Seattle Cascades and Tempest Offseason Updates, Vol. 1, Early December, 2024

Seattle TempestSeattle Cascades
Written By Becca Weinberg

By Becca Weinberg, edited by Charles Hamaker

Seattle, WA - It’s been a busy offseason for both of Seattle’s professional ultimate frisbee teams. With head coaching announcements, tryout dates, player signings, and more, here are notable headlines to catch up on as the news continues to roll in ahead of the 2025 season.

Tempest

Coaching announcements

Seattle’s women’s team has announced its head coaches for the upcoming season, which include a returning coach as well as three new faces. Head coach Deb Scheibe is returning to Tempest for her third season, with two very successful years under her belt already, including a Western Ultimate League (WUL) championship win in 2023. Scheibe is a legendary Seattle ultimate community member and player, and was elected to the Ultimate Hall of Fame in 2019 for her numerous achievements. 

Joining Scheibe this year are two new head coaches and one new assistant coach. Head coach Ray Yang brings their expertise of coaching Seattle area elementary, middle, and high school teams for many years. Prior to moving to Seattle, Yang played college ultimate for Brown University, and on multiple different club teams in New York and Chicago. Yang was also the co-founder of Ultimate Chicago, a large resource for providing opportunities to learn and play the sport, and helped create its winter league. 

Yang will be joined by AnnaMaria Pape as the team’s third head coach. Pape coached The Northwest School’s team for nine seasons, and two years coaching University of Michigan’s women’s team. She has also served as a selection assistant for the USA Ultimate U-20 women’s’ team and World Junior Ultimate Championships (WJUC) team. As a player, Pape plays for a Seattle area club team called BFG, where she won both a national title in 2021 and a world title in 2018. 

Assistant coach Ximenna Hofsetz will be the last key piece of the Tempest coaching staff, joining the team after many successful years coaching Ballard High School’s teams. She was the captain of her college team at Arizona State University, and has also coached multiple club teams in the Seattle area. With a combination of high level playing and coaching experience in each role, Tempest will be set up for a successful WUL campaign this season. 

Player signings

The team has announced the signings of two-year deals with two centerpieces of the Tempest roster in previous years. Handler Cheryl Hsu and cutter Andrea Baroma are both in Seattle to stay, as their signings were announced earlier this week. Last season, Hsu averaged 15 points played across six games with a total of eight goals scored and ten assists over 1,619 total throwing yards. Hsu also recorded 147 total offensive possessions and 106 total defensive possessions, and is a strong force in the backfield known for her speed and quick throws. 

Baroma additionally had an impressive 2024 season, totaling 80 points played through the team’s six games, with six goals scored, five assists, and 698 receiving yards. Baroma also recorded 39 receptions with only 3.5 turnovers. Baroma is both an offensive and defensive threat, who is on the receiving end of many deep looks to get Tempest into scoring position, as well as securing key blocks to set the offense up.

Both players are key parts of the Tempest systems and will be important roster pieces to look out for during the next two seasons. 

Tempest Tryouts

Every year, Tempest holds open tryouts for players looking to get involved in professional ultimate frisbee in Seattle. This year, the team has announced December 28th and January 2nd as their two open tryout dates, with a closed, invite-only tryout following after initial selections are made. Interested athletes can apply on the Seattle Ultimate website. 

Cascades

Coaching announcements

On the men’s side, the Cascades have begun their search for a new coaching staff. The team had their most successful season to-date in 2024, and is looking to continue building with an expanded coaching staff. Interested coaches can submit an interest form detailing their experience and interest.  

Player signings

The Cascades have signed four big names to two-year contract extensions, which include handler/cutter (hybrid) Zeppelin Raunig, handler/cutter (hybrid) Garrett Martin, handler Marc Munoz, and cutter Jack Brown. Many of these players grew up in Seattle, learned to play through the ultimate community, and quickly made a name for themselves in the professional scene. 

Zeppelin Raunig is the Cascades’ current leading goal scorer, with 51 goals and 3,605 receiving yards last season and 29 goals with 2,936 receiving yards in 2023. He is a constant deep space threat and has 7,961 total receiving yards through a total of 33 games played with the Cascades. He is a leading charge in the team’s offense and will continue to be a force on the field in future years.

Hybrid player Garrett Martin has made the All-UFA (Ultimate Frisbee Association) team in back to back seasons with the Cascades, and has the most scores out of anybody in the league since the start of the 2023 season with 167. As a four-year UFA veteran, Martin has played in 800 total points while recording 115 assists and 21 blocks. He has the second most throwing yards on the team with 6,165 and the second most receiving yards, only behind Raunig, with 7,135. 

Marc Munoz is one of the longest-tenured Cascades players, having played for Seattle since 2018. He has a career completion percentage of 91.26, with 83 assists, 56 goals scored, and 6,357 total throwing yards. Munoz is a very experienced handler with very impressive deep throws, and shifty cutting in the handler space. He is no-doubt one of the main foundational pieces of the Cascades offense.

Lastly, cutter Jack Brown is also one of the longest-tenured players on the team, having played with the Cascades since 2019, and is a massive downfield threat for opposing teams. He has the second most receiving yards on the team, behind only Martin, with 7,116, and has scored 99 total career goals. Brown is another Cascades fan-favorite, and will continue to lock up defenders in Seattle for the next two years.

Cascades Tryouts

Every year, just as the Tempest do, the Cascades hold open tryouts for players looking to get involved in professional ultimate frisbee in Seattle. This year, the team has announced January 25th and January 28th as their two open tryout dates, with a closed, invite-only tryout following after initial selections are made. An interest and application form will be announced soon on the team’s website. 

Community News:

  • Friday Night Lights: Over the years, the Cascades and Tempest have hosted this 5 versus 5 open ultimate tournament under the lights in Memorial Stadium! With a turnout of over 150 players last year, the event is back this year on December 27th from 6:30pm-10:15pm. Anyone can register on the Seattle Ultimate website in groups of 1-5 players, with a $25 fee that includes a disc and a home game ticket. This is an amazing way to get involved with the Seattle ultimate community in a low-stakes tournament and meet other community members while playing in Seattle’s historic Memorial Stadium.

  • Upcoming Youth Camps: Summer camp dates have been announced for 2025, including day camps and the annual Overnight Camp on Whidbey Island. The teams are also continuing their year-round clinics, with both Tempest and Cascades coaches present to create a fun camp experience for interested youth. Anyone interested can register for any type of camp offered on the Seattle Ultimate website. 

Season Tickets: Season tickets for both teams are on sale now! Multiple packages are offered, including youth, family, and adult tickets. Packages include benefits such as merchandise coupons, drink tokens, free streaming of UFA games, and more. All information on tickets can be found on the Seattle Ultimate website.

Instagram: @CirclingSeattleSports Twitter: @CirclingSports Threads: @CirclingSeattleSports Tiktok: @CirclingSeattleSports Facebook: Circling Seattle Sports BlueSky: @circlingseasports.bsky.social

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Instagram: @CirclingSeattleSports Twitter: @CirclingSports Threads: @CirclingSeattleSports Tiktok: @CirclingSeattleSports Facebook: Circling Seattle Sports BlueSky: @circlingseasports.bsky.social 〰️

Becca Weinberg
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