MLP has announced the players dropped off each Premier and Challenger team.

Not many surprises, as many teams had a mandatory drop. Each team had to drop at least one player; at their discretion, they could drop more.

 

 

 

1. Atlanta Bouncers: Kept Todd Fought, Vivian Glozman, and Jaume Martinez Vich. Dropped Emily Cederquist. No surprise.

 

2. Carolina Pickleball Club: Kept Kaitlyn Christian, Ben Johns, and Collin Johns. Dropped Yana Newell. Carolina should have dropped Collin. There are much better options available in the March 2 auction.

 

3. Chicago Slice: Dropped Megan Fudge, Jack Munro, Allison Harris, and Brendon Long. All mandatory drops. Chicago is going to have to scramble in the March 2 auction and likely will be one of the worst teams this year.

 

4. Columbus Sliders: Kept Andrei Daescu, CJ Klinger, and Parris Todd. Dropped Callie Smith. Columbus had a very good offseason and could be one of the very few 2024 non-playoff teams with a shot to make the 2025 playoffs.

 

5. DC Pickleball Team: Kept Dekel Bar, Jackie Kawamoto, and Rachel Rohrabacher. Dropped James Ignatowich. Ignatowich was a top 10 draft choice, and is one of the highest players dropped. But it was the right move by DC.

 

6. Dallas Flash: Kept JW Johnson, Jorja Johnson, and Tyra Black. Dropped Augie Ge.  Dallas would have loved to keep all four. Look for them to try to get Ge back at the March 2 auction.

 

7. LA Mad Drops: Kept Hunter Johnson, Jade Kawamoto, and Catherine Parenteau. Dropped Thomas Wilson. Wilson was the obvious drop due to his ongoing illness.

 

8. Miami Pickleball Club: Kept Eric Oncins and Milan Rane. Dropped Noe Khlif and Bobbi Oshiro.

 

 

9. New Jersey 5s: Kept Anna Leigh Waters, Zane Navratil, and Will Howells. Dropped Amanda Hendry. Does NJ have a secret plan/trade to get Mari Humberg back from Challenger in the March auction?

 

10. New York Hustlers: Dropped Jack Sock, Riley Newman, Lea Jansen, and Susannah Barr. Rumors had been swirling that NY was going to do this, and save money. Look for them to bid low in the auction, and fall out of playoff contention. Newman could now go as the first pick in the auction.

 

11. Orlando Squeeze: Kept Dylan Frazier, Federico Staksrud, and Lacy Schneemann. Dropped Vivienne David. This team has potential, if they can snag the right woman in the auction (or a trade).

 

12. Phoenix Flames: Kept Meghan Dizon, Jessie Irvine, and Tyson McGuffin. Dropped Jay Devilliers.

 

13. SoCal hard Eights: Kept Judit Castillo, Erik Lange, and Irina Tereschenko. Dropped Max Manthou.

 

14. St. Louis Shock: Kept Anna Bright, Hayden Patriquin, and Gabe Tardio. Dropped Kate Fahey. I never believed the rumors that Tardio would be dropped, so this is the right move. St. Louis now needs to be proactive to either get Fahey back in the auction or trade for a good female player.

 

15. Texas Ranchers: Kept Christian Alshon, Tina Pisnik, and Etta Tuionetoa. Dropped Quang Duong. This is a perfect spot for a team to pick up Riley Newman in the auction. If they do, they will be the favorite to win it all.

 

16. Utah Black Diamonds: Kept Tyler Loong, Connor Garnett, and Alix Truong. Dropped Genie Bouchard.

 

 

1. Bay Area Breakers: Kept Allyce Jones, dropped Jill Braverman, Martin Emmrich, and Collin Shick. Jones belongs on a Premier team.

 

2. Brooklyn Aces: Kept Daniel de la Rosa, Mari Humberg, and Andrea Koop. Dropped Blaine Hovenier. Humberg should get traded to a Premier team.

 

3. Cal Black Bears: Kept Rafa Hewett, Lina Padegimaite, and Layne Sleeth. Dropped Brandon French.

 

4. Florida Smash: Kept Martina Frantova and Travis Rettenmaier. Dropped Christa Gecheva and Donald Young.

 

5. Las Vegas Night Owls: Kept Brooke Buckner, Zoey Wang, and Pablo Tellez. Dropped Chris Haworth. Buckner, Wang and Tellez all belong in Premier.

 

6. Nashville Pandas: Kept Ewa Radzikowska. Dropped Stefan Auvergne, Tammy Emmrich, and Michael Loyd.

 

Watch for more maneuvering, especially for the Premier level players who are on Challenger rosters. The Premier auction is March 2. We will have another column before the auction with predictions on who will be picked by each team. I did get all the keepers exactly right, so let’s see if I can hit the auction as well.

 

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