The College Pickleball Tour Nationals: 64 Teams, One Winner

Although March and March Madness are now in the rearview mirror, the drama of a tournament-style national championship draw is just beginning in the world of college pickleball.

This weekend, from April 9-12, The College Pickleball Tour Nationals kick off in Peachtree Corners, Georgia.

The event features 64 different schools battling in a March-Madness style bracket to determine the nation’s top team for 2026.

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The Format

The primary tournament follows a four person team format, where two men and two women join forces.

This format has the two men play doubles, the two women play doubles and then all four combine to create two teams of mixed doubles. With four total matches, victory is claimed by winning the majority.

In the case of a 2-2 tie, teams will play a dreambreaker, which is a high-octane singles event where players play to 21 using rally scoring and players rotate every four rallies.

Bids and challenger teams are released, and can be seen on The Nationals’ tournament website.

Who's In the Running?

Of the registered teams:

Florida Atlantic University's (FAU) red team has the highest team DUPR, with a combined 21.937 across four players.
Utah Tech has the second highest team DUPR with 21.641
Last year’s winner, Texas, is in third with 20.161

Before Texas’ win last year, Utah Tech took home the silverware in 2024, preceded by Virginia who finished on top in 2023. The first ever national champion, UNC in 2022, enters the 2026 rendition with its strongest team scoring a 19.406 cumulative DUPR.

The tournament will also feature second and third team brackets, encouraging play and participation among growing programs.

The singles bracket will be fun to watch, too. Broken up by DUPR into batches of 8-10, the contest will feature several players with 5.0+ DUPR’s duking it out.

What's On the Line?

With so much competition, The Nationals, powered by JOOLA, was bound to have some cash prizes.

First place in the first bracket will receive $15,000, second will receive $5,000 and third and fourth will each receive $2,500.
The top prize for the second bracket is $3,000 and $1,000 in the third bracket.
The singles champion will receive $500.

All in all, more than $40,000 will be distributed over the weekend, with a $1,000 stipend even offered for the school that “brings the most unique players.” Whatever that means.

Looking Ahead

College pickleball is continuing to surge in popularity, making the ultimate prize, a national championship, more meaningful than ever.

This year’s tournament marks the fifth year of college pickleball’s national circuit, with the competition growing from 150 players to 800 in that time.

So to the hundreds competing, good luck. And to the thousands watching, enjoy, and appreciate the fact that our sport is in great hands.

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