The players at MLP Austin battled heat and humidity, in addition to their opponents. It was standing room only for the fans on Super Sunday, as New Jersey defeated Columbus for the event crown. Co-hosts Texas and Dallas went in opposite directions, with Texas taking third place, but Dallas left Austin with zero standings points, finishing last in their pool. Trade talk is also heating up, with the trade deadline coming up on June 30. With all that going on, let’s look at the latest stories and try to separate fact from fiction.

 

 

New Jersey has its ups and downs, mostly involving men’s doubles. The Will Howells/Noe Khlif team is capable of beating anyone; the problem is that they are also capable of losing to just about anyone. The glue that holds New Jersey together is Anna Leigh Waters (duh). She sits atop the overall player standings at 32-2. She almost guarantees her team two wins from women’s doubles and mixed #1, while dominating in Dreambreakers.

 

New Jersey does have competition. Both St. Louis and Columbus (after their trade, more about that below) are right there with New Jersey. LA and Brooklyn are also solid teams. But, with that said, New Jersey is not a runaway favorite to win it all. Their current roster is vulnerable against the other top teams. Could a trade by New Jersey be in the offing?

 

 

 

Texas had a good week in Austin. Eric Oncins finally played an MLP event like the top 10 player he is. The new addition of Nico Acevedo looked pretty good, with Acevedo adapting well to the right side in men’s doubles. Texas rode their men to a solid third place finish.

 

But, do not be fooled; Texas is not a title contender. The Texas women, Layne Sleeth and Lea Jansen, are good but not great. They are good enough to beat lower teams, but are not good enough to compete with the top five teams. Texas has a reasonable shot to finish sixth in the regular season, but that is as far as they can go.

 

 

 

Dallas won MLP 2024, and was the favorite to win in 2025 before getting knocked out in the playoffs, but since then have gone steadily downhill. Their management has made one unforced error after another. In Austin, it was a disaster, with Dallas going 1-4 in pool play and finishing dead last among the 11 teams.

 

Coming out of Austin, we received the news that Dallas was trading Tyra Black to Columbus for Danni-Elle Townsend and cash. Many people wondered why, questioning the trade. Not me. This was a trade I had predicted in my June 3 column. After a string of bad moves, it was nice to see Dallas finally making the right play. Even before Austin, it was clear Dallas was going nowhere in 2026. The right play then is to try to improve for 2027. Tyra Black cannot be kept by Dallas in 2027. She will be a free agent, just like many players drafted in 2024. So, while Black is a top five woman player, she has little value to Dallas. But, to a 2026 championship contender like Columbus, she has great value.

 

In getting Townsend, Dallas is a step ahead for 2027. Townsend can be kept not only for 2027, but also 2028, at a fairly reasonable keeper price of $180,000. In addition, Dallas likely got enough cash in the deal to pay next year’s keeper price. Kudos to Dallas for following my advice from June 3 and trading Black for Townsend.

 

 

 

Columbus trading to get Tyra Black sends a very clear message to the whole league: Columbus is all-in trying to repeat as champion. Their new lineup of Parris Todd, Tyra Black, Andrei Daescu, and CJ Klinger has no weak spot. While they lack a Ben Johns or an Anna Leigh Waters, Columbus makes up for it with consistently top level players, just like St. Louis. Columbus now trots out four top 10 players as their starters. Further, the fit is near perfect. Todd and Black play together in PPA events, and as long as they keep Black on the left, they are a great team. Black can continue to play left side in mixed, next to CJ Klinger; Black is much better on the left.

 

The rest of the league better sit up and take notice. Columbus is now likely to be a top three team, which is very important for playoff positioning. 

 

Who is next to be traded? The most logical trade is Dallas trading away JW Johnson. For the same reason Tyra Black had little value for Dallas at this point, the same can be said for Johnson. Dallas is going nowhere fast, and Johnson cannot be kept in 2027. So trading him and getting back either cash or a good player who can be kept next year (or both) makes tremendous sense.

 

 

The only teams likely to trade for Johnson are top teams. The same reason Johnson is not benefitting Dallas applies to all teams not in the top five. The logical trade partners are New Jersey and Brooklyn. New Jersey can offer Noe Khlif, and Brooklyn can offer Riley Newman. Both can offer cash along with the player. Johnson would fit perfectly with either New Jersey or Brooklyn. With New Jersey, Johnson would play mixed with sister Jorja and would play left side in men’s with Will Howells. For Brooklyn, Johnson could play left side, with Christian Alshon moving to the right side. Johnson could then play mixed with Jackie Kawamoto, a solid pairing. Dallas comes out of it with a very good player, who can be kept for 2027, and cash to pay for new players. Look at the 2027 roster advantage Dallas could have! Townsend and Khlif or Newman, and cash to spend on a great right side female and left side male. Dallas would be a championship contender in 2027, and would be able to do it at a lower cost than other teams, due to their keepers.

 

There is one other trade that is so logical I am surprised it has not happened already. LA needs to trade Max Freeman, with their targets being Federico Staksrud or Dylan Frazier. Freeman is a good but not great player. LA is now looking at Columbus’ roster of all top 10 players, St. Louis with an all top 10 roster, and New Jersey having an all top 12 roster with Anna Leigh Waters as an anchor player. LA is solid at three spots, but Freeman is an obvious weak point, as he is ranked more in the 25-30 range. Indeed, in talking to players on other teams, they confirm the strategy when playing LA is to hit every possible ball to Freeman. With Ben Johns taking everything in the middle, it makes sense for LA to get a strong right handed/right side player, so they can dink/attack forehand when they are the focus. Orlando (with Staksrud) and Miami (with Frazier) are going nowhere in 2027, and Staksrud cannot be kept in 2027. Frazier can be kept in 2027, but Miami is known to look for trades that net them cash. Both Staksrud and Frazier would fit well with LA, especially as excellent right side men’s doubles players. I guarantee Miami will offer Frazier for Freeman and cash, and if Orlando is smart, they will offer Staksrud for Freeman and cash.

 

Finally, if New Jersey cannot get JW Johnson, they could also target Staksrud, trading Khlif. Staksrud would not benefit New Jersey as much as JW Johnson would, but any upgrade is a good upgrade, especially in light of what Columbus has done.

 

Watch for more trade action before the June 30 deadline. When they happen, remember where you read about them first.

 

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