by Joe James
What’s the Story?
The Association of Pickleball Players (APP) has officially announced its 2025 U.S. National Team of 13 young and promising pickleball professionals who are 23 years old or younger.
Selected based on a combination of factors, including rankings, tournament performance, head-to-head records and overall potential in the sport, this comprehensive program is designed to refine their skills and prepare them for their career.
Ken Herrmann, APP Founder, said: “One of my main missions at APP has always been to provide a platform to develop future pickleball champions, and that’s at the core of the APP Next Gen program, from which we source the APP U.S. National Team players.
“Our APP U.S. National Team represents the best of the best in the APP Next Gen platform.”
In addition to being the APP Founder, Herrmann will serve as the 2025 APP U.S. National Team director after serving as a member of the USTA (United States Tennis Association) National Player Development in the 1990s.
On the coaching side, APP Tour broadcaster Chad Edwards and current AARP Champions Division APP Tour pro Lee Whitwell will serve as head coaches.
The Next Gen team will train at The Fort in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which is the APP’s global headquarters, featuring 43 courts and the world’s first pickleball stadium.
APP Next Gen events are currently the world’s only pro pickleball development programs, offering young players the opportunity of competitive tournaments and elite training facilities.
All events will be held at various Chicken N Pickle locations nationwide, as well as a final event held for all players at The Fort from December 5 until December 7, 2025.
The Recap
The APP Next Gen Events is the first of its kind, which is dedicated to the development of young pickleball players.
For 2025, the APP U.S. National Team is as follows:
Eli Bertram (Boca Raton, Florida)
Jayden Broderick (Greenville, South Carolina)
Ronan Camron (Fort Myers, Florida)
Ava Cavataio (West Palm Beach, Florida)
Lauren Mercado (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Bella Nelson (Deerfield Beach, Florida)
Drake Palm (La Costa, California)
Clayton Powell (Bend, Oregon)
Brooke Revuelta (Miami, Florida)
Aidan Schenk (Portland, Oregon)
Alexa Schull (Miami, Florida)
Elliott Schupp (Bentonville, Arkansas)
Leah Tauber (Cardiff, California)
On this year’s team, current No.1 APP Next Gen Ranked Players Aiden Schenk and Alexa Schull make up the roster, with Schenk winning the 2025 APP Next Gen $15k San Antonio Men’s Champion and taking home the $2500 prize.
Ken Herrmann on social media described the pair glowingly, hailing Schenk as a “dominant left side player” whose growth in the last year has added “more depth” and improved his game transitionally and as well as his serve.
Schull can “knock the plastic off the ball when she is on”, according to Herrman, as he credits her tennis background for her natural pickleball transition. Reaching her first major singles finals at both The English Open and USAP Nationals in 2024, Schull looks set to be a star.
Former high-profile Next Gen Champions include Yana Newell, Dylan Frazier and JW Johnson in 2021, with Alix Truong, Gabriel Tardio and Amanda Hendry emerging victorious in 2022, with the 2025 group hoping to go on to great things in the future.
The APP Next Gen Events locations are set for these upcoming dates:
2025 APP Next Gen San Antonio, Texas | 13 – 16 February | Diadem Pickleball Complex | Completed |
2025 APP Next Gen St. Louis | 19 – 22 June | Chicken N Pickle St Louis |
2025 APP Next Gen Kansas City | 17 – 20 July | Chicken N Pickle Overland Park, Kanas |
2025 APP Next Gen Dallas | 30 October – 2 November | Chicken N Pickle Grapevine, Texas |
2025 APP Next Gen Fort Lauderdale | 5 December – 7 December | The Fort |
As part of player memberships and selections, the team, aged between 16 and 23, will have the opportunity to participate in training camps, receive valuable coaching and mentoring, undergo testing and evaluation, as well as the ability to travel internationally.
The PKLBull Verdict
The APP Next Gen U.S. National Team represents a significant step in developing young pickleball talent on a larger scale and futureproofing the game.
Providing rising stars with elite coaching, competition, and a clear pathway to greater things will cement these young players in their professional careers.
Talented stars like Alexa Schull and Aiden Schenk have access to wonderful facilities like The Fort, which has a pickleball stadium and 43 courts, making this a remarkable opportunity for them to hone their skills.
With the sport’s rapid growth worldwide, this program is part of a continued commitment to creating an elite-level infrastructure and forming a competitive professional environment with state-of-the-art facilities and unparalleled opportunities in America.
If the APP Next Gen continues to be executed successfully, as it has been so far, this could be the blueprint for other emerging pickleball nations to help nurture the next generation of pickleball players.