Raising Their Stock: The MLQ Players Turning Heads This Season

By: Brandon Borges

During the MLQ preseason and regular season coverage, player conversations often fixate on select groups: high-volume scorers, Team USA talent, offseason star acquisitions and highly touted rookies. But during a midseason break with no immediate events to preview or recap, there is an opportunity to turn attention toward players who may not fit those descriptions but have proven no less impactful.

Unheralded rookie acquisitions performing well above expectations, young players realizing their potential and growing into stars and longtime veterans flourishing in new roles all deserve their share of the spotlight. This article seeks to provide that spotlight by highlighting one player from each team whose performance has boosted their stock in the first half of the MLQ season.

New York Titans: Max Semegran (6 stops, 1.696 avg. dodgeballs, +7 plus/minus)

After reaching last year’s MLQ Championship final, New York returned a proven core but surrounded it with significant turnover: 14 players on the standing roster were not with the Titans in 2025, including eight rookies. For a program that has traditionally leaned on proven veterans, this season requires more than top-end talent. It requires integrating younger and newer pieces into the rotation. Against the Washington Admirals, rookie beater Max Semegran offered exactly that, leading the Titans in beater stops and finishing with the team’s highest plus/minus in his MLQ debut.

The foundation of Semegran’s series against Washington was doing exactly what good young beaters are trained to do. He protected dodgeball control on offense, used his legs to make beats rather than launching risky longer throws and finished plays even when an Admirals chaser had just passed the quadball away. Reliability from the beater position is crucial when competing for a championship, especially when surrounded by veteran chasers and Semegran was as steady as could be.

Of course, when needed, Semegran also showed flashes of what makes him unique. His lightning-fast running and reaction speed served him well on both sides of the pitch when he had a dodgeball in tow. On defense, he shot out to long passes and removed the space opposing chasers had to work with, forcing equally long passes that the Titans could intercept or otherwise guard against. On offense, Semegran darted in and out of dangerous spots near the hoops, forcing opposing beaters to shift focus to him and away from quadball play. New York’s aggressive defensive pressure and its passing attack were both greatly aided by Semegran’s presence.

A major concern when bringing new talent onto any team is that rookies can be unpredictable as they figure out their roles. Semegran is not a young college beater. He is coming off a successful campaign with New Jersey Dice during the last USQ season and also brings big-game experience from the Harvard Horntails’ 2024 championship-winning season. Still, the jump from USQ to MLQ play can rattle a player unaccustomed to consistently facing top-level competition. Semegran’s poise and speed did more than translate to the MLQ level; they were key in the Titans’ sweep over Washington. As New York looks to return to the final and earn the championship that eluded them last season, Semegran will need to continue building on his opening-weekend performance and deliver consistent play from the beater position.

Boston Forge: Ryan Leary (5 goals, 4 assists, 1 stop)

Like the Titans, the Boston Forge entered the 2026 season with an abundance of new talent, bringing in 15 players not on last season's roster. Unlike New York, however, Boston lost a significant portion of the veteran talent it had relied on for years, including three of its top five goal scorers from 2025. That kind of turnover could decimate most teams. Fortunately for Boston, the Northeast has become a breeding ground for quality young talent thanks to the Massachusetts Quadball Conference. After a few seasons with the Titans, Ryan Leary joins the squad as a prime example of that talent.

Leary’s talent has never been in question. New York rostered her and played her frequently as an off-ball option who played smart, found good spots to receive passes and finished off plays the Titans created. At Emerson, she was much more of a “do-everything” leader on pitch and her most recent season saw her become the team’s field general, organizing nearly every Emerson chaser into the right spots and cuts. Now, the Forge gives her a mix of both experiences, surrounding her with veteran talent while allowing her more freedom with the quadball in hand. This career path has shaped Leary into one of Boston’s most versatile chasers.

Leary expertly found soft spots in opposing defenses and exploited them both on and off the ball. Off ball, she spotted up in dangerous areas and gave the Forge a release-valve option for easy dunks. With the ball in her hands, Leary used her legs to reach dangerous areas around defenders and launch quality shots, while also finding teammates with solid passes that helped Boston score late in games. Leary was sensational during the flag-runner periods in the three games against Washington, making all the right moves to push her team across the finish line and complete the series sweep.

Leary did everything right to reach the position she is in today. She learned the speed and strategies of elite MLQ play during her time with the Titans. She took the reins as the leader of Emerson’s offense. And when the Forge gave her the freedom to use her talents, she knocked it out of the park. Boston will be in action soon against Leary’s old team when the Forge travel to New York to take on the Titans and she should see another elevated role as Boston looks to take the top seed in the Atlantic Division.

Washington Admirals: Julia Rankin (4 goals, 7 assists, 2 stops, 4 turnovers)

The Washington Admirals have not had the season they envisioned. Though they have played several close games against the Titans and the Forge, the team remains winless and will have to compete in an elimination series at the Eastern Conference Championship to keep its season alive. Despite their record, the Admirals have remained competitive against MLQ’s top teams, thanks to developing young chasers and a stout beater corps that has limited opponents’ fast breaks. But one major strength falls on the shoulders of a single player, and those who have long known her talent can now point to the stats and say what they have already believed: Julia Rankin is fantastic at quadball.

Though Rankin has improved over the years, the Washington veteran has always played extremely well while on the pitch. What has kept her from wider recognition is also one of her greatest strengths: as a consummate professional, her focus has always been on whatever helps Washington win. If a chaser teammate is on a hot scoring streak, Rankin is content to get the ball to that player, set screens, or spot up as a reset option. If her beater teammates are pressuring an opposing quadball carrier, Rankin runs to cover passing options and ensures the opponent has nowhere safe to move the ball. She sacrifices her body to stop dunks, grabs loose balls, fills defensive gaps and keeps possessions alive.

Now, with the Admirals facing recent struggles, Rankin’s impact is becoming clearer in MLQ’s tracked stats. Offensively, she is driving toward the hoops to draw beats and pass to cutters for assists, while also finding matchups she can attack for shots and dunks. Rankin has long been known for doing the dirty work that helps her team function, but now she is taking on more of the visible production as well, giving a more accurate picture of her value to Washington.

Rankin is currently one of only two Admirals chasers with an assist-to-turnover ratio above 1. That stat reflects a player who knows what she is doing with the ball in her hands. Washington is in a rough patch as it prepares for a do-or-die series at the Eastern Conference Championship, but if the Admirals reverse their fortunes and perform at the level expected of them, Rankin will have a large part in that turnaround.

Detroit Innovators: Gwen Pratt (4 goals, 1 assist, 2 stops)

Though the Detroit Innovators failed to take a win from the Charlotte Aviators, they still flashed the makings of a dangerous Eastern Conference dark horse once their full roster comes together. Detroit demonstrated high-end beating and capable seeking, but against Charlotte, one player stood out as especially critical to the team’s rise. Gwen Pratt has made good on the potential they had long shown within the Innovators’ program, emerging as one of the premier chasers in the Gateway Division.

Pratt has always had strong scoring ability, particularly through a nifty shot they could uncork when finding space near or behind the hoops. Now, they have coupled their shooting with the traits of a true offensive initiator, becoming a multi-layered threat with the ball in their hand. Pratt attacked defenders with pump fakes and sharp footwork to drive towards the hoops for scoring opportunities. They also showed great passing awareness, finding teammates on the wings and behind the hoops for quality shots and dunk attempts.

Defensively, Pratt was just as disruptive. They have become a great ballhawk, anticipating where passes from the opposing team will go and swatting the passes down or making contact with the intended recipient. Charlotte had several scoring attempts around Pratt snuffed out and even when Pratt was not credited with the stop, they often disrupted the play enough for Detroit’s chasers to grab the rebound or for their beaters to clean up the possession.

Pratt has evolved past the label of a “good young player growing within a program” and into a versatile star capable of anchoring Detroit on both sides of the pitch. Their growth is emblematic of the Innovators’ goal to make good on their talent development and return to the bracket stage of the MLQ Championship tournament. Once Detroit brings their complete roster together, expect Pratt to keep building on this statement performance.

Cleveland Riff: Ashley Chow (7 stops, 1.226 avg. dodgeballs, -5 plus/minus)

The Cleveland Riff has continued to move past the struggles of their recent history, with several of the Gateway Division’s top chasers now based in “The Land.” That said, a pain point for the Riff has been their lack of high-end beater talent and that pain only intensified with the loss of Peter Brechting in the offseason. Fortunately, Cleveland’s recent Case Western pickups included not only star power in Titus Chan and rotational depth in Vivian Cox but also a promising young building block in Ashley Chow.

Chow boasts several attributes of a star-level beater. A solid arm and good speed allow Chow to compete with the athleticism of elite beaters in the Eastern Conference. They also have quick instincts. Chow never looked taken aback by the more aggressive dodgeball plays Charlotte made on offense or in transition and they constantly cleaned up the end of Cleveland’s defensive plays by taking out Aviators chasers who escaped wraps or grabbed offensive rebounds. But what may be Chow’s greatest assets are their timing and proactivity. Any time an Aviator beater shifted their focus to quadball play or a player other than Chow, Chow attacked immediately, taking the opposing beater out of the play and snapping up control for the Riff for several stretches of the game.

In a series where Cleveland was outscored by at least seven goals in all three games, Chow was the only Riff beater whose “minus” stat was less than half of their drives played. That means Cleveland’s defense, with Chow on the field, stopped Charlotte more than half the time. For a rookie beater coming onto a rebuilding team, that is a meaningful stat. The Riff has found a talented prospect at a position of need and as the team continues to grow, Chow’s talents should only become more apparent.

Charlotte Aviators: Braxton Hale (7 goals, 10 assists, 2 stops, 3 turnovers)

The Charlotte Aviators have done exactly what they wanted to do through the month of June. They swept both of their regular season series and are 6-0 entering the Eastern Conference Championship, guaranteeing themselves at least a quarterfinals appearance at MLQ Championship. On their way to that undefeated record, they also accomplished a nice secondary goal: 10 chasers on their roster have five or more goals. The Aviators’ June schedule gave them a chance to spread the wealth and develop their roster, though Detroit and Cleveland still forced scoring droughts when Charlotte’s veterans stalled or its depth pieces made mistakes. In those moments, the Aviators needed a hand to steady the course, and that is where Braxton Hale has stepped up this season.

Hale has been a consistent Charlotte veteran for years, rostering for around 50 games with the program. Athletic and shifty, he has shown a great ability to get into dangerous spots, draw defenders in and pass to teammates in position to score. Hale’s speed and passing vision have also made him a solid transition runner, finding streakers running laterally with him for goals. Where Hale has significantly improved his offensive game is in the patience and calmness of his ball-carrying. He has looked surgical as a passer, finding easy looks as they develop for the Aviators. While Hale still has the quickness to rely on, he now uses it more efficiently and purposefully, using bursts of speed to reach the right spots rather than going full speed for the entire drive.

Over six games, Hale has a sterling 3.33 assist-to-turnover ratio. As Charlotte hopes to make a deep run at MLQ Championship, having a keeper come off the bench and organize the offense will be crucial, especially one who limits turnovers and, by extension, transition opportunities for the opposing team. Hale may not be a new name for the Aviators, but his growth into a calmer, more efficient offensive organizer has made him one of the Aviators’ most important depth pieces heading into the postseason.

Minneapolis Monarchs: Norah FitzGibbon (1 assist, 2 stops)

The Minneapolis Monarchs have had an odd start to their season, to say the least. Their expected first matchup against the Toronto Raiders was canceled, leaving them with an exhibition against a mix of the Chicago Meowstars and the Chicago Prowl before their only official regular-season series, a sweep by the Prowl proper. That makes it hard to identify a statistical standout, but the eye test suggests the Monarchs have a gem in rookie chaser Norah FitzGibbon.

Minneapolis has become a factory for exactly the kind of smart, well-positioned chasers FitzGibbon already looks capable of becoming. On offense, the Monarchs value and develop players who can find open spots near the hoops, work the ball to the wings, find shooters in front of or behind the hoops, and knock down those shots on the top hoop if needed. FitzGibbon is no slouch on the defensive end either. They are great at cutting off angles drivers want to enter and leading them toward defended areas of the pitch. She also has great hands when guarding the hoops, tracking where the quadball will go and defending dunk attempts well. In a conference where most teams generate offense from the wings, having a capable defensive presence like FitzGibbon gives those teams pause.

The Monarchs suffered several significant losses over the offseason and will need their young players to develop if they wish to build on their impressive season last year. An odd start to the season may have had some benefits, as the exhibition series allowed for a low-stakes environment for players like FitzGibbon to adjust to the speed of MLQ. With a month to prepare for the Central Conference Championship and a guaranteed spot at MLQ Championship in tow, Minneapolis can more fully figure FitzGibbon into the game plan and translate her talents into winning quadball.

Chicago Prowl: George Blackwell III (6 goals, 1 stop)

Losing multiple Team USA chasers in one offseason usually signals a step back and at first glance, Chicago’s roster resembled a team rebuilding around college-aged talent. The Prowl program, however, has prioritized developing young players within the Chicago area for several years, and that labor continues to bear fruit. Against the Monarchs, the newest crop of Prowl rookies swept Chicago’s rival in convincing fashion, continuing a development trend evident in George Blackwell's play.

Blackwell previously made a name for himself as a quality off-ball shooter whom the Prowl could set behind the hoops. Over the years, however, it is clear that the young chaser has expanded his game to provide production in a variety of ways, and that work was on full display against Minneapolis. Blackwell was an offensive buzzsaw, scoring in nearly every way possible on the pitch. He took strong drives around and even through defenders for dunks, fired off quick shots at the top hoop, and spotted up on the wings for catch-and-dunk opportunities. That added variety matters because top-tier MLQ defenses are adept at taking away predictable scoring options, forcing teams like Chicago to find and attack soft spots immediately. That requires multifaceted offensive players with the skill set Blackwell now possesses.

Blackwell’s comfort filling every offensive role the Prowl asks of him is evidence of the effectiveness of Chicago’s development program. He did not simply rely on his immediate strengths and stagnate; he worked on every aspect of his offensive game and became an expert at identifying vulnerabilities in opposing defenses. It is that growth that keeps Chicago on the short list of championship favorites. And as the Prowl rookies follow in Blackwell’s footsteps, expect the next generation of Chicago talent to seamlessly fill the void left by any veterans who leave the roster.

Kansas City Stampede: Addi Himmelman (3 stops, 1.706 avg. dodgeballs, +5 plus/minus)

Kansas City was predicted in the preseason to be the best team in the league, and its record so far has given that prediction plenty of merit. The Stampede are 3-0 after sweeping a rising Houston Legends team, with those wins powered largely by an elite and experienced beater corps. With household quadball names like Lauren Curry, Chanun Ong and Derek Dearking anchoring the group, the Stampede entered the season with one of MLQ’s most intimidating beater rotations.

Leading the charge against the Legends, however, was a young beater who had taken a significant leap forward since her last season with the Stampede.

Addi Himmelman started the weekend against Houston like a house on fire. She used her speed and smarts to dominate average dodgeball time, then turned that control into smart hammer plays that kept the Legends’ offense under pressure. Himmelman maintained that pace into the flag-runner periods, fighting hard for loose dodgeballs and giving her seekers as much time as possible to secure all three Kansas City catches over the weekend. In a series where beater play was the difference-maker, Himmelman gave the Stampede exactly the push they needed to execute their frenetic style on both sides of the ball.

It was a statement performance and one that rewarded Kansas City’s coaching staff’s trust in placing Himmelman on the starting line. Pairing the classic Himmelman athleticism with sharp in-game awareness, she proved that her name belongs in any conversation about Kansas City’s elite beater corps.

San Antonio Soldados: Sohum Sharma (4 stops, 1.487 avg. dodgeballs, +6 plus/minus) and Ella Jordan (5 stops, 1.514, +7 plus/minus)

It may be a bit of a cop-out to include two names from San Antonio, but Sohum Sharma and Ella Jordan worked so effectively in tandem that highlighting one without the other would feel incomplete. The Soldados entered this season with only a fraction of the star power that fueled their undefeated 2025 championship run, making the elevation of younger players and positional depth immediate priorities. Against the Houston Legends, Sharma and Jordan put both needs into action.

Sharma, coming from the Illini Ridgebacks and a depth role with the Chicago Prowl, hounded the Houston offense throughout the series. He used his speed and hustle to cover every inch of the pitch, beating multiple chasers before the Legends could move the quadball across midfield and leaving Houston with few options by the time it reached the keeper line. Highly aggressive without overextending, Sharma worked in sync with Jordan, who served as both the defensive anchor at the Soldados’ hoops and a key initiator in San Antonio’s offense.

Jordan, a key utility player for the 2026 USQ Club Champions Texas Hill Country Heat, shut down several Houston attempts to create behind the hoops, while also setting up quick hammers for the Soldados on the other end. Just as importantly, she did so without sacrificing control, often throwing back to hoops once the job was done rather than forcing low-percentage plays.

Sharma and Jordan stepped into San Antonio’s starting line and kickstarted three big runs that put the Soldados up by several goals before they stepped off the pitch. These two beaters gave San Antonio exactly the kind of balanced, high-impact beater performance it will need to do what has become rare in MLQ: win back-to-back championships.

Houston Legends: Brandon Kubena (11 goals, 10 assists, 4 stops)

The Frontier Division boasts some of the best drivers in quadball, with players like Ryan Mehio, Riley Usami, Hayden Boyes and Miguel Esparza using their speed and strength to blow past point defenders and rack up goals and assists. Given the difficulty of defending those players in space, it is no hyperbole to say Brandon Kubena has become one of the best open-field defenders in the sport, if not the outright best.

Time and time again, Kubena lined up against opposing driving chasers and stonewalled them, either forcing long passes early in a possession or bringing them to the ground. Behind the hoops, Kubena is no less threatening. Chasers often rushed passes away from him and back up top, allowing the other Legends chasers to jump underneath those throws and intercept the quadball. Even when Kubena was not credited with the final stop, his pressure often created it.

Offensively, Kubena has long been able to organize chasers with slick passes to drivers. This season, however, he has made major strides as a scoring threat in his own right. With impressive speed for his size and a quick release near the hoops, Kubena now commands immediate attention as a scorer, which has only strengthened his passing. As defenses collapse toward him, Houston’s dunkers and behind-hoops shooters have found cleaner looks, late rotations, and one-on-one matchups around the hoops.

Houston’s 1-5 record may seem unimpressive, but it belies a team with a dangerous chaser corps and a physical defense that can rattle opponents at both the keeper line and the hoops. While some of Houston’s danger comes from its offseason additions, much of its growth has been sparked by Kubena’s elevation into both a premier open-field tackler and a legitimate scoring threat.