What a year it was for MLP! Record attendance, tons of social media engagement, a playoff chase that went to the last day of the regular season, and a series of playoff games that will be hard to ever top. In the end, the two best teams, St. Louis and New Jersey fought it out in a two-match final which featured close games and two DreamBreakers. New Jersey pulled out the victory and were deserved champions after being runners up in both 2024 and 2025.

 

With the season ending, it is time for my officially unofficial MLP awards. We began them in 2024 with the first All-MLP teams, the MLP version of being all-pro. Who will make the teams this time?

 

 

In some years, we have a separate MVP and Player of the Year to note the distinction that can sometimes occur between great play and play that elevates the entire team, especially in the clutch. No need for it this year, as Anna Leigh Waters takes down both MVP and Player of the Year. She was 36-2 in women’s doubles and 31-6 in mixed doubles. She was so good that opponents employed an isolation strategy against her, hitting as many balls as possible to Waters’ partners, even in mixed doubles.

 

Into the playoffs, she continued her dominant play. In the key first match DreamBreaker against St. Louis, Waters fittingly won the last two points to close it 22-20. If you had to pick one player you wanted on the court for a point to decide the championship, Waters would be the choice.

 

Indeed, she was so dominant that it is not even worth talking about who was second in this contest. Waters in a runaway.

 

 

 

The Most Improved Player goes to the player whose level of play improved the most from MLP 2025 to MLP 2026. For this one, there were two very deserving candidates. Christian Alshon finished the year at #8 in the player rankings. Before 2026, Alshon had never made first, second, or even third team All-MLP. His enthusiasm and enjoyment playing for Brooklyn next to Riley Newman (in men’s doubles) and Rachel Rohrabacher (in mixed) was obvious, and helped elevate his play. He played as well as anyone in the playoffs, helping Brooklyn to get to the semifinals.

 

But the award has to go to Kate Fahey. Fahey was relatively unknown when drafted in 2024. In 2025, she had a 55-19 record in MLP, playing solidly, but that record had much to do with the level of play of her partners. In 2026, Fahey took it to a new level. Her 2026 record was 57-10, which may not sound like that big of an improvement from 2025, but the eye test told us the story. In 2026, Fahey was right there talent-wise with Anna Bright and Jorja Johnson. Fahey went from a potentially top 10 player to someone firmly in that top 10.

 

 

 

Rookie of the year is, of course, the award for someone who played MLP for the first time in 2026. We had quite a few breakout candidates, and this was the toughest winner to pick.

 

Danni-Elle Townsend finished 19th among all players, the highest for any rookie (one spot above Sewing). Townsend was especially good at mixed doubles, garnering a 19-6 record with Augie Ge. But, her record in women’s doubles was a pedestrian 15-14. She also had trouble hanging with the best opponents in the playoffs.

 

Nico Acevedo seemingly came out of nowhere to finish 29th in the player rankings, with a 38-27 record. Like the other candidates for rookie of the year, Acevedo has a lot of potential for improvement and it will be interesting to see how he does in 2027 when he will no longer be an unknown.

 

Sofia Sewing takes the Rookie of the Year award. She was a solid 26-9 in women’s doubles with Tina Pisnik. Perhaps more impressive was her 20-13 record in mixed doubles, playing with Tyson McGuffin and Casey Diamond. Neither McGuffin nor Diamond are top 20 players, so to compile a 20-13 record is impressive. In the playoffs, Sewing was a perfect 4-0 in the first round against Chicago, before being eliminated in the quarterfinals by eventual champion New Jersey. Sewing, like Townsend and Acevedo, is a solid building block for her team in 2027.

 

 

 

For the first time, we are awarding an executive of the year, as general managers are becoming more and more important in MLP. As we go into the salary cap era for MLP 2027, picking the right players, and not just spending the most money, will determine the best teams. Goldberg showed his skills with an underfunded Miami team in 2026. He spotted the talented Nico Acevedo where no one else did. Financial reasons led him to trade Acevedo to Texas for big bucks. Goldberg also flipped Dylan Frazier and Clayton Powell for money.

 

Somehow, after trading away all that talent for a lot of money, Miami almost made the playoffs. They were in it all the way to the last event in Orlando. After being eliminated, Miami still retains the rights to Anouar Braham, who might be the most underrated player in MLP. Do not be surprised if Braham becomes the Acevedo of 2027.

 

 

 

There were two standout trades this year in MLP. Back in early June, well before the trade deadline, I had a list of five trades teams should consider. When posted, the list generated a lot of derision, with even the involved teams saying “no chance” any of these would happen. Well, a short time later, the first one occurred, with Dallas trading Tyra Black to Columbus for Danni-Elle Townsend. The trade made perfect sense for Dallas, as Townsend can be kept for 2027 and Black cannot be retained. Black was not playing to her usual high level in MLP 2026, while Townsend brought some needed swagger to Dallas. Dallas made the semifinals with Townsend, but their ceiling was capped due to their earlier unforced error of releasing Jorja Johnson. If Dallas had both Johnson and Townsend, the outcome of 2026 might be quite different, but we will never know.

 

The second trade, and the trade of the year, was New Jersey acquiring Federico Staksrud for cash and backup players. Staksrud had been trapped on a weak Orlando team. His play was disinterested and his results reflected it. But, once he came to New Jersey, everything changed. Staksrud became energetic, firing up the crowds and his teammates. His enthusiastic play helped his team win it all. If New Jersey did not make that trade, they would not have won the championship; it is that simple.

 

 

 

I introduced the All-MLP teams after the 2024 season, so 2026 marks the third year players will receive this honor. We award these 12 spots on the teams to the best of the best.

 

Third team: Tina Pisnik (first selection to an All-MLP team); Parris Todd (first selection); Ben Johns (third team in 2024); Augie Ge (second team in 2024).

 

Pisnik finished 16th with a 48-24 record. Most notable were her two wins in the playoffs in mixed doubles against Anna Leigh Waters. Todd was 9th overall for what turned out to be a disappointing finish for Columbus. Johns was 7th in player rankings with a 54-15 record. His play was spotty at times, and he did not play particularly well in crunch time in the playoffs. Ge was 11th in player rankings, and his 19-6 record at mixed #2 with Danni-Elle Townsend was particularly impressive.

 

Second team: Jorja Johnson (second team in 2024, first team in 2025); Kate Fahey (first selection); Gabe Tardio (first team in 2025); Hayden Patriquin (second team in 2024, first team in 2025).

 

Johnson was second in player rankings. She did obviously benefit from playing next to Anna Leigh Waters. She had a few shaky moments when St. Louis isolated her, but she steadied the ship and came through big time when it mattered most. Fahey we already discussed as most improved player. Tardio and Patriquin formed the best men’s doubles tandem, and helped their team get to the finals.

 

First team: Anna Leigh Waters (third time she has been first team); Anna Bright (first team in 2024, second team in 2025); JW Johnson (first team in 2024, second team in 2025); Christian Alshon (first selection).

 

What more can I say about Waters or Bright? Johnson was a star for Dallas. He led that team to the semifinals, and was in the discussion for MVP. Alshon finished 8th in player rankings. He played his best in the playoffs and kicked it into an even higher gear in key spots. He was not far off MVP level.

 

Well, there you have it, my official MLP awards and All-MLP teams. 2026 was the best year ever for MLP, and I look forward to 2027 being even better. Who will step up and be rookie of the year in 2027? Who will make the jump to being All-MLP? Can anyone challenge Waters for best player? It will be fun to see those questions answered.

 

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