MLP 2025 Challenger Draft Grades

Since 2023 when the Challenger and Premier divisions were implemented, we have probably enjoyed following the Challenger division more than most people. However, the stakes and the talent have become so watered down this year. It makes it difficult to follow along. These feel like more obligatory Challenger grades to keep the tradition alive. 

We have added a wrinkle to the grades and are including the analysis of the SoCal Hard Eight’s recent draftee, Blaine Hovenier, from the MLP Challenger Free Agency Draft Show with Will Daughton. We think it’s safe to say that no one in pro pickleball brings more positivity to the sport both on and off the court than Blaine Hovenier.

The Challenger draft was a dynamic bidding process with a minimum bid of 1,000 draft points for teams. There were only 11 selections made to fill out the rosters of 4 players. 

One other thing to say is that, as of this being posted there have not been any trades announced, including the Genie Bouchard for Meghan Dizon trade. The rumblings continue to be that there should be at least a few trades so we’ll have to see how that impacts the look of the rosters. Keep in mind, we also mentioned in our Premier Grades column that Charles Darling reportedly backed out of agreed upon deals during the first trade window so could that be happening here?

Bay Area Breakers 

Eric Roddy (#1, 10,000); Wyatt Stone (#10, 1,000); Ling Wei Kong (#11, 1,000)

Other Rostered Players: Allyce Jones 

Honestly, it’s tough to figure out some of these Challenger teams because Challenger looks so different than it has the past two years and the options were incredibly limited for teams drafting. Roddy and Stone are competent players, and we have actually seen Stone with better doubles results than Roddy. Remember, Roddy has the North Carolina connection with Colin Shick, who was on the Bay Area Breakers last year. 

There was discussion of Ling Wei Kong as a Premier selection, but she didn’t show much in the way of results for 2024. It’s concerning when the most positive thing Blaine could say about Kong is that he’s excited for her. Allyce Jones is a clear Premier female but her game isn’t one that is meant for taking over. The question remains as to whether Jones gets traded after Bay Area recouped some good money last year for Vivian Glozman.

Blaine Hovenier’s Analysis: Roddy “I love this pick”; Stone “this is a great pick”; Kong “I am super excited for Ling Wei”

Grade: C+ 

Nashville Pandas (Chefs?) 

Anderson Scarpa (#2, 9,000); Marshall Brown (#3, 8,000); Michelle Esquivel (#9, 1,000) 

Other Rostered Players: Ewa Radzikowska 

Looking at this roster, it was either a mistake to drop Stefan Auvergne or it was a mistake not to pick Martin Emmrich. We hadn’t taken the time to go through what a UPA signed Challenger player pool was going to look like when we did our initial offseason grades. We liked the Auvergne drop because he lacks upside but you don’t really get upside with Scarpa or Brown, who are both good teammates and solid players. Why not bring on Martin Emmrich to play with Radzikowska in mixed? 

Michelle Esquivel brought more to the table as a sub last year than we would have thought. She’s likely going to hold up in 2025 Challenger, but will struggle against the best women. 

Blaine Hovernier’s Analysis: Scarpa “I think Scarpa is an amazing pick”; Brown “I really like that. That’s going to be a scary men’s duo”; Esquivel “I think this is going to be a phenomenal team”

Grade: C+ 

Las Vegas Night Owls 

James Delgado (#4, 6,000) 

Other Rostered Players: Pablo Tellez, Chao Yi Wang, Brooke Buckner 

Another late UPA signed player who gets drafted by a team with a guy (Chris Patrick) who plays a key role in signing players to the UPA. How convenient! 

It makes good sense for this team to swing for the fences when there is virtually no downside. All teams make the playoffs and Vegas should be competitive even if Delgado is a dud. He has some competitive recent results in early round PPA events. Why the hell not? 

Blaine Hovenier’s Analysis: Delgado “[Steve Deakin] is super excited to have James Delgado on the team”

Grade: B- 

Florida Smash 

Sarah Ansboury (#5, 5,000); Cason Campbell (#6, 3,000) 

Other Rostered Players: Travis Rettenmaier, Martina Frantova 

Death, taxes and the Florida Smash making horrendous draft picks. Is it possible for Florida to have done worse than picking Sarah Ansboury? Why not swing for some upside with one of the unknown players? 

It is a shame because Cason Campbell is a good pick with the limited players left in the pool. 

Blaine Hovenier’s Analysis: Ansboury “this is a great pick”; Campbell “I’m super excited for this pick”

Grade: C+ 

Brooklyn Aces

Stefan Auvergne (#7, 2,000)

Other Rostered Players: Mari Humberg, Andrea Koop, Daniel De La Rosa 

Unless James Delgado hits for Las Vegas, Brooklyn should be the best team in Challenger. Their women are better than everyone except for Vegas, and they have two veteran men who can compete. Auvergne is a perfect fit for Humberg but it is surprising to us that teams continue to avoid Martin Emmrich across the board. 

We’ll have to see if Humberg is going to stay in Challenger because she is going to wreck the women in Challenger, if she sticks around. 

Blaine Hovenier’s Analysis: Auvergne “I love this pick” 

Grade: A- 

California Black Bears 

Stephen Madonia (#8, 1,000) 

Other Rostered Players: Rafa Hewett, Lina Padigemaite, Layne Sleeth 

We severely underestimated how poor the women’s side of the player pool would be after the Premier draft. Apparently, that’s what happens when you don’t actually take the time to do the math. We have to revise our view of this California team as they have to be the #3 team on paper to start the season. 

The fact that they have 3 players who were more than capable to play in Challenger in 2024 is important, especially with 2 of those being their women. 

Madonia feels like a Chris Haworth type of upside swing. Similar to the Delgado pick, it seems like these teams might as well take their shots when a playoff spot is guaranteed for all 6 teams. 

Blaine Hovenier’s Analysis: Madonia “I like this pick” 

Grade: B 

Snubs? 

It is VERY difficult to find many snubs when the vast majority of the available player pool gets picked by a team in some capacity. 

Martin Emmrich – Does Martin Emmrich have some kind of criminal record or deep dark secret that only the teams in MLP are aware of? It seems nuts that Emmrich went undrafted in both Premier and Challenger, but the same thing happened last year when he didn’t get picked up after being dropped by Brooklyn for Pablo Tellez in the first waiver period. He did get picked up by Bay Area later in the year, but this is now the second time Martin Emmrich is without a team. Hard to fathom. 

AJ Koller – It made sense for Koller not to be drafted to MLP last year. There were major questions on his work ethic and desire to improve, but he showed he could fill in admirably as a sub last year at the Premier level. He’s going to be an erratic player and the upside is limited, but he’s better than a good chunk of the guys picked. One thing to note is that he was named the Director of Amateur Development for the Shock a little while back so it’s unclear if that impacted anything. 

Mo Alhouni – Mo Alhouni is good enough to play in MLP. However, it would appear his reputation as one of the worst line callers in pro pickleball may have led to him going undrafted. Being a horrendous line caller matters when you’re a borderline player. 

Zoey Weil – This is total guesswork based on zero footage but, in reviewing her results pre-draft, they stood out from the pack as someone a team might want to take a chance on. 

Make sure to follow us on X, Instagram, Facebook and Threads!