NML’s 2026 MLP Draft Grades (Part 1) – Top of the Class
It looks like the rosters are pretty close to finalized. We didn’t want to do draft grades before all the trades were announced, but we had expected more than a few moves. Although the conversation may have shifted away from MLP, we still need to hand out our draft grades.
Considering that we have a full offseason transaction period, these would probably be more accurately described as offseason grades rather than draft grades. However, draft grades still has a much better ring to it, so we’re sticking with draft grades, even though it is a more all-encompassing process the past two years.
It’s a highly philosophical question but the lens we generally view team building with is that there’s little point being stuck in the middle. Titles should be the goal, particularly where revenue generation through fan attendance is not a thing yet in pro pickleball. If that’s not the goal, then you might want to read some other draft grades because the philosophical differences in team building approach probably lead to more disagreement than pure player analysis. At the same time, since these are our draft grades, we use discretion arbitrarily to factor things in like ownership financial commitment, where we feel it is warranted.
One question we remain unclear on is whether teams are able to keep more than 4 players going into 2027. It really changes things from a talent acquisition perspective if you can keep your starters and bench players beyond this year. We’re going to grade the teams on the basis that this will be an option for teams to some extent.
St. Louis Shock
Roster: Anna Bright (#1 pick, $1.23M), Kate Fahey, Gabe Tardio, Hayden Patirquin, Elsie Hendershot (#30 pick, $28K), John Lucian Goins (#29 pick, $25K)
How much do you factor in that AB cost more money than anyone out there when the owners have essentially unlimited money to spend? You can quibble with the decision to drop Anna and how much they spent to get her back, but the fact is that the Shock are running back their OG roster and they are one of the best teams in MLP.
The concern we see with this roster is the Kate Fahey situation. There is an alternate reality where the Shock dropped one of their men last year, pay to get them back and then drop Fahey this year – this would have put them in the running for Jorja Johnson. We were wondering whether the Shock could make a play for someone like Tyra Black, and clearly this did not happen. The original 2024 version of this roster is what it appears they are running with, and that’s not a bad place to be.
We also really liked the bench moves. John Lucian can provide singles speciality with doubles capability in a pinch and Anna Bright isn’t a player that was likely to take herself out of a Dreambreaker anyway, so why not go with the woman with the most upside in the draft in Elsie Hendershot. If they can keep her long-term, on top of their starters, that’s the type of move that can help you transition to the future seamlessly and no skin off their back if it doesn’t work out.
Grade: A-
New Jersey 5’s
Roster: Anna Leigh Waters, Jorja Johnson (#2 pick, $800k), Will Howells, Noe Khlif, Lina Padegimaite (#64 pick, $1K), Martin Emmrich (#58 pick, $2K)
What can you say? They went harder after Anna Bright than anyone would have expected and then outbid the Dallas Flash for Jorja Johnson. A massive, massive upgrade for them in their #2 women’s spot, a perfect fit next to ALW and one of the best mixed women out there. Flat out, Jorja is one of the best female players in the game.
The 5’s men got overpowered in the playoffs last year and we have not been able to see what Will Howells can do full time on the PPA yet due to his ankle injury he suffered earlier this year. However, Noe and Will should both keep getting better and they are strong singles players.
We understand why the 5’s opted for former 5’s player, Lina Padegimaite, and Martin Emmrich, as veteran, “good locker room” type of people for their bench. Emmrich is a good doubles fill in, but it feels like they should have tried to do more with their female bench spot.
Grade: A-
Columbus Sliders
Roster: Parris Todd, Danni-Elle Townsend (#3 pick, $180K), CJ Klinger, Andrei Daescu, Allison Phillips (#42 pick, $15K), Alex Crum (#50 pick, $9K)
We loved the Sliders approach to the draft. They felt like they caught lightning in a bottle with their roster last year and rightly understood that their championship roster was one that was very unlikely to replicate another title. They dropped Lea Jansen and, when it proved too expensive to pay for Anna Bright and Jorja Johnson, they guaranteed the rights to the player who had to be their realistic primary target, Danni-Elle Towsend.
Townsend is unproven at the highest levels, but she has flashed big-time ability in her limited action against US based talent. More importantly, she has the tools to be an elite female in the game and her left-side skills could fit in really nicely with CJ Klinger. We also like the Townsend appears to be someone with a no-fear, alpha mentality and will be curious to see if she is the primary left-side player in women’s – from what we have seen, she has the capability to play either side.
These are the type of upside swings you need to take if you want to contend with the big spenders in MLP.
The only knock we have against Columbus is that they seem to have an aversion to optimizing their bench players. Alex Crum works as a singles specialist, but why draft the guy coming off a knee surgery? Townsend is a solid singles player, but why not get a singles specialist for your bench instead of a below average doubles and singles player.
Grade: A-
SoCal Hard Eights
Roster: Meghan Dizon (#11 pick, $85K), Cailyn Campbell (#13 pick, $65K), Armaan Bhatia (#14 pick, $40K), Will MacKinnon (#17 pick, $40K), Naomi Nguyen (#55 pick, $4K), Rafa Lenhard (#43 pick, $14K)
Take notes. This is how you build an upside roster. Will it work? Who the hell knows. But the process is sound for a team unwilling to spend crazy money.
The Dizon pick didn’t make sense to us initially, but the Hard Eights had a plan. The dynamics of pickleball are very different from other pro sports. Nevertheless, the history of pro sports has not been kind to youth focused rosters without experience guiding the way.
You can quibble with the Cailyn Campbell selection given the other players on the board and the potential fit between Bhatia and MacKinnon in men’s. However, when you’re trying to swing on upside, the history of pro sports has also taught us that talent acquisition should be the key focus initially and you can figure out the fit side of the picture down the road. The Hard Eights get really good value for their men (Bhatia and MacKinnon were the #5 and #6 men on our big board) and we will be very curious to see this roster grow throughout the year.
The bench selections were okay from our view. Rafa Lenhard is part of this group of Challenger alum men that we have trouble distinguishing between. We haven’t really seen Nguyen, but we would have preferred a teenager at this spot with more upside for this type of team building, like a Kelly Goodnow or Jade Rau.
Grade: B+
Utah Black Diamonds
Roster: Etta Tuionetoa, Allyce Jones, Connor Garnett, Tama Shimbukuro (#9 pick, $125K), Victoria DiMuzio (#39 pick, $17K), Tyler Loong (#59 pick, $2K)
We thought that the Black Diamonds might be gearing up to make a trade, but it didn’t happen (at least not as of yet). If this is the roster they are rolling with, we expect the Black Diamonds to be a top half team in the league. The dollar value wasn’t great for Tama as the only other pick between #4 and #9 that went for more money than Tama’s #9 slot was Dylan Frazier at #7 ($170K), and he goes as the #3 male off the board in the entire draft (he was #2 on our board).
We have some concerns with Tama’s game long-term and the fit with Connor Garnett doesn’t work short-term (see his short lived run with Columbus and Riley Newman in 2024), but this is the type of talent acquisition that can vault your team to the next level. Get good players and figure out the rest later.
It’s a good, not great roster, as Tuionetoa’s stock is not on the up and they will have one of the weaker Dreambreaker female duos out there as both starters are below average in singles and DiMuzio is only a decent singles player on the bench.
Grade: B+
California Black Bears
Roster: Kiora Kunimoto (#15 pick, $45K), Sahra Dennehy (#22 pick, $35K), Anouar Braham (#28 pick, $10K), Luca Mack (traded), Emma Nelson (#37 pick, $21K), Michael Loyd (#35 pick, $21K)
A very interesting draft for California. Kiora Kunimoto was one of the best picks in the draft based on value and we will be closely monitoring the development of her doubles game.
We weren’t as excited by their rest of their draft, but also understand the logic behind their strategy. Sahra Dennehy offers upside and higher end singles ability. They recouped money with Haworth and found two up and coming players that have some theoretical upside in Mack and Braham. Emma Nelson is a teenager that presents some upside too and Michael Loyd is a capable in all 3 disciplines, who is familiar with the organization.
Grade: B
LA Mad Drops
Roster: Catherine Parenteau, Jade Kawamoto, Ben Johns, Max Freeman, Genie Bouchard (traded), Gabe Joseph (#36 pick, $18K)
The Mad Drops are going to be super interesting again this year. Their #1 need going into the draft was a female, singles specialist and they secured one post-draft with Genie Bouchard. It sounds like Bouchard is not a player who has been very keen to play MLP, especially given her drama-filled experience last year with the Phoenix Flames. LA now has two high-end singles specialists with Gabe Joseph and Genie Bouchard, but this is a weird roster of personalities. If mopey Ben decides to make an appearance again this season, things could get grim.
There have been so many moves since the Mad Drops picked up Max Freeman and, after seeing the draft play out, it looks like Max Freeman is a fine fit with this roster, given what was available. However, it is clear Christian Alshon and Dylan Frazier were right side guys that were available. This team hinges on Freeman’s development, at the end of the day. His tour results continue to be underwhelming in 2026, so the Mad Drops better hope that turns around soon.
Grade: B
Phoenix Flames
Roster: Daria Walczak (traded), Judit Castillo (#21 pick, $45K), Jonathan Truong (#10 pick, $85K), Camden Chaffin (#16 pick, $35K), Alexa Schull (#46 pick, $11K), Wyatt Stone (#38 pick, $18K)
Phoenix did really well with their men and got fantastic value. They proceeded to make arguably the worst selection of the first round taking Judit Castillo and paying $45K for the privilege of drafting her. Castillo was #15 on our women’s big board only for the reason that she profiled as a singles specialist with the capacity to play a solid enough doubles in a substitute situation. Castillo is playing better, but there is pretty much no upside to her as a player.
Trading Irvine for Walczak is a full revamp for Phoenix. Walczak is an Arizona resident and theoretically brings some upside and left side length to the table. We like the idea of having a couple of APP transplants (Walczak and Schu) with theoretical upside, even if we aren’t all that high on the players themselves. They did well with their men but Castillo is pointless on a roster that is not intending to be in contention for a title.
Grade: B
Brooklyn Pickleball Team
Roster: Jackie Kawamoto, Rachel Rohrabacher, Riley Newman, Christian Alshon (traded), Hannah Blatt, Chris Haworth (traded)
There has been a ton of discussion about the big spending teams in MLP and somehow Brooklyn keeps being left out of the discussion. Since 2023, Al Tylis and Brooklyn (previously DC) have cared as much about winning as any organization in the league, and that led to a title in season 2 of 2023 with a roster of the Kawamoto’s, Riley Newman and Christian Alshon. Brooklyn has brought 3 of those 4 players back together, with a bit of a role reversal on the men’s side as Christian Alshon was a newly promoted Premier player in 2023 after spending season 1 with Bay Area in Challenger.
The Alshon move was very much needed. However, we can’t help but be critical of Tylis’s affinity for Riley Newman in 2026. Newman has remained close with Brooklyn’s owner since he played for DC a few years ago. Tylis was also played an integral role in finalizing Riley Newman’s commitment to the UPA, after initially signing a relatively inflated Tour Wars MLP deal.
Tylis is clearly a loyal guy (see the Pat Smith announcement as new Assistant Coach), but if there was an upgrade out there to be had on Riley, Brooklyn is making a mistake not moving off of him. This is a very good team as constructed, but Riley Newman is the most likely reason this team does not contend for a title in 2026 when we look back on things after the season. Bringing on Chris Haworth masks part of the singles deficiency issues Brooklyn had in 2025, but it does not mask the likelihood of Riley getting iced out on the left as Christian Alshon tries to insert himself into matchups from the right.
We’re also curious why Brooklyn kept Hannah Blatt and didn’t try to find a singles upgrade for her, with so many other better singles players available through the draft. With two women who don’t play singles on tour regularly, that’s a move that could also haunt Brooklyn when it comes time for an important Dreambreaker in the playoffs.
At the end of the day, it feels to us like Brooklyn is a fringe contender that is most likely wasting their money by not upgrading Riley (assuming some kind of upgrade was available). This is a very good team that will be tough in Dreambreakers, but, unless they have a Columbus Sliders-esque playoff run, they are unlikely to be good enough to win it all.
Grade: B
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