The Top Major League Pickleball Teams from a Marketer’s Perspective
Pickleball Marketing News: By Laura Gainor - July 14, 2023
It's a big weekend in pickleball! The OH SNAP! Denver Open is underway with the top pro players in the world competing on the PPA Tour (Professional Pickleball), Pickle4 kicks off their inaugural Ballpark Series at Fenway Park and we're seeing the excitement of the pros sharing on their social media channels which Major League Pickleball (MLP) team they got drafted to!
On Wednesday, MLP had their Season 2 Draft as all of the team owners who were part of the Challenge Level League got their chance to now draft the top players in the game to be a part of the Premier Level League.
As each team now gets acquainted to play in the first event as a team in Peachtree Corners, GA on September 21st for the next MLP event, I provide my insights on the Top Teams from a Marketer's Perspective.
Check out my full Pickleball Marketing Newsletter on LinkedIn for details about the PPA Tour and Pickle4 Events this weekend. I also suggest you read Todd Boss' Analysis for Forbes: Major League Pickleball Season 2 Premier Draft Results And Analysis
Top 3 Teams for Best Logo
When the Major League Pickleball teams were formed, it came with a logo that represents the city where they're from and the hopes that it would rally fans together to head to the MLP shop to support their team. The team logos are all incredibly different and these three are my favorite in the current Premier Level league that fans would be proud to wear on the courts.
Orlando Squeeze
A fun design, great usage on the fonts and who doesn’t love an orange holding a pickleball paddle? As a Florida resident, this is our favorite sunshine state logo out of the three Florida MLP teams.
In addition, they have already created various logo versions that look great on all swag in their shop.
Miami Pickleball Club
I'm a huge fan of pink! This logo is simple, making it easy to apply to all kinds of swag. Their team has done a great job branding their social media channels and creating engaging graphics.
Bay Area Breakers
Pink + teal = perfection. Well done on creating a pickleball wave to brand the logo for the Bay Area community and make it more likely they'll all be heading to the MLP merch tent!
Top 3 Teams with the Most Marketable Pros
This wave of professional pickleball players is paving the way as fans start to know and recognize these pros when out in the wild. As we all watch MLP this season, we'll be looking for fun personalities, well-spoken pros on the mic during their post-game interviews and representing the league and their team on social media.
There are so many teams with some of the best individual marketable pros on their teams, such as Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns, but these three teams have the most marketable players on one team when you're looking at your next pro pickleball sponsorship opportunity:
Dallas Pickleball Club - This team wins the personality award for sure! They stacked the team with the most animated players to watch on the court - James Ignatowich, Callie Jo Smith, Allyce Jones and Jay Devilliers. Hopefully their team manager gets their Instagram channel up and running because we want all the video highlights from this team!
Atlanta Bouncers - As noted below, this team has the most chemistry on the court which means the most smiles on the court and most likely the best post-game interviews when the emotions are high following each match. These pros as one team will make for some great content on their team's social channels that any brand would be fortunate to be a part of.
Miami Pickleball Club - The Miami Pickleball Club drafted the "most electrifying man in sports," Tyson McGuffin and Mary Brascia who had the iconic over the back "Hail Mary" shot in the 2022 season. Frederico has been leading in the singles game and with a name like "Hurricane Tyra," you're bound to get some media exposure with this foursome.
Top 3 Teams with the Best Social Media Managers
The best logo designers means they also have the strongest team creating and managing their social media content. With MLP growing and the individual teams working on raising the value of their team, their marketing strategies will be important. So my top 3 for the best branded social media channels include:
Orlando Squeeze
Miami Pickleball Club
Bay Area Breakers
Top 3 Teams with the Best Teamwork Chemistry
In pickleball, how you work together on the court is very important. Major League Pickleball is all about the team format and while you're watching on the broadcast, you can tell in each player's facial expressions and their ability to pump each other up after some bad points, if they're a team with strong chemistry. The following three teams will have the best chemistry on the court:
Top 3 Teams with the Best Teamwork Chemistry
Atlanta Bouncers - This GM couldn't have drafted the more perfect team with chemistry. Parris Todd and Hunter Johnson are APP all-stars and dating (check out their excursion to the Carneros Resort in Napa for some Pickleball In The Sun), Parris and Simone Jardim also hold many titles on the APP tour together, and Pablo Tellez has found himself as a 4th wheel to work himself into this strong team chemistry.
AZ Drive - If you want to have some high energy on your team, you draft Julian Arnold and his "Andiamo!" Dekel Barr and Vivienne David already have a good friendship and are two of the nicest players in the game. Vivian Glozman is a new player to the Premier League, so this team will be fun to watch!
Dallas Pickleball Club - As noted above, with the best personalities in pickleball, this team will have strong chemistry on the court and will be full of high fives, some fist pumping "oh yeahs!" and lots of smiles. This again will be one of the most exciting teams to watch on the court.
Atlanta Bouncers - This GM couldn't have drafted the more perfect team with chemistry. Parris Todd and Hunter Johnson are APP all-stars and dating (check out their excursion to the Carneros Resort in Napa for some Pickleball In The Sun), Parris and Simone Jardim also hold many titles on the APP tour together, and Pablo Tellez has found himself as a 4th wheel to work himself into this strong team chemistry.
AZ Drive - If you want to have some high energy on your team, you draft Julian Arnold and his "Andiamo!" Dekel Barr and Vivienne David already have a good friendship and are two of the nicest players in the game. Vivian Glozman is a new player to the Premier League, so this team will be fun to watch!
Dallas Pickleball Club - As noted above, with the best personalities in pickleball, this team will have strong chemistry on the court and will be full of high fives, some fist pumping "oh yeahs!" and lots of smiles. This again will be one of the most exciting teams to watch on the court.
Top 3 Stacked Teams with the Strongest Players
Marketing aside, some of the general managers really know how to stack their team with talent on the court! The top three teams that I think have the best chance to win the Premier Level League this season.
Top 3 Stacked Teams with the Strongest Players
Utah Black Diamonds - As the founder of the PPA Tour, Connor Pardoe got to pick second in the draft and made the best choice to get Anna Leigh Waters on his team! Combined with Irina Tereschenko who is the pro with the most MLP titles, AJ Koller and Thomas Wilson, this is a strong team that I'm sure we'll see in the finals.
Chicago Slice - This may be one of the more quietest teams on the court, but with the #1 player in the world, Ben Johns, who always finds himself in the finals, this will be a strong team with Jessie Irvine, Lacy Schneemann and Erik Lange on the court with him.
Dallas Pickleball Club - I think I've determined that the Dallas Pickleball Club team is my favorite of this season! I can't say it enough that this team will be fun to watch and the team that marketers should get their checkbooks ready to sponsor the team. I just suggest that the Dallas Pickleball Club gets a graphic designer, videographer and strong content manager on board to boost this team up!
Visit Major League Pickleball’s website for a full list of all Premier and Challenger Level League Teams