Top 3 overall storylines (and a scheduling note):

• The LA Mad Drops have been consistently in the top 4 but have gotten there inconsistently, rarely sweeping lesser teams. Will they put it all together in their home state?

• The Columbus Sliders get another chance to gel as a new team (with a Hurricane) and peak again in August as they did in 2025. An event win would send a message to the rest of the league.  

• How many trades? The Shock set the bar in Grand Rapids. Will a top contender find a dance partner for a blockbuster move?

• Super Sunday will start earlier than usual at 8am Pacific with the 2v2 match, which will immediately be followed by the battle for the belt featuring the winners of the 2 groups. Why so early? The World Cup Final starts at noon Pacific. 

Storylines per team competing in San Diego:

Group A:

Atlanta Bouncers: There will be blood - Atlanta battled through a gnarly injury for Jay Devilliers in Grand Rapids and slowly started building chemistry with new addition Mari Humberg. Sitting just below the playoff cut line, the Bouncers need more sweat, less tears, and hopefully no blood to move into playoff position. 

Bay Area Breakers: Multiple changes have been made to this squad which has settled into utilizing all of the personnel in most matches. How will the youngsters Ella Yeh and Kiora Kunimoto play (and will they get a chance to play together)? This is their last regular season event of the season to make a playoff push. 

Dallas Flash: This remade team was unable to defend its title with the new women (Townsend and Truong) vs. 2025 but they are a dangerous squad with a Championship pedigree. Is Trader Molthan done dealing?

LA Mad Drops: They desperately want to maintain a top 4 position and get a bye out of the first round of the playoffs. With all of the chatter about a potential change next to Ben in men’s, it’s the women (Catherine Parenteau and Jade Kawamoto) who are not performing like last year: 25-10 in 2025 vs. 11-11 in 2026. Can they match 2025, starting this week? 

Utah Black Diamonds: Have underachieved based on the preseason hype of the squad. After getting off to a great start, Tama Shimabukuro and Connor Garnett have won just 2 of their last 10 men’s games. Can the Black Diamonds shine enough in California to hold onto the last playoff spot?

Group B:

California Black Bears: You get a jersey and you get a jersey and you get a jersey. Multiple trades just this week, bringing in Jalina Ingram and Zoey Weil on the women’s side. But, the big move comes on the men’s side, as a player some fans wanted to see traded to a top contender, Dylan Frazier, arrives as a Black Bear. It’s his 4th team of 2026 (Brooklyn-Texas-Miami-California). Will these moves pay off?

Columbus Sliders: They head west to San Diego with bronze medals draped on their necks from a strong performance in Grand Rapids, including a 3-1 win over the Mad Drops in the 3rd place match. A healthy Hurricane Tyra Black makes this team the favorite this week. This is it for Columbus in the regular season - what points total will they set for LA and Brooklyn to attempt to exceed?

Florida Smash: Tweaks of the roster have continued but the key for this team has been the arrival of Connor Mogle (local gent enjoyed playing in his Grand Rapids former hometown). His 11-8 record is the only one above .500 for the Smash. Can he help the Smash pass Utah (and others) to hold onto one of the playoff positions in their final event of the 2026 regular season?

Orlando Squeeze: Jack Sock will return (and if Argentina beats England, Federico Staksrud will just float to San Diego on cloud 9) so the fellas will be at full strength. However on the women’s side, a Grand Rapids practice injury may keep Lacy Schneemann from competing in San Diego. Will trades take place or will this team with so much superstar name recognition at least hold onto to their tenuous 11th place playoff position?  

Phoenix Flames: In their slick hockey warm up jerseys, the youngsters on this squad rose to the occasion as Cam Chaffin and Alexa Schull went 4-0 in mixed at the Midseason tourney. This squad will play in all 3 of the remaining events - can they make a playoff push from the back of the pack?

SoCal Hard Eights: They have young talent and youth creates wild situations like blowing a 10-0 lead in a clinching mixed match in Grand Rapids but coming back to win the DreamBreaker (Cailyn Campbell and Will MacKinnon experienced this mixed feat). Just above the playoff cut line, playing in SoCal, can they find the wins necessary to move up the league standings and grab crucial standings points on Super Sunday?

Marquee Matchups:

Group B: Columbus Sliders vs. Orlando Squeeze (Thursday, July 16, 10am Pacific): This is the first match of the weekend on championship court. Can the Sliders get off to a great start or will the Squeeze have other ideas and pull the upset? Sock/Staksrud vs. Daescu/Klinger is an outstanding first men’s matchup for the event. 

Group A: Dallas Flash vs. LA Mad Drops (Saturday, July 18, 4pm Pacific): LA is fighting to maintain their top 4 position while the Flash are focused on improving their playoff position. The Mad Drops swept the Flash 3-0 in the Midseason Tournament. The winner of this one will likely claim the top spot in Group A.