The College Pickleball Tour Nationals: 64 Teams, One Champion

Update:

FAU win The College Pickleball Tour Nationals for 2026.

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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: How the College Pickleball Tour Nationals Works

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.

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

Who's In the Running at This Year's College Pickleball Tour Nationals?

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 gap between the top programs is tightening, and that makes this bracket more unpredictable than ever.

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

Which Singles Players Should You Watch?

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+ DUPRs duking it out.

College pickleball is producing legitimate talent, and the singles draw is where the future of the sport often shows itself first.

What's On the Line at the College Pickleball Tour Nationals?

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.

How Does DUPR Factor Into College Pickleball Competition?

DUPR plays a central role in seeding, bracket placement, and organizing the singles draw by skill tier. Understanding how DUPR ratings are calculated matters if you want to make sense of why certain programs are favored and others are dark horses.

The ratings don't lie, but they don't tell the whole story either. That's what the bracket is for.

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Looking Ahead: Why College Pickleball Keeps Growing

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. As CBS Sports has covered, pickleball's institutional growth at the collegiate level reflects a broader national trend, with universities investing in programs and facilities at a rapid clip.

The sport is in great hands. And the College Pickleball Tour Nationals is the proof.

According to NBC Sports, the expansion of collegiate pickleball has also become a meaningful pipeline for future professional players, with programs like FAU and Utah Tech already producing talent that has attracted attention at the MLP Draft level.

Is College Pickleball Becoming a Pipeline to the Pros?

The answer is yes, and it is accelerating. Davidson College's Liz Truluck and Ava Ignatowich are among the clearest examples of collegiate players making the leap to top-20 professional rankings.

Programs that were once considered grassroots experiments are now fielding nationally competitive rosters, and the talent gap between collegiate and early-professional play is shrinking every season.

If you are sleeping on college pickleball, now is a good time to wake up.

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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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the College Pickleball Tour Nationals format?

The College Pickleball Tour Nationals uses a four-person team format consisting of two men and two women who compete in men's doubles, women's doubles, and two mixed doubles matches. If teams split 2-2, a dreambreaker tiebreaker decides the winner using rally scoring to 21.

How many schools compete in the College Pickleball Tour Nationals?

64 schools compete in the primary bracket, organized in a March Madness-style single-elimination format. The event also features second and third team brackets to encourage participation from developing programs.

Which college pickleball team has the highest DUPR going into the 2026 Nationals?

Florida Atlantic University's red team entered with the highest combined team DUPR of 21.937, followed by Utah Tech at 21.641 and defending champion Texas at 20.161. DUPR ratings determine seeding and bracket placement across all divisions.

How much prize money is awarded at the College Pickleball Tour Nationals?

More than $40,000 in total prize money is distributed across all brackets. First place in the top bracket earns $15,000, second place earns $5,000, and third and fourth place each receive $2,500, with additional prizes across the second and third brackets.

Who has won the College Pickleball Tour Nationals in past years?

UNC won the inaugural national championship in 2022, followed by Virginia in 2023, Utah Tech in 2024, and Texas in 2025. The College Pickleball Tour Nationals has grown from 150 players to over 800 competitors since its first year.