February 16 is the deadline for MLP teams to drop players for the 2025 season. Every team is limited to keeping three players at most. For any player kept, the team must pay a fee equal to 50% of their cost to draft the player last year. That figure has nothing to do with player salaries, it is only an accounting number for the teams and the league to handle.

 

Some teams have obvious drop candidates, other teams will wish they could keep their entire roster. Factors that come into play are player talent (obviously), but also cost, team chemistry, and the strategy of who you think you can draft in the March 2 (for Premier) or March 3 (for Challenger) auctions. In the player auctions, every team in Premier must end up with six players this year, three men and three women. Challenger teams will remain at four players.

 

Let’s look at every team and discuss who they should drop.

 

1. Dallas Flash. The 2024 champions are a team that would like to keep all four players. They will keep JW Johnson (keeper cost of $195,000), Jorja Johnson ($142,500), and Tyra Black ($92,500). They would love to keep Augie Ge at the bargain price of just $10,500, but they are required to release a player. With the Johnsons and Black all being top 5 players, unfortunately Ge has to be the one. Do not be surprised if Dallas tries to get Ge back in the auction, although he will cost a lot more this year than he did last year.

 

 

2. New Jersey 5s. Another team that would like to keep all four players. They will keep Anna Leigh Waters ($340,000) and Zane Navratil ($82,500). Right now Will Howells ($27,500) is contractually ineligible, but rumor has it he may sign by the deadline. If he does, New Jersey will keep him. If Howells does not sign in time, NJ will keep Mari Humberg ($49,000). If Howells should be dropped but sign before the March 2 auction, he should be the first or second pick and go for a ton of money.

 

3. St. Louis Shock. Our third and final team that would like to keep all four players. They will keep Anna Bright ($295,000), and Hayden Patriquin ($102,500). That leaves Gabe Tardio ($92,500) or Kate Fahey ($8,500) to be released. Rumors are out there that Tardio could be released for team chemistry reasons. I find that very hard to believe. Fahey has made progress, but mainly in singles. She is top 5 in singles, but her doubles game has not progressed as well as I had expected. She is much easier to replace than Tardio, despite the fact the women’s side lacks the depth of the men’s side. If Tardio were released, he goes as the first or second pick in the auction, for a very high price. Fahey could be picked up later, although she too would go for a high price. If I am St. Louis, I drop Fahey and look for a cheaper option later in the auction, or if they have the funds, get the 4th or 5th pick in the auction and just pick her back up.

 

4. Texas Ranchers. We now get to a team that is easy to predict. Texas must drop Quang Duong. They will keep the rest of their team, Christian Alshon ($265,000), Etta Tuionetoa ($157,500), and Tina Pisnik ($69,000). Will they bid high to get Duong back?

 

5. New York Hustlers. New York traded for Riley Newman ($275,000) and Vivian Glozman (0), so they will be kept. That leaves Jack Sock ($275,000) and Lea Jansen ($77,000). Despite rumors of chemistry issues, I would keep Jansen all the way. Sock was the worst performing player in MLP in 2024. As a first round draft choice, he was the worst pick in the draft, by a lot. Had New York picked Christian Alshon, Andrei Daescu, or Federico Staksrud (all who were available when Sock was picked), New York may have won the 2024 championship. Why the New York GM hasn’t been fired is a mystery.

 

 

6. Los Angeles Mad Drops. LA is another easy team to predict. They will keep Catherine Parenteau ($220,000), Jade Kawamoto ($85,000), and Hunter Johnson ($10,000). They will drop Thomas Wilson ($185,000). Wilson’s health is still up in the air, so despite his being a great player, he is the obvious drop for this team.

 

7. D.C. Pickleball Team. D.C. will keep Rachel Rohrabacher ($165,000), and Jackie Kawamoto ($142,500). That leaves James Ignatowich ($250,000) and Dekel Bar ($76,000). Ignatowich was the 8th player taken, but it was a bad pick. His play in 2024 MLP was not good, and he doesn’t look like the same player in 2025 that he was late in 2023. He is not a top 10 player at this point, and may not even be a top 20 player. Bar, on the other hand, is playing super solid pickleball and his price is a bargain. The D.C. general manager made a mistake picking Ignatowich, but can they admit the error and cut the cord? Ignatowich will be overdrafted again in the March 2 auction. He is still a good player, but not a great one.

 

8. Orlando Squeeze. Orlando was a disappointing team in 2024. They had the talent to win it all, if their GM were to hit on the add/drop process. But, their GM decided not to wait and just traded Tyson McGuffin, Meghan Dizon and $25,000 to Phoenix for Dylan Frazier and Lacy Schneemann.The trade is a steal by Orlando. Frazier is better than McGuffin, Schneemann is better for MLP than Dizon and the keeper price for Frazier/Schneemann is much lower than the keeper price for McGuffin/Dizon. They will now keep Federico Staksrud ($200,000), Frazier ($177,500), and Schneemann ($20,500). They will drop Vivienne David ($140,000). David is just plain not playing well. She obviously misses playing with Thomas Wilson in mixed, although that does not explain why she is playing poorly in women’s doubles. In any event, it is now clear David will be dropped.

 

 

9. Columbus Sliders. Columbus has a pretty clear path, with a roster of Callie Smith ($74,000), Parris Todd ($92,500), Jay Devilliers ($67,500) and CJ Klinger ($1,000). Klinger is one of the biggest bargains in MLP. Smith and Todd are decent. Devilliers will be dropped.

 

10. Carolina Pickleball Club. Carolina may be the most interesting team to watch on both drop and auction day. They will keep Ben Johns ($420,000). They likely will keep Kaitlyn Christian ($29,500) and Brooke Buckner ($5,000). They should drop Collin Johns ($1,000). Collin is not very good at mixed doubles or singles and obviously lacks enthusiasm for MLP. He was not good enough in 2024 to be a starter on an MLP team and Carolina made a mistake to pick him. No other team will be interested in making Collin a starter. An argument could be made for dropping Christian and/or Buckner. Neither has made a lot of progress as a doubles player. But, they are cheap to keep and there is an element of uncertainly about who will be available in the auction. Much will depend on how willing Carolina is to spend money. I think they will just drop Collin, and keep both women.

 

11. Phoenix Flames (formerly Arizona Drive). They will keep Andrei Daescu ($265,000). With the trade for Tyson McGuffin ($145,000) and Meghan Dizon ($140,000), they will keep both. Phoenix was rumored to have some chemistry issues in 2024, which may explain the trade. But Dylan Frazier is a new man now that he is using a JOOLA paddle. McGuffin is steady and versatile, but Frazier is better. Dizon played poorly in 2024. She looks a little better in 2025, but she is limited in MLP value due to being a right side only player and not very good at singles. Their fourth player is Jessie Irvine, who will be dropped. It is hard to figure out what Phoenix is thinking. Daescu is a beast, but the GM seems to be deducting value around him rather than adding value. This team could be a lot better than it is, if it was properly run.