The MLP schedule moves to Columbus starting Thursday. As was true in Dallas, we have 11 teams competing, placed into two separate pools. They will play a round robin within their pools, with the winner of each pool facing off against each other to determine the event champion.

 

We will review the two pools and try to predict the finalists in each pool.

 

 

Atlanta Bouncers, California Black Bears, Chicago Slice, Columbus Sliders, New Jersey 5s, Miami Pickleball Club

 

Columbus and New Jersey face off again, as they did in Dallas. In Dallas, Columbus won the head-to-head matchup and the group. New Jersey looks for revenge on Columbus’ home turf. Columbus welcomes back Parris Todd, coming off suspension. The New Jersey men, Will Howells and Noe Khlif, did not play well in Dallas and will need to step up if they want to defeat Columbus. For Columbus, Danni-Elle Townsend played well in her MLP debut, and her pairing with Alix Truong fared well. Todd will step in for Truong, but we will have to see if Todd and Townsend can gel. Townsend is much better on the left side, and Todd, while better on the right, has a tendency to play too much left side when paired with a partner who likes the left. If Todd goes full time on the right with Townsend, they will be a very solid team.

 

Atlanta, California, Chicago, and Miami all have their 2026 debut in Columbus. Atlanta has a decent men’s team of Jaume Martinez Vich and Jay Devilliers, but their women’s duo of Jessie Irvine and Kaitlyn Christian will struggle against the better teams. Atlanta will almost certainly lose to both Columbus and New Jersey, so Atlanta will need to get its wins against California, Chicago, and Miami.

 

California is the weakest team in this group. Michael Loyd and Anouar Braham are one of the weakest men’s teams in MLP. On the women’s side, they will have Sahra Dennehy and Kiora Kunimoto. Both Dennehy and Kunimoto are new to MLP, so expect them to play with enthusiasm. We have seen how youth and energy can elevate an MLP team, and California will look for Dennehy and Kunimoto to supply that energy. Dennehy and Kunimoto are both good singles players, so California will be a threat in a DreamBreaker. The problem is that they are not yet well developed at doubles, so getting to a DreamBreaker will be the problem. California will struggle in this pool, but I could see them snagging a DreamBreaker win along the way.

 

Chicago trots out a lineup of Zane Navratil, Hunter Johnson, Jamie Wei, and Mari Humberg. They also have two strong subs in Tom Protzek and Jalina Ingram. This is another team that will be very strong in a DreamBreaker, but may have some issues in doubles. Navratil/Johnson is a decent pair, but not strong enough to compete with the top teams. Wei/Humberg is an odd pairing; both are top 20 players, but both are markedly better on the left than the right. One of them will have to play right side in women’s doubles and both will have to play right side in mixed doubles. This is a team where the parts are better than the whole.

 

Finally, Miami’s lineup is Nico Acevedo, Yuta Funemizu, Clayton Powell, Isabella Dunlap, Estee Widdershoven, and Aiko Yoshitomi. Miami, more so than any other team, is likely to shift players around between gender and mixed doubles. For example, Funemizu is a very good right side men’s doubles player, but is not a good left side mixed player. So expect Funemizu to sit out mixed doubles. Similarly, I expect to see Dunlap come in for mixed, but sit out women’s doubles. Acevedo has all the potential in the world, but can overextend himself. He needs to play well, but not try to do too much. Miami is a team that can surprise, but I expect them perhaps to start slow early in the MLP year and finish strong. They are the wild card in this pool.

 

 

Carolina Hogs, Florida Smash, Las Vegas Night Owls, Palm Beach Royals, and St. Louis Shock. 

 

Carolina and St. Louis repeat from Dallas, while Florida, Las Vegas, and Palm Beach make their 2026 debuts. St. Louis is the overwhelming favorite to go undefeated and win this pool. If St. Louis does not win this pool, it will be a very bad sign. 

 

Carolina is not a good team, but they played over their heads in Dallas. Their roster is DJ Young, Connor Mogle, Brandon French, Allison Phillips, Abbigal Hatton, and Samantha Parker. Young had to sit out much of Dallas due to illness, but should be good to go for Columbus. Phillips and Parker played better in Columbus than their rankings would indicate. But, they are just not a playoff team. Look for them to beat Florida, but struggle in all the other matches.

 

Florida’s roster is Cason Campbell, Chris Crouch, Travis Rettenmaier, Martina Frantova, Paula Rives, and Zoey Weil. This is the worst team in MLP. They have arguably the worst men’s lineup and the worst women’s lineup of any team. Weil is improving and has good power. Campbell and Crouch have shown at least some promise. But this team just lacks any star power and will be an underdog in every match in Columbus and all year.

 

Las Vegas will roll out Blaine Hovenier, Roscoe Bellamy, Callie Smith, and Zoey Wang. Liz Truluck will sub in for Smith in the event of a DreamBreaker. Hovenier brings great energy to MLP; he is arguably the best teammate there is. Las Vegas has middle of the pack talent; expect them to beat the weak teams and lose to the good teams. As this is a fairly weak overall pool, if Las Vegas hopes to make the playoffs, this is one of those pools they need to do well in. 

 

Palm Beach is new to MLP this year, and their roster is an interesting blend of old and new. They have Dekel Bar, Tyson McGuffin, Tina Pisnik, and Sofia Sewing. Bar, McGuffin, and Pisnik are all solid veterans. Sewing is the wild card. She has had great success in the minor leagues playing APP, but how will she do against the real pros of the sport? She is a very good singles player, but I expect her to struggle in doubles, at least early in the season. Palm Beach is another team which should defeat the weak teams, but lose to the good teams. The Las Vegas vs. Palm Beach matchup will be a key one to determine which team finishes second in this group.

 

St. Louis finished a disappointing third in Dallas. They have a strong roster of Hayden Patriquin, Gabe Tardio, Anna Bright, and Kate Fahey. Patriquin/Tardio were not their usual selves in Dallas; they played well, but not quite up to their standards. Bright was very good, but Fahey was what I had expected in my preseason preview; Fahey is good, but she is not at that top tier with the top 10 women in the sport. Fahey is, relatively speaking, the weak link for St. Louis. Again, it’s not that she is a bad player; I have her ranked #11. But, there is a gap between her and the top 10 women, and that gap can show up against teams like Columbus and New Jersey.

 

 

I expect St. Louis to cruise in Pool B and make the final. The New Jersey vs. Columbus match will decide who wins Pool A. Columbus took it in Dallas, and they will be favored now that Parris Todd is back. I will go the other way though and take New Jersey to get revenge. The loser of the Columbus/New Jersey match will win the third place match, likely against Palm Beach.

 

I expect Florida and California to finish last, without winning a match. Pool A is much stronger than Pool B. If Miami was in Pool B, they might well finish second. In Pool A, Miami will not finish top two, but I like them to scare some teams and if there is a big upset to be had, I think Miami will be the team that gets it.

 

Watch all the matches from Columbus on Pickleballtv.

 

Follow me on X for updates @pickleball_jim.