Ronald and Wendy Rice weren’t sure what to expect when they attended their first Indianapolis Alleycats game. Ultimate frisbee is not a mainstream sport. It’s like football, but without all the breaks and huddles.
Since 2012, Indianapolis has been home to one of 24 teams in the Ultimate Frisbee Association, the United States’ only professional men’s ultimate frisbee league.
It was Veteran’s Night when the Alleycats faced the Chicago Union June 14 at Kuntz Stadium in Indianapolis’ Riverside neighborhood. That’s what prompted Ronald – an Air Force veteran – to watch for the first time. Before halftime, Ronald and Wendy were hooked.
“I don’t want to leave,” Ronald said.
Meet the players that Ronald stayed to see, and get to know more about the sport that makes its athletes feel like kids again.
‘Can I have your autograph?’
Drew Happe, the Alleycats’ team captain, said he knew he wanted the role last season. It was the final home game of the year when the Alleycats hosted the Madison (Wisconsin) Radicals at Beech Grove High School.
Indianapolis was playing for a chance to make the UFA playoffs, and Alleycats fans filled the bleachers of Beech Grove’s football stadium. Indianapolis won, but it was more fulfilling for Happe to see no empty seats, as the Alleycats don’t often play in front of sell-out crowds.
“Hopefully it starts growing to an Indianapolis brand and more people are here because they know about the Alleycats,” Happe, in his third season, said.
That may well be the case, as Happe heard from some teammates that they have recently been recognized by strangers at local grocery stores.
“We do look pretty regular,” Happe said. “Sometimes that plays in your favor, to have something that fans can see in themselves.”
Indy Red creating equal opportunities
The Alleycats are not the only professional ultimate frisbee team in Indianapolis. Since 2018, the Indy Red have been one of 11 teams in the Premier Ultimate League, the United States’ only professional women’s ultimate frisbee league.
When Jackie Lai co-founded Indy Red, she was the first team captain in the squad’s history. Lai started her playing career in 2009 in Purdue University’s college club, then in Indianapolis clubs until 2018.
But she has not played since 2019. She’s the Red’s offensive line coach and board president.
Lai works full time for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana, a youth mentorship organization, but Ultimate Frisbee is this team’s version of free time. It’s a hobby that just so happens to involve playing a sport at the highest level.
“People play for the Red because they feel like it’s the best space for them physically, mentally and emotionally,” Lai said. “It’s the people in the community and the relationships that they build.”
Married to the game
Ultimate frisbee changed Jalyn Baumgartner’s life. When she joined Ball State University’s club team as a freshman, she couldn’t have expected to meet her life partner.
That’s what happened when Ball State’s men’s and women’s teams consistently crossed paths, which is how Jalyn met her now-husband, Colby Baumgartner. Jalyn, who has played for Red since 2020, knows the bond she found through ultimate frisbee is unique.
She said the sport’s community is its biggest strength.
“All the people out here are here because we want to play this weird sport together,” Jalyn said
‘This keeps me sane’
The Baumgartners are examples of how ultimate frisbee can be more than just a sport, but Abby Swensen is proof that it can be physically taxing, too.
She’s recovering from a torn ACL that she sustained while training for her third season with the Red in 2025. The injury has reminded Swensen how much ultimate frisbee fulfills her personal life as well as her fitness regimen.
She said it has been tough to be withheld from the sport that has helped her feel more at home in Indianapolis after she graduated from Ohio Dominican University in 2020.
“I need to have an outlet,” Swensen said. “I prioritize it just as much as I do my work, because this keeps me sane.”
All-consuming joy
Tracey Lo works full time as a software engineer at Ford Motor Company in Michigan. But most of their thoughts revolve around ultimate frisbee, even when they’re on the clock.
Lo first began playing ultimate frisbee for the University of Michigan’s club team as a freshman in 2012. Lo has been a roster member with the Red since 2022, and they are also a coach for Team USA and the Wolverine’s women’s club team.
“It’s very tied to the everyday joys and health of my life,” Lo said.
Alive in defeat
Samuel Ingham experienced one of those everyday joys when he made an acrobatic catch in the third quarter of the Alleycats’ game against Chicago. It was one of four goals Ingham scored in Indianapolis’ 26-14 loss, but his bobbling snag stood out as a highlight.
“Any play that gets the crowd and your sideline energetic is a good play,” Ingham said. “Playing in front of even just a couple of fans means the world.”
Ingham is in his first season with the Alleycats, only first playing four years ago during his freshman year at Butler University.
Keeping up with the kids
Joey Cari has been playing ultimate frisbee since his sophomore year at North Central High School in 2005. Now in his mid-30s, Cari said he is as passionate about ultimate frisbee as ever because it keeps his mind and body youthful.
“It’s pretty challenging to keep up with the kids,” Cari said. “There are guys on the team that are almost half my age.”
Cari said he estimates there are the same amount of people playing ultimate frisbee competitively as there was two decades ago, but he has seen the sport grow from a grassroots effort to a more well-known professional sport. With established professional teams for both men and women, Indianapolis is proof of that.
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
Kyle Smedley was an Indianapolis Press Club Foundation fellow working this summer with Mirror Indy. You can follow him on X @KyleSmedley03.
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