Did you know Austin has a pro pickleball team?
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Did you know Austin has a pro Pickleball team? The Texas Ranchers are one of the 22 teams in Major League Pickleball.
"Our mission is to become Americas pickleball team and the most valuable and highest grossing franchise in the league," said Texas Ranchers CEO Evan Floersch.
The team consists of four players who were picked in a draft.
"We've got Christian Alshon, who was our number one overall draft pick," said Floersch. "We have Etta Wright, who is the only Tongan in the sport. We've got Tina Pisnik who is an ex-Olympian tennis player and then we've got Pablo Tellez."
The Ranchers play in the premier division with 12 of the best teams, one of those teams being their rival.
"We've got a Texas rivalry budding right now," said Floersch. "We play the Dallas Flash, Mark Cubans team."
The Ranchers are supported by a list of more than 30 owners, including celebrities, like Kendra Scott, Bobby Bones, Lil Wayne and Bijan Robinson, to name a few.
This year the team won't play any tournaments in Austin, but fans can still go to local watch parties or catch the games on TV.
"Right now we have two linear deals with ESPN and FOX," said Floersch.
As for the future of the sport in Austin, Floersch said there is a lot of excitement building around the Ranchers and pickleball in general.
"I definitely think that the sport at the pro level will continue to grow and it will continue to be a part of Austin's culture and community," said Floersch.