ST. GEORGE, Utah — Utah college sports teams have won national championships before. Steve Young and BYU football in 1984, University of Utah women’s gymnastics has taken national crowns multiple times.
But the pickleball team at Utah Tech - already national champions - have claimed a world title.
The Trailblazers defeated university teams from India, China, Malaysia and five other countries to become the first collegiate world champions of pickleball at the Adidas Collegiate World Championships in Dallas on November 2.
"It's pretty surreal, honestly. Just how far our team has come," said Benson Parry, a third-year veteran on the team.
The journey to the top wasn't easy for Utah Tech. The team started small, running campus tournaments and fundraising just to travel to competitions.
"We started out just running campus tournaments, fundraising that way to be able to just travel to a couple tournaments," Parry said. "And then once the college scene really broke through, it became like, a really big opportunity for us and we saw it and we capitalized on it."
Until this year, team members had to pay their own travel, food and lodging expenses. They used tournament winnings to help cover costs.
"Actually until this last year, like this year is kind of the first time we've ever had all of our travel food and stay expenses covered by somebody and that's just so cool," Parry said. "Like in the past we've had to pay for our own places to stay, we've had to pay for our own travel, you know, and then we just use whatever we won at the tournament to help."
The team's location in St. George provides a unique advantage. The area is considered the birthplace of pickleball in Utah, where the sport was first introduced at the annual Huntsman World Senior Games in 2003.
"It's just crazy, like you go out there, any evening or morning when the weather's good and people are out there playing," said Parry, who grew up in St. George.
The region's pickleball prominence is set to grow even more. A 1,000-seat pickleball stadium is planned to be built at Black Desert Resort in nearby Ivins next year to host a top tournament on the pro pickleball PPA Tour. The venue is being dubbed the "Wimbledon of pickleball."
Several Utah Tech players claimed individual world titles at the tournament. Mary Monson became the world's women's college champion at just 16 years old while doing dual high school and college enrollment.
"I would describe all of them as older brothers and sisters," Monson said of her teammates.
The Kaysville resident keeps her pickleball success relatively quiet among her high school friends.
"I don't talk a lot of pickleball with them because I've been friends with them since childhood, and they're kind of sick of it," Monson said. "I mean, they all see my stuff on social media. They think it's cool."
Liam Duffin claimed the world collegiate men's championship. The former tennis player was a two-time state champion at St. George's Crimson Cliffs High School before switching to pickleball.
Ashlee Peterson and Dylan Ciampini won the world collegiate women's doubles championship. Peterson was surprised by the international competition level.
"I didn't even know up until this tournament that there were people outside of the US that played to this level," Peterson said. "They were battles every single time."
"Every point!" Ciampini added.
Challenges and opportunities
Team captain Brinley Horton, who came from Sandy, said the team's success stems from personal connections formed on campus before joining the team. Like Duffin, she transitioned from tennis to pickleball.
"I know tennis like the back of my hand. I grew up playing it," Horton said. "But honestly, if I were to tell you my reasoning for playing pickleball, it's that I want to become the most mentally tough person out there."
"I didn't really embark on a pickleball journey with the intention of now being where I'm at today, but I'm really grateful for it," Horton said.
Since pickleball is not an official NCAA sport, the team faces unique challenges and opportunities. Players can win prize money and sponsorships and are eligible to play professionally. Utah Tech is reportedly the first college pickleball team to secure a corporate sponsorship with Selkirk Sport.
However, the lack of NCAA status means players must fund their own travel and competition expenses.
"We're going out on our dime when a lot of us could be working or have school that we need to do," Duffin said.
