San Diego Elite Draft League
San Diego - Escondido
The Road to the Championship: 2026 EDL Playoff Primer
The Road to the Championship: 2026 EDL Playoff Primer
After a competitive regular season filled with overtime finishes, breakout performances and shifting momentum, the San Diego Elite Draft League playoffs are set.
The La Jolla Riptide finished atop the standings and earned the most direct route to the championship series. The second-seeded Gaslamp Guardians will receive an opening-round bye, while the Old Town Outlaws and Torrey Pines Talons must survive the postseason’s first elimination game.
Every team remains alive, but the margin for error has disappeared.
The Playoff Road
The postseason begins with the fourth-seeded Torrey Pines Talons facing the third-seeded Old Town Outlaws in the Wild Card matchup.
The winner will advance to play the second-seeded Gaslamp Guardians on August 8. The team that emerges from that game will meet the top-seeded La Jolla Riptide in a best-of-three championship series on August 15.
For La Jolla and Gaslamp, their regular-season finishes provide valuable opportunities to rest, prepare and scout. Old Town and Torrey Pines, however, enter the postseason knowing that every game from this point forward could be their last.
Wild Card Matchup: No. 4 Torrey Pines Talons vs. No. 3 Old Town Outlaws
The opening Wild Card game features two teams that have already demonstrated how entertaining their matchups can become.
Old Town defeated Torrey Pines 7-5 in an early-season meeting, but the final score did not fully capture how close the game became. The Talons pulled within one goal after deploying an extra attacker before Noe Santos sealed the Outlaws’ victory with an empty-net goal. Bryan Dodson scored twice for Old Town, while Santos influenced the game as both a scorer and facilitator.
Old Town enters the postseason with experience throughout its lineup. Captain Anthony Dykes leads the defending league champions, while Santos—last season’s Playoff MVP—remains one of the most dangerous offensive players in the EDL when space opens through the middle of the floor.
The Outlaws are at their best when they control the interior, block shots and quickly turn defensive stops into transition opportunities. They will need that structure against a Torrey Pines team that has consistently shown a willingness to attack.
The Talons are led by captain Ray Kinsey, the league’s 2024 points leader, and possess scoring threats throughout the lineup. Colton Grover, Christian Tabone, Chris Sidner, Josh Morrison and Brian Pino all contributed during the teams’ previous meeting.
Torrey Pines cannot afford to spend the Wild Card game chasing from behind. The Talons’ clearest path to advancing will be establishing offensive-zone pressure early, limiting turnovers through the middle and tightening their defensive gaps against the Outlaws’ counterattack.
Torrey Pines gets an opportunity to rewrite their season's story when the stakes are substantially higher.
Waiting in the Semifinal: Gaslamp Guardians
The Wild Card winner will advance to meet the Gaslamp Guardians on August 8.
By earning the second seed, Gaslamp avoids the opening elimination round and receives an opportunity to prepare for two very different potential opponents. The Guardians can use the Wild Card game to study Old Town’s defensive structure or identify how Torrey Pines attempts to generate offense under playoff pressure.
Gaslamp’s offensive ceiling was apparent from the beginning of the season. Eli Hoffmann delivered one of the regular season’s most impressive individual performances on opening night, recording three goals and three assists against Old Town.
The Guardians have also demonstrated that they can win close games. Zack Nolte provided a decisive goal in a victory over Torrey Pines, reinforcing Gaslamp’s ability to find timely production beyond its most prominent scorers.
Captain Kyle Agnello and the Guardians will have the benefit of rest, but their semifinal opponent will arrive with the momentum of an elimination-game victory. Gaslamp must be ready to match that intensity immediately rather than attempting to gradually settle into the game.
The Final Boss: La Jolla Riptide
Every path through the bracket ultimately leads to the La Jolla Riptide.
La Jolla secured the first seed and a direct place in the August 15 championship series after assembling the league’s most consistent regular season. After a torrid start to their season, La Jolla established themselves as the team the rest of the field would need to chase.
Their lineup contains several of the regular season’s most productive statistical performers.
Dillon Bilek recorded eight points during a midseason doubleheader and also produced a five-point performance in La Jolla’s 7-2 victory over Gaslamp. Nate Kallen scored a hat trick in that same win, while Jimmy Becker contributed additional finishing around the net.
Jake Betsch added another late-season storyline. He earned Player of the Week recognition after leading the Riptide with two points, including the game-tying goal, during an overtime victory.
Behind that offensive depth, 2026 Top Goaltender Award recipient, Quinlen Johnston, has supplied timely saves and the composure necessary to allow La Jolla’s attackers to play aggressively.
The extended break creates both an advantage and a challenge. The Riptide will be rested and fully prepared, but their opponent will arrive having already survived one or two elimination games. La Jolla’s task will be to quickly rediscover its regular-season rhythm and prevent the challenger from carrying early momentum into the series.
Regular-Season Statistical Headliners
Several performances helped define the 2026 regular season:
Eli Hoffmann, Gaslamp Guardians: Three goals and three assists in a six-point performance against Old Town.
Dillon Bilek, La Jolla Riptide: Eight points during a midseason doubleheader and five points in a victory over Gaslamp.
Nate Kallen, La Jolla Riptide: A hat trick during the Riptide’s 7-2 win over the Guardians.
Jake Betsch, La Jolla Riptide: A two-point Player of the Week performance that included a game-tying goal in an overtime victory.
Noe Santos, Old Town Outlaws: Continued to provide scoring, playmaking and late-game production for the defending champions, including the clinching empty-net goal in Old Town’s earlier victory over Torrey Pines.
The playoffs will determine whether those regular-season standouts can continue producing when opponents have more time to prepare and every shift carries greater consequences.
What Could Decide the Postseason
Special teams, defensive-zone execution and goaltending will become increasingly important as the games tighten. Discipline will be especially critical because a single penalty could swing an elimination game or championship-series matchup.
The Riptide have earned the position of championship favorite. The Guardians have earned a shorter path to the final. The Outlaws core brings experience and the confidence of a previous championship run, while the Talons enter with nothing to lose and enough offensive talent to disrupt the entire bracket.
Four teams remain. Three playoff stages will determine the champion.
The road begins with Torrey Pines and Old Town—and ends with one team lifting the trophy on August 15.