It's a Shick Show: UNC, Collin Shick Rule College Pickleball in South

(Originally published January 25, 2024)

As pickleball explodes in popularity across the country, it’s gaining a foothold on college campuses. As part of a five-part series, theTUNDRA explores the state of collegiate pickleball in each region of the U.S. Today’s entry focuses on the sport at colleges across the South. Read the entries on the West, Midwest, and Atlantic, as well as our overview of the collegiate game as a whole.

The Background

Because pickleball is relatively new at the collegiate level, it isn't an established NCAA sport – for now, at least. Instead, it operates at the club level, which means college pickleball teams are student-run and funded. The squads function as social clubs within each respective campus, while also sending select members to compete against other schools at regional matches and tournaments. So far, ratings-system DUPR is the main governing body of college pickleball. Last year, in addition to its national championship hosted in November, DUPR held 12 regional tournaments. This year, the organization is expanding its schedule to 16 regional tournaments and eight "super regionals."

Meanwhile, earlier this month APP hosted its first collegiate pickleball tournament. Upstart National Collegiate Pickleball Association (NCPA) hosts its first national championship next month in San Diego. Only time will tell how close if either of these events and their ambitious hosts can come close to unseating DUPR, the Mothership of the sport if there/is was one.

The Teams

The University of North Carolina has the best college pickleball team in the country, at least according to DUPR, at this writing. The Tar Heels took home the 2022 DUPR National Title, and were just a few points away from pulling off the repeat. The Tar Heels took a two-games-to-one lead in the best-of-five final against the University of Virginia, before losing the final two games to drop the match. They even had the Cavaliers at match point with the score 20-16. But ultimately, North Carolina had to settle for silver.

The Tar Heels had much better luck at the DUPR Individual National Championships in April, taking home three golds and one silver. They also won DUPR’s North Carolina Regional in May. The Chapel Hill, NC program is one of one just 13 pickleball clubs in the country that are official members of USA Pickleball.

UNC’s neighbors, North Carolina State University, also crack the top ten. Located just 23 miles from Chapel Hill, the No. 8 Wolf Pack might be overshadowed by UNC, but they’re a strong team in their own right. The club was founded in 2019 and claims to be the first collegiate pickleball team in the country. The Raleigh, NC club was also the first to officially join USA Pickleball. The Wolf Pack had a disappointing end to their season with a round-of-sixteen exit at nationals.

North Carolina isn’t the only state in the South that can play pickleball, though. Texas Christian University currently holds the No. 6 spot on DUPR’s rankings. The Fort Worth, TX school made it to the quarterfinals of the National Championships before being bounced by the eventual champions in Virginia. TCU won DUPR’s Texas Regionals, and sent six players to DUPR’s individual nationals, taking home a silver medal in women’s doubles.

Less than three hours south, the University of Texas at Austin gives the Horned Frogs a formidable challenger for the title of best team in the Lone Star State. The No. 11 Longhorns are located in one of the best pickleball cities in the country, which doesn’t hurt.

At No. 16, Clemson University’s pickleball club proves the South Carolina school is more than a one-hit-wonder with its football team. Despite an early exit at nationals, the squad is still going strong, with over 500 members, and 1,000 students signed-up for the club’s contact list at the school's annual Tiger Prowl club fair.

Any discussion of college pickleball in the South wouldn’t be complete without mention of Georgia. The Peach State boasts two of the top 25 pickleball schools in the country – the No. 17 University of Georgia and the No. 25 Georgia College and State University. GCSU’s inclusion is particularly impressive since the Milledgeville, GA school is home to just 6,000 students.

The Tournaments

While Georgia’s teams are a step behind Texas and North Carolina in the DUPR Rankings, the state was unrivaled in 2023 when it came to college tournaments in the South. Last DUPR season kicked off with the Georgia Regional in Peachtree Corners, GA, just outside of Atlanta, which was won by Clemson. Georgia also hosted the most important collegiate tournament of the year – the 2023 DUPR Collegiate National Championships were also held in Peachtree Corners.

DUPR will return to the state in April of 2024 with the Georgia Super Regional in Buford, GA.

Texas hosted its fair share of tournaments as well. The DUPR Collegiate Individual National Championships were held in Fort Worth, TX, while the circuit also made a stop outside Houston for the Texas Invitational. The Lone Star State will get another visit from DUPR in late October of this year, with the Texas Super Regional in Houston.

DUPR had two more stops in the region as well in 2023: the Oklahoma Regional in Oklahoma City and the North Carolina Regional.

While the NCPA began in Southern California, it’s expanded its footprint in the South. Two of its four Alumni Fundraiser tournaments take place in the region – the circuit has a stop in Alabama in addition to Texas.

The Stars

The South more star power than any other region in college pickleball. Leading the way is Collin Shick. The UNC ace is also a pro player, with MLP’s Florida Smash. Currently in medical school at UNC, Shick swept the DUPR individual championships, winning all 27 of his matches on the weekend.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise, though – Shick is the No. 9 ranked men's singles player in the world, per DUPR. The former NC State tennis player made waves at the PPA Tour’s Florida Open event in March, where he reached the finals in men’s singles despite opening the tournament as the No. 55 seed. For context, before Shick’s miracle run, the worst-seeded player to reach a men’s singles final on the PPA Tour that season had been a No. 8 seed.

Shick isn’t the only star on the Tar Heels. Teammate Caitlin Lewis took silver in women’s singles, while Hunter Boyd and Sarah Carpenter each earned a gold medal, albeit with Shick for a doubles partner. Those four comprised UNC’s national title winning team in 2022 as well.

Over at TCU, Lillian Vandixhorn and Taylor Crabtree teamed up to nearly take gold in women’s doubles at the individual championships after knocking off Carpenter and Lewis in the semis. They fell short to Utah Tech’s Dylan Ciampini and Katelyn Nadauld in the final. TCU’s men’s doubles team also features a pair of stars, with Mark Polowczak and Pier Usai reaching the semifinals before losing to the University of Florida. Usai, Crabtree and Vandixhorn returned to lead the Horned Frogs to the quarterfinals at nationals this year.

The Region of Blue Bloods

The college pickleball landscape in the South has the perfect mix of traditional sports schools, powerhouses and superstars to make it the flashiest region in the country for collegiate pickleball. There are no scrappy underdogs or small-school success stories — the best teams in this region are college pickleball’s equivalent of blue bloods.

In the South, pickleball almost looks similar to other collegiate sports. North Carolina, Texas and Clemson are among the best teams in the country. There are major tournaments that draw dozens of schools. With Shick, the region has a high profile superstar as well (or as much of one as there can be in collegiate pickleball). Just going off of the South, you’d be forgiven for thinking pickleball was an NCAA sport.

Going Forward

The biggest question in Southern college pickleball is whether Shick will continue to compete in the collegiate circuit as his professional career takes off. If he does, he and the Tar Heels will continue to dominate the region. If takes a step back from the college game, that could leave room for the TCUs and NC States of the world to step up.

Lastly, be sure to keep an eye out for NCPA encroaching (albeit inch-by-inch) on DUPR's territory. Within just a year of its founding, the upstart circuit already holds two of its four major tournaments in the South, with plans for a third – the Florida Alumni Fundraiser – taking place in prime DUPR territory. DUPR hosted six tournaments in the South last year, including both of its national championship tournaments and its season with the Georgia Invitational. How will this race shape up? I guess we’ll find out soon.