Komodo and NCPA Forge Alliance to Elevate Collegiate Pickleball

NCPA and Komodo Join Forces to Inspire Young Adult Participation in Nation’s Fastest Growing Sport

San Diego, Calif. (August 29, 2024) – Komodo Pickleball, a leading innovator in high performance sports equipment, this month formed a partnership with the National Collegiate Pickleball Association as the title sponsor and official ball provider of the NCPA’s ’24-’25 Komodo Collegiate Tour.

Founded in 2023, the NCPA will host regional tournaments featuring top collegiate talent in Utah, Ohio, Florida, California and Texas between September and December leading to a national championship tournament in Las Vegas in March 2025. Currently pickleball teams from more than 100 universities and more than 1,000 students are aligned with the nascent NCPA.

“Young adults are the largest and fastest growing category of players who participate in the nation’s fastest growing sport,” said Dave Milo, Komodo’s founder and CEO. “The NCPA embodies our commitment to making the sport more accessible, engaging and inclusive for young athletes nationwide.”

Komodo, a manufacturer of pickleball paddles, balls and accessories, established itself as an innovative leader when it introduced its Katana Kevlar® Pro paddles in 2023 that deliver a better touch on dinks and drop shots, explosiveness on drives and pinpoint accuracy on put aways. The brand shares its “by players, for players” ethos with the NCPA to provide better, more engaging experiences for casual to pro athletes who pick up the game.

“Organized pickleball is just starting to become a thing on college campuses,” said Noah Suemnick, the 23-year-old founder of the NCPA, a college athlete who graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego in 2023. “The fitness, social and competitive aspects of the sport offer such a positive outlet that’s easy for students to pursue. Komodo shares our vision of dramatically growing the sport on the college level to provide young adults with a low cost, healthy activity they can share with friends for a lifetime.”

Registration for the NCPA ’24-’25 Komodo Collegiate Tour is now open for students. Universities that are considering starting campus pickleball clubs may contact the NCPA for organizational advice.