Who Replaces Samin Odhwani? 10 Candidates for MLP Commissioner

With the major news that Samin Odhwani is leaving as Commissioner of Major League Pickleball (MLP), there is an obvious next question:

Who will his successor be?

There are a myriad of options.

Does the board go with someone who has media rights deals already under their belt?

Maybe someone who has been great at governance and player relations?

Someone internal who knows the ins and outs of the business and already has a great working relationship with the CEO, Connor Pardoe?

An up-and-coming digital marketing whiz who can help steer the league into the next phase of professional sports?

My Opinion on the Next MLP Commissioner: Two People are Needed

In thinking about what MLP needs next, I’ve come to a fairly simple conclusion:

The league should hire for two leadership positions: a Commissioner and a Deputy Commissioner.

MLP is still a developing professional league, and that creates far more moving parts than an established sports property.

The commissioner should focus on the big-picture priorities that can move both MLP and professional pickleball forward: securing a meaningful media-rights deal, expanding internationally, building and acquiring valuable assets, improving league-wide operations, growing social and digital reach, developing opportunities around sports betting and maintaining high-level relationships with team owners.

The Deputy Commissioner — or whatever title MLP ultimately chooses — should own the day-to-day operation of the league. That includes rules and enforcement, player relations, relationships with general managers and minority owners, competition structure and the detailed implementation of the commissioner’s broader strategy.

The two could even arrive as a package deal. Perhaps MLP hires a commissioner with extensive media-rights and sports-business experience who brings along a trusted operator they have worked with before.

Or perhaps the better model is pairing an outside commissioner with an existing UPA executive who already understands the league’s internal operations, players, teams and decision-making structure.

There are plenty of combinations that could work.

The important part, in my view, is recognizing that MLP may have reached the point where one person should not be expected to do both jobs.

My Top 10 List of Potential Candidates

In researching potential replacements for Odhwani, I narrowed a large list down to a top 10 list.

Author’s Note: As a reminder, I am the General Manager of the California Black Bears, in addition to my role in pickleball as a journalist. The following list of candidates was made from my own thoughts and I have not received any “insider” information from the league about a potential new Commissioner. These are merely my opinions based on my knowledge of the game currently, and the extensive research I put into this article - I have not discussed the role with anyone mentioned in this article or any MLP/PPA/UPA insiders.

There is no shortage of intriguing options for the next commissioner of Major League Pickleball. Some already work inside professional pickleball, while others bring the type of television, sponsorship and league-building experience MLP may need for its next stage.

To be clear, these are speculative candidates—not reported finalists. But if MLP were building a search list, these 10 names would make sense.

1. George Killebrew

Killebrew would be the most logical choice.

The current UPA Chief Revenue Officer has already done almost this exact job before, serving as Commissioner of Major League Rugby from 2019 through 2023. Under Killebrew, MLR secured a national FOX Sports agreement that put games on FS1 and FS2 and its championship on FOX. Before that, he spent two decades as one of Mark Cuban's senior business executives with the Dallas Mavericks.

Strength: No candidate combines pickleball familiarity, revenue expertise, owner management and previous commissioner experience as well.

Weakness: Killebrew may be more valuable to Pickleball Inc. focusing exclusively on revenue generation, sponsorships and commercial partnerships.

2. Chris Patrick

Patrick may have the broadest understanding of professional pickleball's internal machinery.

The former NBA agent became PPA Deputy Commissioner in 2023 and has handled player contracts, legal matters and league issues. He has since become Pickleball Inc.'s Chief Business Officer and President of International, where he is leading a global business expected to generate nearly $10 million in 2026 revenue.

Strength: Patrick understands players, agents, contracts, the PPA, MLP and Pickleball Inc. better than almost any plausible candidate. He may be a phenomenal candidate for the Deputy Commissioner role I mentioned earlier.

Weakness: His resume lacks the major national television-rights experience MLP may prioritize in its next commissioner.

3. Stacey Allaster

If MLP wants a transformational outside hire, Allaster should get a phone call.

As WTA Chairman and CEO, Allaster helped negotiate a 10-year media-rights agreement with PERFORM, worth more than $525 million, nearly doubling guaranteed annual international rights payments while dramatically expanding production of women's tennis. She recently transitioned from her USTA executive role into a strategic-advisor position.

Strength: She understands racquet sports, athletes, broadcasters and—most importantly—how to turn fragmented tournament inventory into valuable media rights.

Weakness: After decades at the highest levels of tennis, would she actually want to take on another demanding league-building job?

4. Brian Levine

Levine would offer MLP stability and immediate credibility with ownership.

The former Goldman Sachs partner previously served as MLP's interim CEO during a critical period of expansion and currently sits on the five-member Pickleball Inc. board.

Strength: Few people understand MLP's finances, ownership structure, investors and history better. If the search for a new commissioner takes longer than expected, Levine would be high on my list for an interim commissioner position.

Weakness: His background is much stronger in finance and governance than television, sports media or fan development. Levine might make more sense as an interim stabilizer than the long-term public face of the league.

5. Laurel J. Richie

Laurel J. Richie would bring something few candidates on this list can match: experience actually running a major professional sports league.

Richie served as President of the WNBA from 2011 through 2015, becoming the first Black person to lead a major U.S. professional sports league. During her tenure, the WNBA extended its television partnership with ESPN through 2025, negotiated an eight-year collective bargaining agreement with its players and significantly expanded team-level sponsorship participation.

She also dealt directly with franchise ownership and league stability. During her time in charge, the Los Angeles Sparks were sold to an ownership group led by Guggenheim Partners and Magic Johnson Enterprises, while the Tulsa Shock ultimately relocated to the Dallas market. That experience managing owners, franchise economics and league-wide interests would translate directly to Major League Pickleball.

Before joining the WNBA, Richie built her career in marketing and brand strategy. She served as Chief Marketing Officer of Girl Scouts of the USA and previously held senior advertising roles, giving her a background rooted not only in sports administration but also in consumer branding and audience development.

Since leaving the WNBA, Richie has remained active in business and sports leadership, serving on corporate boards and advising senior executives.

Strength: Richie combines professional league leadership, player-relations experience, sponsorship growth, franchise governance and a strong marketing background. She has already dealt with many of the same challenges MLP's next commissioner would face.

Weakness: She has been out of day-to-day professional league management for more than a decade, and her recent work has been more focused on board service and executive advisory roles than running a sports property.

Still, if MLP wanted an experienced operator who understands how to balance players, owners, sponsors and broadcasters, Richie would be one of the most credible outside candidates available.

6. Oliver Luck

Luck is the classic outside sports-executive candidate.

As commissioner of the XFL, he helped launch a distribution strategy that put the league weekly on ABC, FOX, ESPN and FS1, giving a startup league extraordinary national exposure from Day One.

Strength: Luck has instant credibility with networks, owners and traditional sports executives and knows what it takes to launch and govern an emerging league.

Weakness: He has no existing connection to professional pickleball, and recruiting an executive of his stature could be difficult.

7. Katrina Adams

Katrina Adams would bring one of the most well-rounded racquet-sports résumés of anyone on this list.

Adams served as President, Chairman and CEO of the USTA from 2015 through 2018, becoming the first African American and first former professional player to hold the organization's top leadership position. She also served as Chair of the US Open during that period and spent eight years as a Vice President of the International Tennis Federation.

Before moving into sports administration, Adams had a successful playing career of her own. She competed for 12 years on the WTA Tour, won 20 doubles titles, reached the doubles quarterfinals or better at all four Grand Slams and climbed as high as No. 8 in the world in doubles. She was also an NCAA doubles champion at Northwestern.

Her experience goes well beyond simply running a national governing body. Adams served on the WTA Players' Association board during her playing career, later worked as a USTA national coach and has been involved in player development and grassroots tennis through the Harlem Junior Tennis and Education Program. She also spent years as a Tennis Channel broadcaster, giving her direct experience on the media side of the sport.

Internationally, Adams served as an ITF Vice President from 2015 through 2023 and helped lead the organization's Advantage All initiative, which focused on gender equality, leadership development and equal opportunity throughout global tennis.

Strength: Adams understands professional athletes, racquet sports, governing bodies, international expansion, media and large-scale event operations. Very few candidates could walk into MLP with that combination of credibility.

Weakness: Her resume is stronger in governance and administration than in negotiating major commercial media-rights packages. Unlike George Killebrew or Stacey Allaster, there is less evidence that her primary strength is building and monetizing a television property.

Still, if MLP wanted an experienced sports executive who already understands the unique relationship between individual athletes, tournaments, governing bodies and team-style competition, Adams would be a compelling outside candidate.

8. Chris Cantino

Cantino represents a completely different type of commissioner candidate.

The entrepreneur and investor currently serves as GM and Chief Player Officer of the Los Angeles Mad Drops and has also worked with the UPA on digital transformation and fan experience. His background includes building consumer brands, venture investing and developing technology products around pickleball. And let’s face it - if you are interested in pro pickleball (and you are because you have read this article up until this point) - you either already have the MATCHDAY app, or you should have the app.

Strength: Cantino understands modern consumers, digital products, players and MLP teams. He could approach MLP more like a next-generation sports-and-entertainment company than a traditional league.

Weakness: He has never run a sports league or negotiated a major national media-rights agreement, and his Mad Drops interests would create conflicts that would need to be resolved.

9. Taylor Loomis

Loomis may be one of the most intriguing internal candidates hiding in plain sight.

He currently serves as COO at Pickleball Inc. His background before joining professional pickleball was built around sales, national retail accounts and consumer-business strategy, including experience working with major retailers such as Walmart, Sam's Club and Target.

Under Loomis, Pickleball Central has expanded through partnerships with organizations including DUPR and Dill Dinkers while also pursuing international distribution opportunities.

Strength: Loomis understands the commercial side of pickleball exceptionally well—consumer behavior, retail, partnerships, distribution and revenue. He is also already part of Pickleball Inc.'s senior leadership ecosystem, making him a much more realistic candidate than most outside executives.

Weakness: He does not have the traditional commissioner résumé. There is little evidence of major media-rights negotiations, professional league governance or managing competing franchise owners.

If Pickleball Inc. wants MLP's next commissioner to be a traditional sports executive, there are stronger choices. If it wants an internal operator who understands how to turn pickleball's enormous participation base into a broader consumer business, Loomis becomes considerably more interesting.

10. Mike Whan

Whan might be the best candidate on paper—and the hardest to actually hire.

During his 11 years as LPGA Commissioner, tournaments increased from 24 to 34, purses grew from $41.4 million to $76.5 million and annual television coverage exploded from roughly 125 hours to more than 500. He now serves as CEO of the USGA, where he recently helped extend the organization's NBCUniversal media agreement through 2032.

Strength: Whan has already transformed an under-monetized individual sport into a dramatically stronger television and sponsorship property.

Weakness: Why leave one of the most prestigious positions in golf to run MLP?

He's probably the least realistic candidate on this list—but perhaps the best model for the type of executive MLP should be trying to find.

Whomever is named the next (and third ever) commissioner of Major League Pickleball, they have their hands full. A comprehensive media rights deal is still in the works. The owners of teams are divided on how the league should be structured in 2027 and beyond, with a salary cap and floor on the table. There will be pressure from team owners, the UPA executive team, the board, the fans, and the players, to find the right fit to help guide the league in the future.

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