MLP Dallas Event Preview - First Stop for 2026 Major League Pickleball

The first stop for the 2026 Major League Pickleball (MLP) season is just around the corner at the Pickler Universe and MLP Dallas.

The indoor facility will be hosting 30 matches between Thursday, May 28 and Sunday, May 30. With the new format of the regular season, the stakes are high right off the bat.

There have been quite a few updates to the 2026 Major League rules and competition structure:

Top Storylines Headed Into MLP Dallas

Does the new regular season event format make sense? MLP has tried to tweak the format and structure of the regular season for three straight years. I think they have finally found the magic sauce with this year’s format, but until we see it happen in real life, we won’t know.

We will see Jorja Johnson versus her old team in the first event. Johnson had been part of the Dallas Flash for two straight years and then Dallas dropped her, hoping to pick her up in the draft again this year. Instead, Ryan Harwood and the New Jersey 5s swooped in and picked her up for $800k. It will be interesting to see Anna Leigh Waters and Jorja paired up against the new look Flash, who made some recent changes to their roster. They traded for Brooke Buckner and picked up Albie Huang in waivers this past weekend to bolster their roster.

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The Columbus Sliders are the defending champions of MLP and they will be without Parris Todd. In pickleball, five months feels like forever. Five months ago is when Parris Todd was suspended for two events and fined $50,000 for attending an unapproved event in Japan. Todd is not allowed to play in Dallas, so the women will be two newly acquired ladies in Alix Truong and Danni-Elle Townsend. They are running back the majority of their roster from last year in Parris, Andrei, and CJ, with the additions of Townsend, Alex Crum, and Alix Truong, who they traded for after the draft.

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Will parity be an issue in 2026? In each of these pools, there are three that pundits agree could contend for a title and there are five other teams that are middling and/or near the bottom of power rankings. Will the lack of parity again be brought up as an issue this year? Or will some of the lesser ranked teams be more competitive than pundits think?

How the MLP Dallas Event Works

Teams are broken up into two different pools: Pool A and Pool B. Here are the pools for MLP Dallas:

Pool A:

Columbus Sliders
Dallas Flash
New Jersey 5s
Orlando Squeeze
Phoenix Flames

Pool B:

Bay Area Breakers
Carolina Hogs
LA Mad Drops
St. Louis Shock
Texas Ranchers
Utah Black Diamonds

Each team will play the other teams in their pool once Thursday through Saturday. The #1 seed from Pool A will play the #1 seed from Pool B on Sunday, same with the #2 seeds, #3 seeds, and #4 seeds. Anyone finishing fifth or worse in pool play does not play on Sunday.

Regular season standings points are based on where each team finishes the weekend.

*Note - 11th place earns zero points toward regular season standings

Broadcast Schedule for MLP Dallas

All matches available on Pickleballtv and the Pickleballtv App, in addition to:

Saturday, May 23

DAL vs NJ Live on FS1 (Exclusive) 7PM ET - 9PM ET (6PM - 8PM CT Local)

Sunday, May 24

MSG Network 12PM ET - 6PM ET (11AM - 5PM CT Local)
Tennis Channel 12PM ET - 6PM ET (11AM - 5PM CT Local)
LA vs STL Live on FS1 (Exclusive) 7PM ET - 9PM ET (6PM - 8PM CT Local)

Monday, May 25

Tennis Channel 12PM ET - 4PM ET (11AM - 3PM CT Local)
Tape delay on FS1 6PM ET - 8PM ET (5PM - 7PM CT Local)

Team By Team Quick Glance

Note: The on-site alternates for Dallas are Danny Phillips and Christa Gecheva

Pool A

Columbus Sliders

Roster: Andrei Daescu, Parris Todd, CJ Klinger, Danni-Elle Townsend, Alex Crum, and Alix Truong

Dallas Flash

Roster: JW Johnson, Hurricane Tyra Black, Augie Ge, Brooke Buckner, Ivan Jakovljevic, and Albie Huang

New Jersey 5s

Roster: Anna Leigh Waters, Jorja Johnson, Will Howells, Noe Khlif, Martin Emmrich, and Lina Padigemaite

Orlando Squeeze

Roster: Federico Staksrud, Lacy Schneemann, Milan Rane, Jack Sock, Alex Walker, and Yates Johnson

Phoenix Flames

Roster: Jonathan Truong, Cam Chaffin, Daria Walczak, Wyatt Stone, Judit Castillo, and Alexa Schull

Pool B

Bay Area Breakers

Roster: Pablo Tellez, Genie Erokhina, Luc Pham, Mya Bui, Len Yang, and Ella Yeh

Carolina Hogs

Roster: Brandon French, Samantha Parker, DJ Young, Alli Phillips, Connor Mogle, and Abbigal Hatton

LA Mad Drops

Roster: Ben Johns, Catherine Parenteau, Jade Kawamoto, Max Freeman, Gabe Joseph, and Genie Bouchard

St. Louis Shock

Roster: Anna Bright, Hayden Patriquin, Gabe Tardio, Kate Fahey, Elsie Hendershot, and John Lucian Goins

Texas Ranchers

Roster: Eric Oncins, Layne Sleeth, Lea Jansen, Dylan Frazier, Matthew Barlow, and Ava Cavataio

Utah Black Diamonds

Roster: Etta Tuionetoa, Connor Garnett, Allyce Jones, Tama Shimabukuro, Victoria DiMuzio, and Tyler Loong

Author’s Note

Since I have been named the General Manager of the California Black Bears, I will not be doing any predictions headed into events. I will still be storytelling, and laying out the facts, but will not be making predictions or power ranking teams. As I continue to navigate being a GM of a team and also a journalist, this is the decision I have come to. It may change in the future, but for now, I believe this is the right thing to do.