From Hawaii to Vegas: A Tournament Journal from the 2025 NCPA Championship
A firsthand tournament journal from University of Hawaii Pickleball Club President, Conner Koga
The UH Pickleball Club; from L-R: Conner Koga, Julia Kimack, Timber Tucker from Six Zero, Kira Tobita, and Rhys Wilson
In Conner’s words:
This tournament was an amazing experience. The first people I want to shout out are my parents and all the parents who went. The school did not fund us, and our parents helped pay our way to the tournament and also came to watch. I am very grateful for their nonstop support.
The tournament was divided into three days: one day of round robin and the consecutive days of elimination. Unfortunately, we were eliminated in the first round with 48 teams involved. On the first day of round robin, we played against GCU, which was the 11th ranked team in the tournament and had one of the best players in collegiate pickleball.
The game was tough, especially since our team was ranked in the high 30s. In addition to GCU, we also played against Utah Tech 3 and the University of Utah, both of which were top-ranked schools in the tournament. This experience allowed us to meet many people, including the Arizona State pickleball team, and we got to play some games with them.
We also saw UCLA again, as we had played them in San Diego. It was such an amazing experience with over 200 kids from all over the country just playing pickleball. It really expanded my view of how the sport has evolved and reached out to younger generations, possibly paving the way for the next generation of high schoolers—and maybe even an actual NCAA league.
At the tournament, we also got to meet Timber Tucker, the representative for Six Zero, who is also the coach of Indiana Pickleball, and Steve Hosohama, a representative of Komodo Pickleball and a graduate from Punahou School.
The level of play at this tournament was beyond anything I had seen before, featuring players who are already on the PPA tour. There were schools from Utah to Virginia, filled with 5.5+ players.
Below: pickleball friends from Arizona State University
