What is going on, everyone? Do you hear that? Do you feel that? That’s right! The American Ultimate Disc League is just a few weeks away, with some high-flying, disc-floating, big-bidding ultimate disc games.
The games are set to kick off on Friday, April 28th, with Seattle Cascades facing off against the Salt Lake Shred. And if you’re unfamiliar with Ultimate, let me give you a brief overview. The game is played on a field similar to a soccer field, with a seven-on-seven competition where one team tries to throw a disc to one another down the field.
The goal is for one team to try and score a goal, similar to a touchdown, while the other seven players play defense to stop them. It may sound basic, but this game is primed for some of the most exhilarating play-making
AUDL Fantasy Preview 2023
For those not familiar with fantasy sports, let me help you out here. For AUDL Fantasy sports, the goal is to draft players from the AUDL onto your “fantasy” team. Then, throughout the season, you will go head-to-head with other players in your fantasy league to see who drafted the better team. Stats like goals, assists, and blocks will count in your favor, while stats like throwaways may count against you.
Now the big question is, where can you play AUDL Fantasy? Well, hop on over to AltFantasySports. This platform has given users the unique experience of playing fantasy for spring league football in the USFL and XFL. Now they have teamed up with the AUDL to provide us with up-to-date, accurate statistics to enhance your AUDL Fantasy league. So follow along as I present to you a fantasy draft guide for your upcoming AUDL Fantasy Draft.
Draft Guide
AUDL fantasy is a relatively new concept for a lot of people who are reading this. Yes, there were some options in the past where you were sent a Google sheet to fill out your weekly fantasy team or some roughly put together a competition on Reddit. But a truly organized, season-long AUDL fantasy platform is something that requires a different approach and maybe some next-level strategy.
I have taken my knowledge as a retiree of the AUDL, a fan of the sport, and someone who has played fantasy sports for nearly two decades to put together a quick guide to your league’s draft. However, before I go into the round-by-round strategy, there are a couple of things that need to be noted as far as who to look for when drafting:
To score fantasy points, you need the disc in your player’s hands. So look for players with a very high usage rate.
Pace is key in fantasy. You need to find players who play on teams that play at a faster pace. This allows for more scoring opportunities and more chances for blocks.
DISCLAIMER: league size and scoring can differ from league to league depending on how your league creator likes the league. Take this as a general draft guide.
Early Rounds
Scoring on AltFantasySports adds an extra element that requires how you set your lineup each week. Instead of scoring being the same for every player, you can assign one of your players as a handler, another as a cutter, and a third as a defender. These positional players all score the same, except your handler gets double points for assists, the cutter gets double points for goals, and the defender gets double points for blocks.
You see a lot more scoring, assists, and goals than you see blocks. It is possible that you may want to hold off on a high-level defender until the middle rounds. But below are the top ten handlers and top 10 cutters to target early in your AUDL fantasy league.
| Handlers | |||
| Ranking | Player | Team | 2022 Assists |
| 1 | Jordan Kerr | Salt Lake Shred | 95 |
| 2 | Ryan Osgar | New York Empire | 74 |
| 3 | Pawel Janas | Los Angelos Aviators | 74 |
| 4 | Jonathan Nethercutt | Colorado Summit | 65 |
| 5 | Sean Mott | Philadelphia Phoenix | 61 |
| 6 | Austin Taylor | Atlanta Hustle | 46 |
| 7 | Jake Radack | Austin Sol | 45 |
| 8 | Leandro Marx | Portland Nitro | 60 |
| 9 | Jack Williams | New York Empire | 45 |
| 10 | Levi Jacobs | Indianapolis Alleycats | 45 |
| Cutters | |||
| Ranking | Player | Team | 2022 Goals |
| 1 | Ben Jagt | New York Empire | 56 |
| 2 | Quinn Finer | Colorado Summit | 54 |
| 3 | Greg Martin | Philadelphia Phoenix | 58 |
| 4 | Elijah Jamie | Salt Lake Shred | 40 |
| 5 | Jeff Babbitt | New York Empire | 57 |
| 6 | Cameron Brock | Indianapolis Alleycats | 59 |
| 7 | Anders Juengst* | Carolina Flyers | 15 |
| 8 | James Lewis | Toronto Rush | 50 |
| 9 | Alex Davis | Carolina Flyers | 57 |
| 10 | Evan Swiatek | Austin Sol | 52 |
Middle Rounds
Once you get past the first few rounds and gather up as many high-scoring players as possible, it’s time to focus on defense and some well-rounded players. If you put a player in your defensive position, their blocks count double. Below are my top ten defenders you will want to keep your eye on. This list is not solely based on their ability to get blocks but also their ability to score or throw assists.
| Defenders | |||
| Ranking | Player | Team | 2022 Blocks |
| 1 | Chad Yorgason | Salt Lake Shred | 17 |
| 2 | Nate Goff | Chicago Union | 16 |
| 3 | Dylan DeClerck | Minnesota Wind Chill | 19 |
| 4 | Brett Hulsmeyer | Atlanta Hustle | 18 |
| 5 | Cody Spicer | Colorado Summit | 13 |
| 6 | Ben Katz | New York Empire | 16 |
| 7 | Phil Turner | Toronto Rush | 24 |
| 8 | Abe Coffin | Minnesota Wind Chill | 14 |
| 9 | Moussa Dia | DC Breeze | 14 |
| 10 | Alex Tatum | Colorado Summit | 14 |
Other players you need to snag in these middle rounds include players that are well-rounded and play for some of these faster pace teams. James Pollard of the Philadelphia Phoenix fits this profile perfectly with 43 assists, 39 goals, and 14 blocks last season, all the while the Phoenix were a top 10 offensive team last season. Bryan Vohnoutka is another option. This year’s captain of the Wind Chill, last year he racked up 38 assists and 26 goals.
Later Rounds
Some people like to write off the final rounds, thinking they have the lineup they want, and they do not care who they get after that. This is where you can take advantage of those who lollygag in the final rounds. There are two approaches in the final rounds.
First, you can find some hidden gems in these final rounds. This may include snagging someone like Grant Lindsley of Salt Lake. A player who has a rich history in the Ultimate community, or rookie Sandy Brown of Colorado Summit, who is the captain of the Denver club team that won club nationals. Rookie Jeremiah Branson of the Indianapolis Alleycats is another player to consider. He is a young and confident gunslinger who gets the chance to play for one of the more high-octane, dome-playing offenses.
Second, you can use this part of the draft and grab players you know may make some early statements and use them as key trade assets in your league. No draft pick should go unwasted!
I hope this guide propels you to fantasy dominance in the AUDL realm. Season-long ultimate is not the final stop for AltFantasySports. Tune in weekly for DFS games. If you are not familiar with that, you get to draft a new team each week and build your team based on those weekly matchups. It requires a whole different strategy than season-long. And for your keys on that, tune in weekly to the Tilted Landshark Podcast on the Sports Gambling Podcast Network.
