Major League Pickleball Gets New Executive Leaders

Major League Pickleball is introducing new leadership as Julio DePietro and Bruce Popko step up.

Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America and the professional level has appointed new leaders as a way to capitalize on the growth. “The additions of Julio and Bruce signify another landmark step forward in the evolution of Major League Pickleball,” said the founder of Major League Pickleball, Steve Kuhn.

DePietro purchased a stake in the Florida Smash MLP team in 2022 and since then, he said team valuations have seen 100 times growth, according to CNBC. He also claimed that today, teams are going for as much as $10 million dollars.

DePietro and Popko explained that their main goal as leaders will be converting casual new pickleball players into Major League Pickleball followers.

Popko told CNBC, “One of the things that I’ve learned over the years in sports is that the most avid fans are those fans that participate in the sport directly, and that’s why I love this sport so much, because we have such a great running start.”