The Detroit Mechanix was a professional ultimate team based in the Detroit metropolitan area. The Mechanix competed in the Ultimate Frisbee Association (UFA) as a member of the Central Division from the leagues inception until 2025. The Mechanix, owned by Brent Steepe and was founded in 2010, began play in 2012 as one of the eight charter teams of the league, and left the league on November 12, 2025.

Club history and losing streak The Mechanix suffered what is believed to be the longest losing streak in the history of professional sports: 81 games in a row, stretching over a seven-year period, from April 29, 2017 to June 22, 2024. On that day, the Mechanix defeated the Pittsburgh Thunderbirds, 26-15; it was their only victory of 2024.

The Mechanix all-time regular season record was a woeful 18-156 (.103), and the team went winless seven times in their thirteen-year history. After a decent 7-9 record in their inaugural season in 2012, Detroit managed only a 4-12 mark in 2013, then suffered back-to-back 0-14 seasons in 2014-15. The club managed to record four victories in 2016,Detroit thus finished ahead of the 0-14 Cincinnati Revolution, marking the only time the Mechanix have not finished in last place in their division. but tumbled to 1-13 in 2017—and that lone win would be their last for quite a while, as Detroit would log five straight winless seasons. In what would be their final campaign in 2025, Detroit managed another win against Pittsburgh, downing them, 21-20 at Highmark Stadium; it would be their only win that season, as they would finish 1-11. The Mechanix would finish last overall in points per game in nine of their thirteen seasons, and last in their division twelve times (every year except 2016). The team's losing streak was featured in a CBS News "On the Road with Steve Hartman," with video from an away match in Madison, Wisconsin. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/detroit-mechanix-ultimate-frisbee-7-season-losing-streak/

Fatal accident The 2020 AUDL season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the hapless Mechanix would suffer an even worse tragedy: on February 29, 2020, three members of the team—Kevin Coulter, Drew Piet, and Michael Cannon—were killed in a multi-car accident on Interstate 96 on their way to a team practice. Piet and Coulter played for the Mechanix during the 2019 season, while Cannon was practicing with the team. Police and news outlets reported that the players’ vehicle was stopped in traffic due to a separate single-vehicle rollover accident when a speeding driver failed to slow down and collided with theirs and several other vehicles.

Since 2021, the Mechanix played their home games at Grand Rapids Christian High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan, some 150 miles from Detroit. (The club had never actually played in the Motor City: the Pontiac Silverdome was home to the team in 2012, then the Mechanix played at Ultimate Soccer Arenas in Pontiac from 2013–15, then at Bishop Foley Catholic High School in Madison Heights from 2016-20.)

Withdrawal from the UFA On November 12, 2025, the Detroit Mechanix announced their withdrawal from the UFA. The team has yet to release a formal statement on future endeavors.

Players and staff

2024 roster # Name 2 Joseph Sogno 3 Nathan Ploeger 6 Gregory Moreno 9 Aaron Richards 10 Mario Moran 11 Justin Wollin 12 Carson Chamberlain 13 James Kloss 14 Jake Felton 17 Jack Bembenek 19 Quinn Garner 21 Nic Lanas 22 Marco Dewey 23 Mauricio Galeano 24 Brendan Gessner 26 Tyler Shanahan 27 Jordan Hill 28 Richard Ware 31 Bradley Kennis 32 Elliot Davis 33 Terry Gaither 37 Joseph Simpson 40 Ryan Smith 42 Sean McGuinness 44 Anderson Cañon 45 Aiden Rudy 47 Christopher O'Brien 64 Stephen Grondin 76 Conrad Nguyen 78 Matthew Bell 81 Colin Beauregard 86 Nicholas Akers 94 Noah Sawyer 96 Caleb Texeira

International players # Name Years Nation 41 Dave Hochhalter 2012–2013 30 Marc Michael Huber 2013 91 Bjarne Laursen 2014 99 Takashi Sato 2015 17 Wasdi Grimaldo B. 2015–2019 68 Eugene Lim 2016 40 Ben Cheer 2019 21 Kevin van Roosmalen 2022

Player records To the 2021 season.

Games played # Name Games Years Nation 4 Andrew Lucarotti 63 2012–2017 13 Ben Murphy 62 2012–2017 33 Eric Hubbard 60 2013–2017 6 Danny Hunt 49 2013–2015, 2017 8 Aaron del Real 47 2012,2014–2017

Points played # Name Points Years Nation 33 Eric Hubbard 1418 2013–2017 4 Andrew Lucarotti 1240 2012–2017 13 Ben Murphy 1142 2012–2017 8 Aaron del Real 942 2012,2014–2017 6 Danny Hunt 848 2013–2015, 2017

Goals scored # Name Goals Years Nation 33 Eric Hubbard 141 2013–2017 8 Aaron del Real 83 2012,2014–2017 83 Mark Worsfold 63 2012–2013 11 Anthony Davis 57 2016–2017 12 Ben Ayres 53 2012–2013

Assists # Name Assists Years Nation 4 Andrew Lucarotti 100 2012–2017 41 Dave Hochhalter 94 2012–2014 35 Joseph Besser 58 2014–2016 98 Dan Donovan 53 2016–2017 8 Aaron del Real 52 2012,2014–2017

Blocks # Name Blocks Years Nation 33 Eric Hubbard 77 2013–2017 23 Andy Barnhart 47 2012–2014 42 Nathan Champoux 38 2016–2017 4 Andrew Lucarotti 31 2012–2017 8 Aaron del Real 28 2012,2014–2017

Record YearDivisionRecordWin%PlayoffsGoalsGoals AgainstFinish2012Western7-9 (T-3rd)0.438DNQ337351Did not make playoffs2013Midwest4-12 (6th)0.250DNQ290371Did not make playoffs2014Midwest0-14 (6th)0.000DNQ217380Did not make playoffs2015Midwest0-14 (7th)0.000DNQ234444Did not make playoffs2016Midwest4-10 (6th)0.286DNQ257337Did not make playoffs 2017Midwest1-13 (6th)0.071DNQ241333Did not make playoffs2018Midwest0-14 (6th)0.000DNQ235423Did not make playoffs2019Midwest0-12 (6th)0.000DNQ174277Did not make playoffs2021Central0-12 (5th)0.000DNQ187322Did not make playoffs2022Central0-12 (6th)0.000DNQ214325Did not make playoffs2023Central0-12 (6th)0.000DNQ187279Did not make playoffs2024Central1-11 (6th)0.083DNQ189301Did not make playoffs2025Central1-11 (6th)0.083DNQ188328Did not make playoffs Total - 18-156 0.102 0-0 2,950 4,471 -

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