Major League Pickleball (MLP) held its draft on July 12th, 2023 in NYC for the “Season 2” of 2023. The player pool of registered, eligible players is here. Here’s the draft results with some round-by-round analysis, then some discussion of the teams.

There are more than a few notable names from the first season who are not registered for season 2: Matt Wright and Lucy Kovalova were both early 2nd round picks and are taking this season off. Lindsay Newman is not registered, perhaps an acknowledgement of her stepping back from touring that we’ve seen over the past months. I see no other major names missing from the pool.

The live blog of the draft results at MLP’s site is online, with pick by pick updates.

Premier Round 1. Here’s how the 1st round went:

1. Chicago Slice: Johns, Ben
2. Utah Black Diamonds: Waters, Anna Leigh
3. DC Pickleball Team: Newman, Riley
4. Brooklyn Aces: Parenteau, Catherine
5. Orlando Squeeze: Bright, Anna
6. Columbus Pickleball Team: Johnson, JW
7. AZ Drive: Arnold, Julian
8. Texas Ranchers: Frazier, Dylan
9. Dallas Pickleball Club: Ignatowich, James
10. Atlanta Bouncers: Todd, Parris
11. Bay Area Breakers: Jansen, Lea
12. Miami Pickleball Club: Staksrud, Federico

Immediate reactions.

Premier Round 2. Here’s how the 2nd round went:

Immediate reactions.

Premier Round 3. Here’s how the 3rd round went:

Immediate reactions.

Premier Round 4. Here’s how the 4th round went:

Immediate reactions.

Here’s some “way too soon” draft analysis of the teams in general.

Season 2 favorites: Utah, Dallas, Bay Area, Chicago

We’ll follow this post up with one for the Challenger draft next.