AHM NPL Season 4 Preview: New teams, new storylines, same HQP

Australia’s premier team pickleball competition is back. The ahm NPL Season 4 kicks off with Round 1 this Saturday, 20 September across Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria.

With three regular-season events and a Finals berth on the line, every state is bringing its best. Whether you’ve followed previous seasons closely or you’re just tuning in for the first time (welcome), this is a battle you’re not going to want to miss!

The Pro League at a glance

Season 4 features two divisions. Let’s break down the pro league:

• 12 teams across 3 states: Queensland, New South Wales + ACT, Victoria

• 4 players per team (co-ed format

• Matchups shaped by DUPR ratings (specifically for the singles pairings)

(Format, rules, and prize money will be covered in detail in a separate feature.)

ahm NPL S4 pro league teams + storylines

Here’s a breakdown of each of those 12 pro teams by state, what to expect, and who to watch. These are listed by order of team and player selection.

Queensland: Defending champs + fresh rivalries

Queensland is home to most of the top Australian pickleball players (by national ranking and DUPR). The Season 3 reigning champions, the Outback (read: Outies), headline the state’s four teams, but the Burras, Brumbies, and Opals are out for revenge this season.

Burras - Team DUPR: 20.98

Sahra Dennehy (C), Somer Dalla-Bona, Josh Nipperess, Nigel Lee

Outback - Team DUPR: 20.74

Harrison Brown (C), Crystal Mildwaters, Lindsay Baker, Aaron Johnson

Opals - Team DUPR: 21.19

Danni-Elle Townsend (C), Adam Daggmarr, Tayah Cross, Oliver Gray

Brumbies - Team DUPR: 20.63*

Joey Wild (C), Nick Maleganeas, Bee Horsley, Lara Walker

Queensland storylines:

• The Burras, who somehow lucked out with pick 1 for a second time, will see Sahra and Somer (“the golden girls”) back together. Adding in veteran Josh Nipperess (previously S3 Reef captain), who has been playing up a storm on the Aus pickleball circuit, and Nigel Lee, an up-and-comer from Western Australia in his first team appearance, and wow, the singles power on this team is insane.

• The Outback return as champions, with Harry “I have the best mo in Australia” Brown (Season 3 Finals MVP) and Crystal Mildwaters reunited. Crystal was a total surprise pick last season who quickly grew to be one of the strongest female competitors with the Outback. Add in Lindsay Baker, first pick for the S3 Brumbies and Harry’s former teammate from the S2 Caterpillars, plus Aaron Johnson to the mix (watch out for that tomahawk), and this team is fire.

• Shocking to all, the Opals just missed finals last season. Danni’s first pick, Adam Daggmarr, is dangerous in both singles and doubles, but all eyes will surely be on rising star Tayah Cross — could she be the next big name in Australian pickleball? A final pick of Oli Gray who has plenty of team format experience and brings great energy rounds out this team nicely.

• The Brumbies are captained by one of the top singles and doubles Aussie males, Joey Wild, who also happened to snag half of a proven winning team, Bee Horsley and Nick Malaganeas (formerly S3 Outback). These two bring a lot of experience, and, most importantly, a deep love for pickleball. The real wild card here is Joey’s final pick of Lara Walker, who brings a massive tennis pedigree. Can she challenge Tayah Cross for best first-year player?

With all 4 returning captains, expect big things out of Queensland once again this season. And, with only 3 teams moving onto the finals, the biggest question will be which of these stacked teams just misses out.

New South Wales/ACT: A new era of Heat

New South Wales is close behind Queensland in terms of top talent, and Season 4 might be its most competitive yet. The Heat had an incredible run last season as the only team to go undefeated until the final. That said, look out for the Bandicoots, Stingers, and Comets who are stacked with talent and coming for the throne.

Comets - Team DUPR: 20.29

Nancy Riley (C), Michaela Haet, Ben Porfiri, James Wilson

Heat - Team DUPR: 21.12

Selina Turulja (C), Matt Barton, Brian Tran, Shannon Spencer

Bandicoots - Team DUPR: 20.63

Adam Walters (C), Ciaran Lavers, Tyra Calderwood, Louise Oxnevad

Stingers - Team DUPR: 18.90

Kyle Stoker, Kyle Anderson, Tatjana Bozovic, Millie Smythe

New South Wales Storylines:

• The Comets are led by a new captain this season, Nancy Riley (formerly S3 Heat). She was fresh to the scene when drafted by Selina and is now looking to lead her own team to victory. Standing beside her will be the elite Michaela Haet, a clear #1 pick again for NSW. Mickie is a singles powerhouse and just as dominant in doubles. Another reunion here, Nancy brings in former Heat teammate Ben Porfiri, who brings fire and a lot of energy to the team. He’ll need to step up as the top male on his team this season and will be playing beside James Wilson, a Kiwi player with a solid singles DUPR, unseen on the Australian circuit.

• The Heat are up next, and Selina Turulja is a force. She’s coming into S4 fresh off one of the best individual seasons in NPL history — state MVP, Finals MVP, and nearly undefeated until the very last game. Now, she leads a revamped Heat with Matt Barton as a major signing. Matt might be the best non-captain male player in NSW, but we haven’t seen much of him in the pickleball space since his debut in late 2023. Shannon Spencer (formerly S3 Bandicoots) is fairly new to the pickleball scene, but brings big upside under Selina’s leadership. Rounding out this team is Brian Tran, who is fairly unknown on the Aus circuit, but is a heavy hitter with a huge serve and drive.

• The Coots… Australia’s favourite team? Captain Adam Walters managed to snag the “steal” of the draft in Ciaran Lavers. Lavers is a fantastic two-way player who may need to step up his own leadership here and help Adam reach the same heights. Tyra is well experienced with the NPL format, previous captain of the S3 Comets who will be looking for a fresh start under a new team this season. Louise returns for another season with the Bandicoots, showing captain Walter’s trust in her game. Look for her improvement to be the biggest factor on this team making it into the NSW top 2.

• The Stingers are led by the crafty Kyle Stoker, a wizard in singles who led his team to third place overall in S3. They say two (Kyles) is better than one, so Stoker joins (Kyle) Anderson bringing undisputable off-court chemistry. Anderson is making his re-entry into pickleball after a big stint off the court. He is hungry to be at the top and will make it known. Tatjana Bozovic has all the tools to be a future star with some more match play and good leadership guidance. Millie Smythe (formerly S3 Dinkers), a dominant player from the UK, rounds out this team well.

New South Wales is undoubtedly coming to do one better this season. A mix of seasoned captains, a few team shuffles, and some unknown names leaves a lot to look out for over the next few months.

Victoria: Depth + wildcards

Rounding out the teams is Victoria with the Sharks, Roos, 29ers, and Tide all looking capable of a finals push.

Sharks - Team DUPR: 19.91

Zach Grabovic (C), Daniel Fogl-Kulich, Emilia Richter, Kelly Martin

Adders - Team DUPR: 20.01

Dan Kouznetsov (C), Brandon Contratto, Amy Munro, Natalie Fisher

Tide - Team DUPR: 19.10

Ethan Butson (C), Ayesha Dang, Emily Martin, Hamish Bartos,

Roos - Team DUPR: 17.07*

Sahil Dang (C), Matt Kouznetsov, Nives Baric, Olivia Moir

Victoria storylines:

• Baby shark doo doo doo doo doo doo, daddy shark… Zach Grabba returns as the undisputed best player in Victoria and captain of “his” Sharks. Whether he can turn his personal prowess into team success in season 4 is the biggest question. His looming injury cloud will make that difficult, likely to be missing S4 round 1 at this stage as a result. Dan Fogl-Kulich, the Queensland superstar/van magnate, has elected to play in Victoria this season. That’s a scary men’s doubles team, but Dan will need to step up his leadership role in Zach’s absence. For the females, Kelly Martin is bringing a strong up-and-coming resume in Victoria, while Emily Richter is untried, untested, yet may be the key to the success of this team.

• The Adders have one of the most consistent captains in Dan Kouznetsov looking to take this team to another Finals spot. Playing beside him will be Brandon Contratto out of the US, previously on S3 Burras and now hoping to make his mark in Victoria. They are joined by Amy Munro, a solid women’s player who is well respected in the Vic scene along with Nat Fisher. This team will be competitive every week.

• The Tide see Ethan Butson, one of NPL’s Luzz Pickleball ambassadors, taking on his first captaincy role. Ethan selected Ayesha Dang with his first pick, sister to Roos captain Sahil, and quickly making a name for herself in Victoria after her start in the NPL Academy. The team also features Hamish Bartos, the pride of South Australia (outside of Talia Saunders), and Emily Martin, part of S3 Tide, who finished overall fourth in the league. This team may be seen as the underdog of the bunch, but with so many factors at play this season, look out for them to stake their claim early.

• The Roos, also led by new captain Sahil Dang, look quietly dangerous. Sahil is another of NPL’s Luzz pickleball ambassadors and may be one of the most underrated players in Aus right now. Alongside him will be Matt Kouznetsov, the top non-captain male player in Victoria, who will make a really strong pairing. Nives Baric has shown huge improvement recently and is a strong female contender in Victoria, while Olivia Moir is new to the sport but will be looking to quickly improve under the tutelage of Sahil and Matt.

Victoria will be anyone’s race this season, and, fun fact — it is the only state to see an all-male captaincy. A mixture of tried and true players pairing up with some wildcards will make every match in Vic one to watch!

Season 4 partners

The ahm NPL Season 4 is powered by a lineup of official partners:

• ahm – Naming rights partner

• VietJet – Official airline of the NPL

• Luzz Pickleball – Official paddle of the NPL

• Squealing Pig Wines – Official wine of the NPL

• Franklin – Official ball of the NPL

• Joola – Official net of the NPL

• Laykold – Official court provider of the NPL

• DUPR - Official Rating Partner of the NPL

A massive thank you to these partners and sponsors for getting around the National Pickleball League with the best services and equipment.

The countdown is on

That's a wrap on the preview for the AHM NPL Season 4! The action starts NOW with all first-round matches taking place this Saturday, September 20!

Be sure to keep an eye on the NPL website and Instagram for schedules, updates, and results as the action kicks off, and come join us in person or tune in via the revolutionary Greenzone all season long (available on NPL Website & Youtube).