For the first time in college pickleball history, winning nationals won’t just mean a trophy — it’s a ticket to the pro stage. The 2025 Collegiate Pickleball Tour (CPT) champion and runner-up will face off against Major League Pickleball pros at the league’s mid-season tournament in July.

Collegiate pickleball has made huge strides since DUPR hosted the inaugural Collegiate National Championship in 2022, which saw just 17 schools and 151 players participate. Those numbers are expected to more than triple at this year’s Collegiate National Championship.

Students around the country are building their teams from the ground up, with many pickleball clubs having started in the past year. More schools in the mix has meant the level of play has increased dramatically over the past two years, and while college pickleball is still a long way from being sanctioned as a Division I sport, it has grown significantly on campuses around the US.

The rise of collegiate pickleball

Backed by the UPA and DUPR, the CPT has evolved from a singular tournament into a full-fledged collegiate tour. In January, DUPR and the UPA formally announced the creation of the CPT, introducing campus regionals, super regionals and showcase events at PPA Tour stops -- and a $100,000 prize pool for the year.

With more than 200 schools and more than 4,000 players expected to participate in 2025 events, the CPT is leading the charge in expanding collegiate pickleball.

Super Regionals have been a cornerstone of collegiate pickleball, offering teams opportunities to earn bids to nationals and compete for scholarship money. The CPT’s Georgia Super Regional featured 272 players from 25 schools.

Hunter Aiono, director of collegiate pickleball for the UPA, has seen firsthand the massive growth of collegiate pickleball through super regionals.

“Besides a national tournament, that was the biggest college pickleball tournament ever held,” said Aiono, who started the pickleball club at Utah Tech several years ago, which was one of the original teams to compete at DUPR Nationals.

Aiono said he those numbers are only continuing to grow, with about 750 players expected to compete at Nationals this month in Atlanta.

College pickleball is also making waves at PPA Tour stops, where classic college rivalries like Florida vs. Florida State and Texas A&M vs. Texas have taken center stage on the pickleball court.

Those showcase events are a major step toward increasing exposure for the collegiate game, and the UPA’s vision extends beyond college pickleball as well, Aiono said.

“The main focus for us is really being able to craft that pathway from a junior in middle school or high school who plays in PPA juniors … and then finds opportunities to go from college to competing in the pros,” he said.

Collegiate National Championships format and prize money

The stakes have never been higher, as 64 of the nation’s top collegiate pickleball teams will descend upon Life Time Peachtree Corners in Atlanta, Georgia, from April 11-13, fighting for a share of a $40,000 prize pool and a national championship. 

To qualify for nationals, schools had to earn a bid through one of the following methods:

-2024 National Championship
-Super Regional
-Campus Regional
-Dual Match
-Wild Card

Schools will compete in group play, followed by a March Madness style elimination tournament. Unlike other college sports, players are able to directly win scholarship prize money for placing in events. This prize money is crucial for growing college pickleball long term.

Prize breakdown (first team bracket):

1st Place – $15,000
2nd Place – $5,000
3rd & 4th Place – $2,500
5th - 8th Place – $1,250

Schools that didn’t receive a bid or want to send a second team have a chance to earn prize money as well.

Prize Breakdown (second team bracket):

1st Place – $3,000
2nd Place – $1,000
3rd & 4th Place – $500

Additional scholarships:

$1,000 for the school with the most players in the tournament
$1,000 for the best-performing challenger teams (minimum 3 teams)
$500 for the winner of each Challenger Bracket division

Teams to watch 

With top-tier talent competing for big prizes, here are four teams that could make a serious run at the national title.

Utah Tech University

Player to watch: Liam Duffin (5.781 DUPR)

Utah Tech University will be looking to claim back-to-back national championships and will return all four starters from the team that defeated Virginia (UVA) 3-0 in the 2024 final. Two of the returning players, Averee Beck and Benson Parry, will be competing in their third consecutive Collegiate National Championship for the TrailBlazers. Duffin, a crafty left-side player, earned second team All-America honors before last year’s nationals and will be looking for a repeat performance.

University of North Carolina 

Player to watch: Sarah Carpenter (5.122 DUPR)

Former pro Collin Shick led the Tar Heels to victory in the first ever Collegiate National Championship in 2022, etching them into college pickleball history. They’ve followed up that success with a 2nd place and semifinal finish in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Carpenter will likely return for her fourth National Championship appearance, giving much needed experience to the North Carolina squad. They’ll hope to avenge last year’s loss to Utah Tech in the semifinals.

University of Virginia

Player to Watch: Alexandra McDonald (5.185 DUPR)

Another blue blood of collegiate Pickleball, the Cavaliers captured their first national title in 2023 and have made deep runs in every tournament they’ve played in. They’ll look to avenge their loss in the 2024 finals to Utah Tech. McDonald is the difference maker for the Cavaliers and she is one of the top-rated females in all of college pickleball.

A big X-factor for Virginia will be the non-competing students they bring. At last year’s nationals, they brought a huge student section, which gave them a competitive edge in every match.

University of Indiana 

Player to watch: Mehvish Safdar (5.435 DUPR)

The Hoosiers come to Atlanta off of a quarterfinal finish at last year’s nationals and boast one of the best collegiate players in the country. Safdar, a former University of Minnesota tennis player, was selected with the 13th pick in the MLP Premier Level free agency draft by the Utah Black Diamonds. She already has two national titles under her belt, winning singles and mixed doubles at the Collegiate Individual National Championships in 2024. Her partner from that run, Michael Asplund, will likely be on Indiana’s A squad as well.

The Lone Star threat

Jack Munro (6.584 DUPR) is considered by most to be the best collegiate pickleball player in the country. A crafty ambidextrous player with elite hands, Munro dominated last year’s individual national championship, capturing titles in both singles and mixed doubles. His success extends beyond the collegiate scene — he has won multiple gold medals on the APP Tour and was selected No. 2 overall by the Chicago Slice in the MLP Challenger Level draft last season. A player of his caliber has the ability to single-handedly dictate the outcome of a match, making Texas an instant title contender if he takes the court at nationals.

The 'Blue Bloods' of college pickleball

The short history of college pickleball has seen three programs establish themselves as blue bloods: UNC, UVA and Utah Tech. Just as Kansas, Duke and UNC set the standard in college basketball, these three schools have been the dominant forces in collegiate pickleball.

With the exception of UVA’s group-play loss to Texas Christian University at the 2022 Nationals, the only defeats these programs have suffered at Nationals have come at the hands of each other. Every DUPR Collegiate National Championship final to date has featured at least one of these powerhouse schools.

Will history repeat itself, or is this the year a new contender rises to the occasion?