Photo by Alan bloodgood

JULY 20, 2026
By Will Stuntz

If you look back at all of the games the DC Breeze have played in 2026, it would be an impossible task to find a game that wasn’t impacted heavily by a rookie, second-year player, or college student. In a year where the Breeze faced significant roster turnover prior to the season, their crew of young stars has transcended all expectations, and they’re one of the biggest reasons DC remains a contender, despite the absences of longtime Breeze stalwarts like Tyler Monroe, Thomas Edmonds and 2018 Ultimate Frisbee Association (UFA) MVP Rowan McDonnell. 

“Newer players on the team have been able to step in and have the ability to play at a high level,” first-year head coach Xavier Maxstadt said. “I think we tend to forget how young they are until they’re missing a game for college nationals.”

Offensively, this team looks quite different than it has in the past when they’ve taken a more small-ball approach, working their way up the field through consistent and accurate quick passes.  This year, the Breeze aren’t scared to throw it deep, and there’s a slew of young cutters who love to run long and haul in those hucks.

“It’s their confidence,” Breeze hybrid Christian Boxley said. “Being confident enough to get the disc wherever they receive it… They’re not very scared to fail.” 

The Breeze’s top two goal scorers, Coby Loveranes and Theo Shapinsky, are only in their second professional seasons. Both players have played in 10 of the Breeze’s 12 games in 2026, and they each picked up 25 goals in the regular season. After catching zero goals in his rookie season in 2025, Shapinsky started the season off red hot, scooping up his first four career goals in week one against the Boston Glory. Then, just three weeks later, he topped that career high with another five goals against the Colorado Apex, and he’s been a consistent endzone target for the Breeze’s top throwers in a true breakout season. 

“Last year, we didn’t give him a long enough look on offense,” said Shapinsky’s high school teammate and current Breeze handler Jacques Nissen. “We put him there, and he hasn’t looked back.” 

For Loveranes, his track and field roots have been on full display this year; his cutting is outstanding, and he’s hauling in deep shots from players like Sean Mott and Nissen regularly. In 2025, the Virginia Tech student suited up for six games and racked up 14 goals; through seven games in 2026, he is tied with Shapinsky for the lead in goals, showing his significant improvement. 

“His young legs and ability to stretch the field are great,” Nissen said. “It’s been obvious that he’s getting more comfortable.”

Another potent capability of this Breeze offense is red zone efficiency, and they rank fourth in the league in that metric with an 85.5% conversion rate. Rookie cutter Gabe Dowd has been one of the biggest contributors to that success. Dowd has already amassed 18 goals in just six games this season, and most of those have come from red zone punches. He’s shown his ability to maneuver in isolation and free himself for his handlers to make easy short throws to him in the end zone. 

“Gabe scores very well[...] he has a really good sense of the field,” Loveranes said. “He uses the fact that he’s quicker, especially in the red zone area where he’s able to see windows and find holes.”

Another hot scorer for this squad has been Miles Grovic, who’s been a playmaker for the Breeze for four years now, despite just recently graduating from the University of Maryland. Grovic was primarily a D-liner for his first three seasons, during which he made a name for himself as one of the best young athletes in the UFA. In 2026, he’s taken a much larger role on the offense, and that decision has paid off for the Breeze. In 10 games, he’s thrown 33 assists and caught 24 goals. Grovic is tied for the second-highest single-game assist performance in the league this year, when he tossed nine against Montreal. 

“Similar to Coby [in how he’s] a great athlete, great legs to run deep, Miles is really developing into a powerful thrower,” Nissen said. “Being able to use him as a deep downfield receiver and a deep downfield thrower makes it really hard for other teams to guard him.”

Grovic hasn’t totally given up his D-line responsibilities either, as he’s played nearly 50 points for the unit and chalked up three blocks. 

“I think he’s one of the best players in the world,” Loveranes said. “He’s very plug-in playable where we need a crucial break or late in the game [when] we need an important hold, he can just come in and make things happen.”

Since Grovic’s talents have been transferred more to the offensive side now, there have been a gaggle of young stars who have stepped up on the defensive side, including Grovic’s college teammate Isaac Lee, who’s having easily the best season of his career. He’s already played more points this season than in any other season in his career, and he has played the most D-line points out of anyone on the Breeze. In those points, he’s been crucial for DC, tallying up 10 assists, four goals, five blocks and 18 hockey assists.

The Breeze also have second-year players in Micah Wagner and Tanner Gesell who are picking up blocks in almost every game they play. Wagner played in just four games last season, but the potential was clearly there. In those four games in 2025, Wagner blocked six passes and scored five goals. Now, with his bigger role in 2026, he’s second on the team in blocks with eight, and he’s caught 12 goals and thrown five assists. Gesell was on the team in 2024 but played in only two games and recorded 12 points played. After not playing for the team in 2025, he came into 2026 hungry for blocks and now leads DC in the metric with 11. 

“I think he’s the most athletic guy I’ve ever played with,” DC Breeze rookie defenseman Wiebe van den Brink said. “He really works on his positioning, which helps him set up his blocks on top receivers.” 

The rookie class hasn’t failed to get its hands dirty on defense either. The rookie trio of Raymond Lu, Joshua Lightner, and van den Brink has been everywhere for the Breeze D-line, whether it be getting blocks or connecting for break scores. The Michigan graduate Lu has shown his ability to get blocks, despite his lack of size, including a three-game stretch where he had at least a block per game. He’s also shown his handling prowess on turnovers, notching four assists in only six games played. 

“[Lu] sees where a play is going and he anticipates in a really good way,” van den Brink said. “And that’s how he’s getting his blocks.” 

Lu and Lightner have been two of the go-to handlers for the Breeze D-line when they’re on a break, and both are having excellent rookie seasons. Lightner’s thrown eight assists, chalked up two blocks, and brought in seven goals in his short career, while shutting down a lot of offensive handlers. 

“He’s great on the turn… I think he’s really good at breaking the mark,” van den Brink said. “I think he’s a workhorse on defense.”

And, of course, van den Brink has also had a season to remember. Coming from the Netherlands to the United States to play professionally with high expectations isn’t easy, but he’s made the most of it. Van den Brink is taking a hefty load on this D-line, and he’s played more points with the unit than anyone. He’s picked up nine assists, seven goals and five blocks, and he typically matches up with one of the best cutters on every team the Breeze play. His athleticism is highly regarded, and it has been since his early club and international careers in the Netherlands. 

“Wiebe is someone that I tend to forget is also pretty young. He’s just got a very mature game, and he’s very athletic,” Maxstadt said. “He’s just a really good playmaker.” 

Van den Brink made a play that took the frisbee world by storm when he made an interception in the final seconds of overtime against the New York Empire, before throwing the game-winning assist to Luke Rehfuss as time expired. 

“All the percentages were going to say New York was going to win that, and we just got a chance,” van den Brink said. “We had a great moment there.” 

These young stars have been able to keep this team in title contention, despite some of the Breeze’s best players missing the majority of the season or departing for other teams. If this young core stays together and continues to develop with help from the veteran core, the DC Breeze will continue to be a major threat in the East Division.