14-Year-Old MJ Greiner Becomes Youngest Player Ever on U.S. National Team
At 14, MJ Greiner of West Palm Beach just became the youngest player ever named to the APP U.S. National Team — part of an 11-player squad aged 14 to 19.
Pickleball has spent years talking about its youth wave. The Association of Pickleball Players just put 11 names on a roster that proves it has fully arrived.
The APP unveiled its 2026 U.S. National Team this week, and the selection that immediately defines the class is West Palm Beach, Florida's MJ Greiner. At 14 years old, Greiner is the youngest player ever named to the team, a record that reframes what "prospect" means in this sport. As recently as 2025, Greiner was competing as one of the youngest players in the 5.0 age-19-and-up men's singles division at the USA Pickleball National Championships, seeded No. 2, and he did not drop a single game on his way to the gold medal, finishing off California native Dylan Galarza 11-8, 11-3 in the final.
The full 2026 squad features 11 emerging professionals, all between the ages of 14 and 19. That age ceiling alone tells the story: this is not a roster padded with veteran names. Every player on it came through either the APP Next circuit or the collegiate pipeline, selected on the basis of current ratings, head-to-head records, and overall development potential.
APP Next, the tour's under-23 player development program, is built specifically around this moment. Its stated mission is to prepare young players to represent the United States in international competition and on the APP Tour, running events at venues like Chicken N Pickle facilities across the country, with a 2026 calendar that runs from Houston to Fort Lauderdale. The 2026 U.S. Collegiate Championships at Cape Coral, Florida served as another key proving ground, with $85,000 in prize money at stake and 40 programs competing for national titles. Both circuits are now directly feeding the national team, and the Greiner selection shows the bar for entry has dropped to an age most American players haven't finished their freshman year of high school.
The broader context for this class is equally striking. The Dink recently noted that the 2025 MLP Cup introduced a Junior MLP Team comprising Cam Chaffin, Tama Shimabukuro, Ella Yeh, and Elsie Hendershot, a group that nearly beat the Bay Area Breakers. That near-upset, combined with a prediction from The Dink that at least four players under 18 will log significant MLP playing time in 2026, suggests the national team announcement is not a ceremonial gesture. The players it identifies are already knocking on the door of major league rosters.
On the women's side of the wider tour ecosystem, Australian rising talent Seone Mendez, pronounced "See-own," collected a silver and a gold on the PPA Challenger Series and added a gold on the APP Tour at the International Championships in December, a run The Dink flagged as evidence that international players are increasingly competitive on American soil. Kioria Kunimoto and Will MacKinnon won the PPA Challenger Raleigh event in mixed doubles in December, adding another layer to a cross-tour landscape where results move fast and development timelines are compressing.
For a 14-year-old from West Palm Beach who was still technically age-eligible for junior divisions less than two years ago, a U.S. National Team jersey represents something more than personal achievement. It tells every 15-year-old grinding reps on an outdoor court that the ceiling in this sport is not waiting for them to grow up.
Know something we missed? Have a correction or additional information?
Submit a Tip
