New York, USA
What’s the Score?
New York, USA – The anticipation for the 2026 Major League Pickleball (MLP) Draft is building, fueled by a unique league structure that mandates difficult roster choices for top teams. MLP analysts predict “brutal choices” for teams like Dallas and St. Louis, which will likely be forced to drop top-10 ranked male players, including JW Johnson and Gabe Tardio, to comply with retention rules. This rule is expected to inject a massive amount of star talent into the draft auction, potentially transforming non-contenders into playoff threats overnight.
Hit it Deeper!
The annual MLP Draft is rapidly becoming a key spectacle, akin to the NFL Draft, where teams plot strategies to secure top talent and improve their fortunes. For 2026, the focus is on the forced cuts facing the most successful franchises.
The Dallas franchise faces one of the toughest decisions, as they must cut one player from their elite trio: JW Johnson, Jorja Johnson, or Tyra Hurricane Black. MLP success is deeply rooted in the strength of a team’s women. Consequently, MLP analyst Jim Kloss predicts that JW Johnson, an arguably top-10 male player, is the likely casualty, as Jorja Johnson and Tyra Hurricane Black are deemed virtually irreplaceable top-5 women. Replacing JW Johnson with a player like Roscoe Bellamy would hurt but keep Dallas strong, whereas replacing either top female player would likely drop the team out of the top five.
Similarly, the St. Louis Shock face a painful choice between dropping Hayden Patriquin, Gabe Tardio, or Anna Bright. Since dropping Bright is “zero chance,” and Patriquin meshes well with Bright in mixed doubles, the consensus is that top-5 male player Gabe Tardio will be the player dropped, guaranteeing major talent in the auction pool. St. Louis is expected to “bid very big” to try and reclaim Tardio.
Other highly-rated players expected to be dropped include Dylan Frazier (Orlando) and Tyler Loong (Utah), who is predicted to be cut as he is “easier to replace than the women” on the Utah roster. The LA team must cut Hunter Johnson, Catherine Parenteau, or Jade Kawamoto, with Johnson, a strong singles player but not a top-20 doubles player, being the obvious choice.
These forced departures create unprecedented opportunities for rebuilding teams. MLP analyst Jim Kloss noted that teams could move from being non-contenders to playoff teams in one year by snagging a top-10 player. Teams like Palm Beach are anticipated to “spend very big” to jumpstart their season, while Dallas and St. Louis will aggressively defend their status by attempting to re-draft their dropped stars. The upcoming deadline to drop players may also incentivise teams to attempt trades to improve their add/drop options.
The World Pickleball Verdict
MLP’s mandatory roster reduction rules function as a highly effective, yet “brutal,” mechanism for ensuring league parity and maximising auction drama. By forcing the displacement of elite male players in favour of retaining top female stars, MLP’s system directly validates the analytical consensus that the quality of women dictates team success in the mixed-team format.
The impending draft auction, featuring established stars like Tardio and Johnson, will be a high-stakes, must-watch event that promises to reshape the competitive balance of the 2026 season.
Chris Beaumont
Founder and Editor-in-ChiefChris Beaumont is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of World Pickleball Magazine. Chris follows the global game closely, reporting on the latest news, developments, stories and tournaments from all five continents. He also hosts the World Pickleball Podcast, interviewing people at…
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