruce Lowmanstone (Harvard Quadball)

Jacob Fuhrman (Minnesota Quadball)

Josh Neuenschwander (Minnesota Quadball)

Lauren Gomez (Minnesota Quadball)

Norah FitzGibbon (Minnesota Quadball)

Transfers

Alex Tidler (Kansas City Stampede)

Emma Vasquez (Chaos QC)

Player Breakdown

Club: 18

Twin Cities: 16

Chaos QC: 2

College: 12

Harvard: 1

Minnesota: 9

Macalester: 1

Unaffiliated: 1

Losses

Alexander-Paul Ogbeide

Ben Zimet (Non-playing Coach)

Bitzy Archibold

Matilda Chowden

Maya Shrestha

Nathan Podolsky

Ryan Cleary

Ryan Mehio

Talitha Anderson

Zeke Majeske

Roster Notes

This season, there were some changes to the coaching staff with Devine joining as a head coach, supported by Cody Narveson and Sam Schwartz as managers. Max Meier and Ben Zimet are also slotted as assistant coaches, along with Meredith McDowell as a beater coach.

Returning to the Monarchs this year are 23 players based out of the Twin Cities and playing for teams such as Chaos and New York Slice during the USQ season. The college kids boast Josh Neuenschwander, the president of MNQ, and fellow teammates Jacob Fuhrman, Lauren Gomez, Norah FitzGibbon, Jake Bradach, and Craig Tarnowski. Bruce Lowmanstone and Phoebe Thomas hail from Harvard and Macalester, respectively. 

Compared to previous years, the ratio of beaters to chasers is higher, with almost 10 beaters on the roster this summer. Beating compared to previous years is going to provide more opportunities for substitutions and playing time for rookies and college-age players such as Bradach and Gomez. Bruce Lowmanstone is also joining the roster from the Harvard Horntails, who had a lot of success with the rookie beater last season in USQ. 

Why They Will

This season, the goal is to have fun and win while doing so with hopes that this season will lead to a better performance in the future. With Devine at the head and a team of players who want to be there and work hard, there is no doubt that they will rise to the occasion. The Monarchs have had good and bad seasons in the past, with an undefeated season in 2021 and a .500 season in 2024. After going 9-3, I can tell they are hungry and are going to give the fans a show. 

Why They Won’t 

Roster changes in the last year, such as losing Bitzy “Buckets” Archibold, who was the third highest scorer in the 2024 MLQ Championships, will hurt the Monarchs. Another painful loss is Ryan Mehio, another player who sets up goal opportunities like it is no one's business. The loss will be felt on the pushes where Mehio and Bitzy Buckets could play off of one another to create goals. Ben Zimet is stepping down from the roster to be a non-playing coach for the team and the Monarchs will miss the knowledge that he brings to the coaching sphere. Another potential coaching issue could come from the shuffling of the coaches. Devine has stepped up to the plate, and while he has coached Minnesota Quadball for the past season, is he ready for the challenge of MLQ? 

Top Questions: 

How will the organization change with Mike Devine at the helm?

In previous years, the culture of the team was said to be very competitive and focused on the game. Devine has said to the team that there will be a pivot into a camaraderie-focused team, bringing them back to the roots of why they play Quadball – to have fun! 

How will the rookies fare? 

It’s always a tough adjustment for a player to jump from USQ to MLQ, but Minnesota has certainly proven their tenacity throughout this past season. When they were unable to compete on their own, they were willing to combine with other programs, such as Wisconsin and Columbia College Chicago, to still be able to compete. Additionally, Harvard had a great year, competing once again in College D1 after a D2 run in the 2024-2025 season and placing second at the Massachusetts Quadball Conference Championship. These rookies may not have experience with MLQ, but they are resilient and willing to learn, so anything can happen.

Final Predictions

MPLS 3-0 TOR

MPLS 0-3 CHI

9-3 Regular season and second-place divisional finish

The Monarchs make it to the MLQ Championship semifinals