Industry29 October 2026 2 min read

Houston Hammers Join Major League Pickleball as 21st Franchise for 2027

Major League Pickleball has added the Houston Hammers as its 21st team, starting in the 2027 season under a new ownership group led by Hugh Zhang.

Major League Pickleball has confirmed its next addition. The Houston Hammers will join the league as its 21st team for the 2027 season, bringing a top-flight team pickleball franchise to one of the largest sports markets in the United States.

What was announced

MLP made the announcement on Wednesday 28 October, days before its season-closing showcase in Dallas. The key points so far:

Team: Houston Hammers, MLP's 21st franchise
First season: 2027
Ownership: a new group led by Hugh Zhang, a Houston resident with a background across several industries
Home event: the franchise plans to host an MLP event in the Houston market during 2027

One brand, three levels

The Hammers name is already familiar to some fans. The brand made its mark in the Champions Series, the senior pro competition for players aged 40 and over, where the Houston side was a regular-season champion. Under the new plan, that senior team stays in place, and a Jr. Hammers squad will compete in Jr. MLP.

The result is a single club identity running from junior level through to the main pro league. Zhang summed up the move simply: "MLP completes the Houston Hammers ecosystem." It is a model familiar from football academies and other established team sports, and it is still unusual in pickleball.

What we don't know yet

Plenty of detail is still to come. MLP says that in the coming weeks it will publish:

key off-season dates and keeper deadlines
the player acquisition process for the new team
the draft date
the 2027 summer event schedule

That means there is no confirmed roster yet, and no named venue for the Houston event. We'll cover both once the league confirms them.

Why it matters

Expansion news usually signals confidence from investors, and Texas has become a centre of gravity for the pro game. The Opendoor Pickleball World Championships and the inaugural MLP Nations Cup both take place at Brookhaven Country Club in the Dallas area over the coming days. A dedicated Houston team adds another permanent pro presence in the state.

For players, the more interesting question is the draft. Every new team needs a roster, and a fresh franchise can reshape where established pros and rising names end up for 2027.

The Paddle Dept. take

Team formats such as MLP reward depth: players switch between mixed and gender doubles, so a dependable all-court paddle often counts for more than one-shot power. If you play club team events in the UAE, the same reasoning applies, and our Compare a Paddle tool is a quick way to weigh up feel, weight and shape side by side.