by Kelly Campbell
The highly anticipated MLP draft took place in February. Between the record-breaking salaries and a fiercer talent pool than ever, 2026 is looking like it’ll be a season full of intense competition and high stakes.
While we’re in limbo before the season officially kicks off, we’re diving into the draft recap, the moves made since, and the rising stars worth keeping your eye on as we approach the official May 22 season start.
2026 MLP Draft Recap: Ushering in a New Era
The 2026 MLP Draft presented by Skechers began on February 27. Between increased investment in high-level talent and record-setting salaries, many are calling this year “league-altering.” When you consider that the financial stakes in professional pickleball keep climbing, that characterization makes sense. Increased financial investment in the league is one of the clearest pulse checks we have on where the sport is headed, and the kind of money being thrown around in 2026 will inevitably draw more viewers, more sponsors, and more players.
This year, the MLP expanded to 20 teams, and three franchises did not return: the Nashville Chefs, D.C. Pickleball Team, and New York Hustlers. With the influx of free agents from those rosters, the 2026 draft featured one of the most elite talent pools in league history.
Other notable changes include a plan to eliminate the Premier/Challenger level split and a new rule that allows all six roster players to be used in matches, eliminating the traditional starter/sub distinction entirely. That second change in particular will likely reshape how teams build their rosters and approach in-match strategy going forward.
Another reason this season is shaping up to be one of the most intense to date is the wave of younger talent amping up the competition. The newest faces of pickleball are younger, which will likely be a benefit when you consider that they’ve grown up in a post-pickleball-boom world and may have had access to greater resources, better coaching, and more competitive play from an earlier age than any previous generation of pros.
The 2026 draft process operated similarly to the 2025 process. MLP teams bid on draft positions, not players directly, and then selected whoever they wanted from the available pool. There was no spending cap. Teams declared what players they were keeping ahead of the draft and were required to drop at least one player. Overall, 54 players were kept across the 20 teams, and 66 total selections were made.
The first and second overall picks were players who had been dropped by their original teams: Anna Bright and Jorja Johnson. Both were considered among the best women in the sport, which made those drops controversial from the moment they happened, and the draft made clear just how much the market valued them.
Anna Bright came out on top and is now breaking records as the most expensive player ever drafted in MLP history. She found her home with the St. Louis Shock for a whopping $1.23 million. Jorja Johnson was also in the headlines for joining the New Jersey 5s after a controversial decision by Dallas to drop her.
Other notable players in the top 20 picks include Danni-Elle Townsend, Lea Jansen, Dylan Frazier, Tama Shimabukuro, Kiora Kunimoto, Cam Chaffin, and Will MacKinnon. Some of the most surprising players to not be drafted at all include AJ Koller, Mehvish Safdar, Irina Tereschenko, and Christa Gecheva, all of whom had meaningful MLP experience and were widely expected to land on rosters.
Movement in the MLP with Post-Draft Trades
The post-draft trade window opening up on March 2 shook things up once again. These are some of the most influential and, at times, shocking changes and trades that were made on or since the original draft date.
Texas Ranchers & Brooklyn Pickleball Team (March 3): As part of the Texas Ranchers’ full-scale roster overhaul, they traded Christian Alshon and Luca Mack to Brooklyn in exchange for Dylan Frazier, Matthew Barlow, and cash considerations. Brooklyn then made a second move on the same day, acquiring Chris Haworth from the California Black Bears for Luca Mack. Brooklyn added both the No. 1 men’s singles player in the world in Haworth and one of the most dynamic young players on tour in Frazier, transforming themselves into a legitimate championship contender almost overnight. For Texas, it was the latest and loudest signal that this team is rebuilding from scratch with a completely new identity under new Head Coach Caleb Garrard.
Layne Sleeth to the Texas Ranchers from California Black Bears (March 3): The deal was a pre-arranged agreement that couldn’t be executed until after the draft, which meant Texas selected Sahra Dennehy with the 22nd pick on draft day, only to trade her back to California two days later in exchange for Sleeth.
3-Team Trade: Columbus, Miami, & Carolina (March 14): Two separate trades were announced simultaneously involving the Columbus Sliders, Miami Pickleball Club, and Carolina Hogs. This multi-team deal saw Columbus receive Alix Truong from Miami, Isabella Dunlap to Miami from Carolina, and Alli Phillips to Carolina from Columbus. The defending champion Sliders were already navigating an unconventional offseason, without Parris Todd available for the first event due to her suspension stemming from the Pickleball Japan Federation clinic controversy. Adding roster movement this late in the trade window only added more uncertainty to a team that most expected to be the clear frontrunner heading into Dallas.
Jorja Johnson (February 27): The Jorja Johnson situation is one of the defining storylines of this entire offseason and it started before the trade window even opened. Dallas made the decision to drop her at the keeper deadline, which was widely considered a mistake the moment it happened. Johnson went to the New Jersey 5s with the No. 2 overall pick for $800,000, with Dallas bidding hard all the way up to $755,000 before losing out. She is the reigning league MVP, she is now playing alongside Anna Leigh Waters on New Jersey, and the consensus among many is that Dallas’s decision to let her go may have cost them any realistic shot at a championship in 2026.
Pickleball’s Rising Stars of the 2026 Season
These are just a few of pickleball’s most prominent rising stars that we can’t wait to see this upcoming season. If you don’t know them already, you’ll want to pay attention as they set out to transform professional pickleball.
Draft Pick: #1, $1.23 million | Team: St. Louis Shock
Anna Bright, 26, played collegiate tennis at UC Berkeley, where she reached a career-high national ranking of No. 13 before discovering pickleball in 2021. She quit her full-time job as an account manager at DUPR to pursue the sport professionally and has since competed in over 101 professional tournaments and 812 career matches. She holds a career win rate of 79.1% and is currently ranked No. 2 in women’s doubles and No. 2 in mixed doubles on the PPA Tour. St. Louis paid a record-setting $1.23 million to bring her back, making her the most expensive player in MLP history.
Draft Pick: #2, $800,000 | Team: New Jersey 5s
Jorja Johnson is the reigning MLP league MVP and one of the top three women’s players in the world. She and her brother, JW Johnson, are one of the most well-known sibling duos in the sport, having both built their careers on the PPA Tour together. Dallas controversially dropped her at the keeper deadline, setting off a bidding war in the draft that New Jersey ultimately won for $800,000. She is now paired with Anna Leigh Waters on the 5s, which many consider the most dominant women’s doubles combination in the league heading into the 2026 season.
Draft Pick: #3, $180,000 | Team: Columbus Sliders
Columbus’ decision to select Australian pickleballer Danni-Elle Townsend third overall ahead of proven veterans like Lea Jansen and Meghan Dizon was one of the most polarizing calls of the entire draft. She built her reputation through strong performances on the PPA Tour Asia and Australia circuits, where she played consistently well. She is widely viewed as a longer-term 2027 and 2028 investment as much as a 2026 contributor, but if she delivers this season, it opens up an entirely new conversation about the depth of international talent making its way into the American pro game.
Draft Pick: #7, $170,000 (Texas Ranchers, traded from Brooklyn) | Team: Texas Ranchers
Dylan Frazier, 24, is from Ashland, Missouri, and is one of the most unique stories in professional pickleball. He started playing at 14 years old after a family vacation to Florida. He is one of the only top-tier professionals without a tennis background, having come up entirely through pickleball. He has steadily worked his way into the top ranks of the sport and was drafted by Brooklyn and traded to Texas within days.
Draft Pick: #16, $35,000 | Team: Phoenix Flames
Cam Chaffin is only 14 years old, making him the youngest player ever drafted in MLP history. He first made people pay attention with a big singles run at the Indoor National Championships in January 2026. Phoenix took a chance on his upside with the 16th overall pick. Whether he contributes meaningfully in 2026 or develops into something special over the next few seasons, he is already one of the most talked-about names to come out of this draft class.
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