The Michigan Club Pickleball Team has officially secured their bid to the 2024 DUPR Collegiate National Championship after placing 3rd in the Illinois Super Regional in February.

In just its fourth year, the team saw over 90 students attend tryouts earlier this fall in Ann Arbor.

Senior Club President Henry Shields says he has been amazed by the growing interest in pickleball on campus, which has expanded exponentially during his three years on the team.

"This is only the beginning for this team, and we are improving drastically every year. I’m excited to see what becomes of this club even after I am gone," said Shields.

Shields, the younger brother of The Dink's Founder and CEO, Thomas Shields, joined the club team his freshman year and was named club president for his senior season.

After evaluating the extensive talent over a two-day tryout, he, co-president Ava Ferrante, and the team’s coach, Jake Frederickson, selected 16 players for the final roster. The team also formed a practice squad for those who didn’t make the A roster but are still interested in competing.

While pickleball was nearly non-existent on college campuses just a few years ago, today’s landscape is vastly different. College programs are on the rise, with Drury University announcing the first-ever pickleball scholarships last year. Across other U.S. campuses, club programs are gaining serious traction.

Why You Should be Excited about College Pickleball

Collegiate pickleball is more than just a fast-growing trend—it’s becoming a powerhouse in the sport. Since DUPR hosted the first Intercollegiate National Championships in November 2022, the sport has surged in popularity among college students. With regional and national tournaments popping up across the country, college athletes now have

The Dink PickleballJake Bower

The explosion of college pickleball suggests that the University of Michigan club has its work cut out as it gears up for a championship run. A series of wins at the Illinois Super Regional in February earned the team the coveted "Silver Ticket," granting them a spot in the upcoming DUPR Collegiate National Championships.

DUPR Blog | Illinois Super Regional: A Record-Breaking Event in Collegiate Pickleball History

The Illinois Super Regional, hosted at Pickle Haus, drew 113 players from fifteen schools, marking DUPR’s largest regional event to date and the third largest in collegiate pickleball history. Notable debut teams included UW-Madison, SIUE, Carnegie Mellon, Cornerstone, and Concordia. Top teams from Ohio State, TCU, Indiana, and Michigan secured bids to Nationals, with Ohio State clinching victory after a Dreambreaker match. This event kicks off a series of eight Super Regionals for DUPR, with the next in Utah on March 2nd-3rd. Major sponsors included HEAD, GAMMA, OOFOS, Michelob Ultra, and Total Pickleball.

Illinois Super Regional: A Record-Breaking Event in Collegiate Pickleball HistoryJacob Smith February 6, 2024•

While club dues have funded their journey so far, the team is still $3,000 short of covering their November trip to Dallas, TX, for the 2024 Championships and remaining DUPR regional tournaments.

The team is seeking donations via its GoFundMe, and supporters can contribute by following this link.

Watch: Michigan Falls to TCU in the Semifinal of the DUPR Collegiate Illinois Super Regional

DUPR Collegiate National Championship Details

• Date: November 1st-3rd
• Location: Lapiplasty UPA World Championships in Dallas, TX
• Scholarship Monday: $32,000 total

For Nationals, 64 schools from across the country will compete to be the champion! Schools will be split into 16 groups of 4, and every single team will advance to the single-elimination playoffs, March Madness style. MLP teams are still guaranteed 6 matches, no matter their performance. There will also be a challenger bracket at the 2024 CNC, which will operate similar to the 2023 CNC challenger bracket.