Major League Pickleball 2023 Season Two Draft

Season one of Major League Pickleball 2023 is in the books! The Los Angeles Mad Drops are the Premier Level Champions of the San Clemente Super Finals! This Los Angeles Mad Drops team consists of Catherine Parenteau, Irina Tereschenko, Thomas Wilson and Julian Arnold. The Challenger Level Super Finals Champion team is the Chicago Slice which consists of Emily Ackerman, Susannah Barr, Connor Garnett and Ryler DeHeart. Now we are on to the Second Season of the 2023 MLP! Congratulations to the Mad Drops and The Slice but prepare for the second season mix! What teams will your favorite players end up on?

The MLP has divided the league up into two levels which are the MLP Premier Level (top professional players) and the MLP Challenger Level (up and coming professional players). The 2023 season is divided into two seasons of three events. The MLP uses rally scoring, games to 21 and win by 2 points to create a fast paced, more intense game for the fans! The points system is a little tricky, but they take the top two ranked teams in each level based on the total event points earned from all three events combined. Then, based on that, those teams will face off against each other in the season’s Super Finals where the champion of each level is crowned.

On July 12,2023 live from City Pickle in Central Park of NYC, the MLP had the second draft of its 2023 season. All players were up for grabs for all 24 teams in this unique style of drafting! The fact that the draft format is set up this way makes it exciting for teams and fans because their team has a fresh start each leg of the season. It also makes it an even playing field for small market teams to compete with the big city teams unlike most other professional leagues.

The draft started with the MLP Premier Level in four rounds with rosters consisting of two men and two women per team. I was able to find the Draft Live on YouTube via The “Pickle Pod” which is carried by The Dink and I also found live feed updates on social media sites through the MLP. No surprise but with the first pick in the draft, the Chicago Slice selected Ben Johns who is the most dominant player in the game today. Followed by the Utah Black Diamonds selecting the phenomenal Anne Leigh Waters second overall. Here are the Premier Level team draft results:

• Atlanta Bouncers – Parris Todd, Simone Jardim, Hunter Johnson, Pablo Tellez

• AZ Drive- Julian Arnold, Vivienne David, Dekel Bar, Vivian Glozman

• Brooklyn Aces- Catherine Parenteau, Andrea Koop, Hayden Patriquin, Tyler Loong

• Chicago Slice- Ben Johns, Jessie Irvine, Lacey Schneemann, Erik Lange

• Columbus Pickleball Club- JW Johnson, Meghan Dizon, Maggie Brascia, Collin Johns

• DC Pickleball Team- Riley Newman, Jackie Kawamoto, Jade Kawamoto, Christian Alshon

• Dallas Pickleball Club- James Ignatowich, Callie Jo Smith, Allyce Jones, Jay Devilliers

• Miami Pickleball Club- Federico Staksrud, Tyson McGuffin, Hurricane Tyra Black, Mary Brascia

• Orlando Squeeze- Rachel Rohrabacker, Anna Bright, Andrei Daescu, Zane Navratil

• Texas Ranchers- Dylan Frazier, Jorja Johnson, Lauren Stratman, Travis Rettenmaier

• Utah Black Diamonds- Anna Leigh Waters, Irina Tereschenko, Thomas Wilson, AJ Koller

Some notable players not registered for this season’s premier level draft were Matt Wright and Lucy Kovalova. The biggest steal of the premier level was Lea Jansen falling in the lap of the Bay Area Breakers at the 11 th spot. Paris Todd, who was not in the first MLP season draft, did a giant leapfrog at the 10 th spot over more accomplished female players and only time will tell if it was a reach. A few players had dramatic drops in the second draft compared to the first. Jessie Irvine fell from 8 th to 24 th and Jay Devilliers fell from 7 th to 40 th . Go out and get your favorite team or players gear and get ready for the Premier Level Second Season action! The battle begins September 21 st at Peachtree Corners, Georgia!

Challenger Level Team Draft Results:

• Austin Pickleballers- Tamaryn Emmrich, Daniel De La Rosa, Milan Rane, Ben Newell

• BLQK Bears- Marshall Brown, Tina Pisnik, Alix Truong, Anderson Scarpa

• Florida Smash- Dominique Schaefer, Collin Shick, Brendon Long, Michelle Esquivel

• Frisco Pandas- Andre Mick, Bobbi Oshiro, Martina Frantova, Ryler Deheart

• Las Vegas Night Owls- Susannah Barr, Emily Ackerman, Spencer Smith, Yates Johnson

• Los Angeles Mad Drops- Jordan Kinney, Gabriel Tardio, Brooke Buckner, Olivia McMillan

• Milwaukee Mashers- DJ Young, Rianna Valdes, Christa Gecheva, Pesa Teoni

• New Jersey 5S- Alli Phillips, Stefan Auvergne, Shelby Bates, John Cincola

• New York Hustlers- Jaume Martinez Vich, Jill Braverman, Kyles Yates, Sarah Ansboury

• Seattle Pioneers- Lina Padegimaite, Megan Fudge, Wes Burrows, Brandon French

• Socal Hard Eights- Ewa Radzikowska, CJ Klinger, Yana Grechkina, Todd Fought

• St. Louis Shock- Martin Emmrich, Rob Nunnery, Judit Castillo Gargallo, Genie Erokhina

The Challenger level Teams are professional pickleballs next generation of talent. This platform is a great way for players to get recognition and work there way up to the Premier Level of Major League Pickleball. Good luck to all these players and hopefully we will see some new faces coming up on the professional level.