Inside the 2025 MLP Season as the Orlando Curtain-Raiser Beckons
by Joe James
What’s the Score?
The 2025 Major League Pickleball (MLP) is on the horizon, promising another thrilling and unpredictable year of professional team-based pickleball.
Officially kicking off with MLP Orlando from April 24 - 27, this year’s competition features 16 Premier Level teams and 6 Challenger Level sides.
With the Free Agency Draft frenzy finalising rosters at the beginning of March, the dynamic bidding selection caused a stir with no spending cap and set the stage for the MLP.
A significant change for the 2025 season is a return to traditional side-out scoring for all doubles matches, moving away from rally scoring, which is now reserved for singles play in the Dream Breaker format.
This adjustment aligns MLP scoring in doubles with what players are generally used to on the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) tour and aims to make the matches easier for fans to follow.
The Premier Level teams consist of six players, made up of three male and three female athletes.
Prior to the draft, teams declared their player ‘keepers; from the 2024 season, with 40 Premier players being kept and slotted into their teams’ top four roster spots.
The Free Agency Draft then filled the remaining starting four slots and added bench players, resulting in 56 total selections.
Across the United States, the schedule is packed with events, including stops in Columbus, Austin, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and San Clemente.
The season will culminate in playoff rounds in San Diego and New York.
MLP has also secured a multi-year deal with DoorDash to be their title presenting sponsor, known as the “MLP presented by DoorDash” throughout the deal.
Additionally, MLP has announced local media partnerships for select teams, including the Atlanta Bouncers, Carolina Hogs, Columbus Sliders, and St. Louis Shock, allowing their matches to air on regional sports networks on what promises to be an exhilarating season.
Hit it Deeper!
The off-season saw significant player movement and team restructuring. The New York Hustlers notably revamped their entire roster from 2024, opting to start afresh through the draft. In contrast, the Dallas Flash, the 2025 Premier Level Champions, largely aimed to repeat past success with their winning quartet. In a ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ move, Dallas reacquired their roster of JW Johnson, Augustus Ge, Tyra Hurricane Black and Jorja Johnson.
The St. Louis Shock, another top contender from last year, favoured stability with the move to secure Kate Fahey with the first pick in the Free Agency Draft.
Several intriguing player partnerships and team compositions have emerged. The Phoenix Flames, with new ownership, made a splash by acquiring tennis stars Jack Sock and Genie Bouchard, alongside established pickleball pros Tyson McGuffin and Jessie Irvine, indicating a potentially strong focus on marketing and fan appeal. The Chicago Slice, having lost their entire previous roster, invested heavily in free agency, building a completely new squad that is considered a potential playoff contender.
The Carolina Hogs, formerly the Carolina Pickleball Club, underwent a rebranding and will see the reunion of brothers Ben and Collin Johns on the same team, a storyline many will be watching closely. The Columbus Sliders are considered by some to have had one of the best off-seasons, significantly revamping their roster and potentially moving from the bottom of the standings to playoff contention. The LA Mad Drops, while retaining key players like Catherine Parenteau and Jade Kawamoto, face questions about team chemistry and player positioning.
At the Challenger Level, the competition also boasts strong teams with players who have Premier League experience. For example, the Las Vegas Night Owls, featuring Brooke Buckner and Pablo Tellez, and the Brooklyn Aces with Mariana Humberg and Daniel De La Rosa. These teams are expected to be highly competitive in the Challenger division, where all six teams qualify for the playoffs.
The World Pickleball Verdict
In a very poor effort to avoid typical cliches, the 2025 MLP season is shaping up to be the most exciting, action-packed campaign to date. The return to traditional scoring in doubles, the dynamic team compositions built from the free agency draft, and the expanded schedule promise a high-octane, yet compelling competition from start to finish.
The influx of new talent and the strategic decisions made by team owners and general managers have created a landscape ripe with potential upsets and thrilling matchups.
With all the action set to take place in the upcoming campaign, it can be tough to decide where to look, but here at the World Pickleball Magazine, we’ve got you covered with the key storylines to cast a keen eye on:
- Can the Dallas Flash repeat as champions with their largely unchanged roster?
- Will the revamped New York Hustlers find chemistry and exceed expectations despite their complete rebuild?
- How will the star power of Jack Sock and Genie Bouchard translate to wins for the Phoenix Flames?
- Can the aggressively rebuilt Chicago Slice quickly gel and make a playoff push?
- Will the reunion of Ben and Collin Johns propel the Carolina Hogs to success?
- Can the Columbus Sliders live up to the hype of their impressive off-season acquisitions?
The MLP Orlando event will provide the first glimpse into these team dynamics and set the tone for the season. With increased media coverage through Pickleball TV and local sports networks, fans around the world will have ample opportunities to follow their favourite teams and players.
The 2025 MLP season is poised to deliver high-stakes pickleball action and further solidify the league's position in the rapidly growing sport. It's a season that no pickleball enthusiast will want to miss.