Anna Bright hands out her own MLP awards
While Major League Pickleball kept it official with just two season awards—Most Valuable Player and Most Improved—Anna Bright took things into her own hands, creating 10 unofficial honors and breaking them down on her YouTube channel.
Her categories are:
- 1. MVP
- 2. Most Improved
- 3. Rookie of the Year
- 4. Impact Player of the Year
- 5. Crashout of the Year
- 6. DreamBreaker of the Year
- 7. Best GM
- 8. Best Trade
- 9. Best Moment
- 10. Most Annoying Bench
Most Valuable Player – Anna Leigh Waters
For Bright, she agrees with MLP that Anna Leigh Waters should win the MVP because “there is no argument for anyone other than Anna Leigh.”
“Her record this year is an astounding 60-4, which is somehow better than it was last year,” added Bright. “As her friend, I’m really happy for her, but as her competitor, when she’s Fives uniform, it’s pretty annoying how good she is.”
Most Improved – Kate Fahey
Bright works closely with Fahey on the St. Louis Shock, so Bright has a front-row seat to Fahey’s improvement on the court.
“Kate is ranked No. 4 in the player standings at the moment. She’s a huge reason for the Shock’s ascent,” noted Bright. “She has always been good, but she has gotten so much better from last season to this season. That’s particularly in our women’s doubles results.”
Rookie of the Year – Sofia Sewing
Bright believes that Danni-Elle Townsend and Sofia Sewing are the top two contenders due to their impressive win streaks and how they’ve positively impacted their teams.
“My pick is Sofia. I lost twice to Sofia and I’ve been really impressed with her level,” praised Bright. “I think she has just been incredible for the Palm Beach Royals. She has a better record and higher in the player standings than Danni.”
Impact Player of the Year – Jackie Kawamoto
“This is the player who’s had the biggest impact on the team relative to the other players,” said Bright. “There’s only one player who I’d consider for this award, and it’s Jackie Kawamoto.”
Bright called Brooklyn “the most unlucky MLP team in the league,” and Jackie has been their steady rock throughout the season. And even more impressively, Kawamoto also juggles a full-time job while competing in MLP. Kawamoto’s impact is nothing but positive for Brooklyn.
DreamBreaker Clutch – John Lucian Goins
This is the category for the type of player on an MLP team that comes into play during a DreamBreaker, and they perform incredibly. Bright revealed that she actually has the best win percentage in all of MLP DreamBreakers against the players who’ve competed in at least three DreamBreakers.
However, she’s not giving the award to herself—it’s going to Goins.
“I would give it to him over myself because he plays in the first position and as I play in the fourth,” said Bright. “John has played in more DreamBreakers, and he’s had to be a clutch god when their entire season was on the line.”
Crashout of the Year – Meghan Dizon
“MLP brings us a lot of crashouts, but for me, the clear winner for Crashout of the Year is Meghan Dizon firing a ball right at Emma Nelson at a short range right after she got hit in the face,” mentioned Bright. “It’s definitely not something Meghan should have done at all. It’s really inexcusable. But it was a good crashout.”
Best General Manager – Zane Navratil
For Bright, it’s between Zane Navratil, who’s more of a player-GM with the Chicago Slice, Ryan Harwood from the New Jersey 5s, and Johnny Goldberg from the Miami Pickleball Club.
Bright’s giving it to Navratil for helping lead his team to victory even when the odds were stacked against them.
“I’m giving it to Zane over Ryan because it’s harder to know what to do to set your team up for success when you’re not already a top two team in the league,” said Bright. “Zane set up the Chicago Slice very well for future success.”
Best Trade of the Year – The Dallas Flash
Bright defines this category by prioritizing the trade that most immediately impacted winning and most significantly transformed a team before and after the deal.
“The Danni-Elle trade is the one that really changed things. The Dallas Flash seemed to lack identity and purpose. Mark Molthan traded away Tyra in exchange for Danni-Elle, a relatively unknown Aussie, and it absolutely paid off. That trade completely reinvigorated the Dallas Flash. They seem to be very close and won their last two regular season events,” explained Bright. “That was a really impressive move from Mark.”
Best Moment of the Year – Elsie Hendershot
“Elsie Hendershot in MLP Orlando coming in and clinching the DreamBreaker for the Chicago Slice to ultimately keep their playoff hopes alive was by far the best moment,” identified Bright.
Bright, Fahey, and the rest of Hendershot’s former team watched the whole moment live, and it was truly special.
“With the crowd chanting her name, I’m getting chills just talking about it. You really couldn’t script it any better,” described Bright. “Kate and I were so proud of her. We were tearing up. MLP gives people the opportunity to show up on the big stage in a way. For me, I don’t think there’s any moment from this season that’s going to top that.”
Most Annoying Bench – Texas Ranchers
Bright clarified that annoying doesn’t mean bad. She would rather have a bench that’s annoying over a bench that doesn’t care. Bright thinks the top contenders are the Shock, the Fives, and the Texas Ranchers.
“My team is the least annoying it’s ever been,” she said. “I think we’re probably still pretty annoying, but I don’t have a problem with saying that.”
The Fives’ clown collective show up with enthusiasm for their team, but Bright is giving the award to the Ranchers.
“The main thing that’s annoying about the Ranchers' bench is that they have a trifecta of women who are both very loud and very high-pitched,” concluded Bright. “But annoying is not bad. I have no problem with it personally. I just think it’s funny. You’d rather have annoying than a bench who doesn’t want to be there.”
What do you think of Bright’s winners? Let us know on Instagram.
Related articles
Toray MLP Playoffs - Newport Beach: Everything you need to know
Which teams will reign supreme in Southern California?
8 hours ago
-Pickleball.com Staff
The MLP Quarterfinals at Newport Beach: Time for some upsets?
We have four matchups to look at, and at least two of them look to be coin flips.
1 day ago
-Jim Kloss
Eight teams, one step closer: MLP Playoffs head to Newport Beach
The quarterfinal matchups were announced on Monday.
2 days ago
-Pickleball.com Staff
Anna Leigh Waters vs. Hayden Patriquin | An Instant MLP Classic (Condensed)
2 days ago
-Pickleball.com Staff