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CAPE CORAL, Fla. (Mar. 8, 2026) — College pickleball has its newest champion. The Association of Pickleball Players (APP) hosted 40 of the best college pickleball teams in the nation at the 2026 APP Selkirk U.S. Collegiate Championships in Cape Coral, Florida, and after a thrilling competition, Florida Atlantic University emerged as the national champions.

FAU students Jayden Broderick, Gianna Jarman, Alex LaMacchio and Bella Nelson led their squad to victory in an exhilarating championship final that featured men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles games, defeating Utah Tech University, three games to one.

“This team is absolutely amazing,” said FAU team captain Bella Nelson. “We pick each other up when everyone’s down, we know how to pull it together, find the game plan and have each other’s backs – and that’s what makes it so special.”

Team Competition
Seven regional qualifier events throughout 2025 and early 2026 produced the top 40 college pickleball teams from across the nation competing in Cape Coral, with $50,000 in prize money up for grabs. Several Sunshine State schools competed, including the defending champions Univ. of Florida, Florida State, Florida Atlantic, Miami, Univ. of Central Florida and Univ. of South Florida, along with the likes of 2024 champions Utah Tech, Indiana, Purdue, Virginia, Grand Canyon, UConn and more. The teams went head-to-head in round robin play on Saturday to determine seeding for Saturday’s elimination rounds.

Eventual champions Nelson, Broderick, LaMacchio and Jarman led Florida Atlantic.(FAU) over Texas in the semifinals to advance to the championship match. The Owls also earned wins over Fresno State, Mississippi State and Radford en route to their finals appearance.

On the other side of the bracket, team captain Liam Duffin, Clayton Boydston, Ella Boydston and Lauren Mercado powered Utah Tech to wins over Univ. of South Florida, Purdue and Utah Tech (2) before a semifinal win against Florida State sent the Trailblazers to the championship match.

The championship final began with women’s doubles as FAU’s Nelson and Jarman faced Ella Boydston and Mercado. Utah Tech held strong, winning 15-9 to go up 1-0 overall in the match.

Broderick and LaMacchio, who already earned the men’s doubles title together in the individual portion of the competition, led FAU over Utah Tech’s Duffin and Clayton Boydston in a close men’s doubles game, 17-15, tying the overall match up at one game apiece.

Next up was the first of two mixed doubles games, featuring FAU’s Broderick and Jarman against Utah Tech’s sibling duo of Clayton and Ella Boydston. The Owls came out on top, 15-9, to take a 2-1 overall match lead.

In the deciding mixed doubles game, LaMacchio and Nelson powered FAU to victory over Utah Tech’s Duffin and Mercado, 15-11, to clinch the national championship.

Individual Competition
Men’s Singles
In a battle of teammates, APP Next standout Alec LaMacchio (Florida Atlantic) defeated Jayden Broderick (Florida Atlantic) in the men’s singles final, 15-11, 11-15, 15-7. Will Lieberman (Grand Canyon) took home the men’s singles third place finishl.

Women’s Singles
Tate Keber (Florida State) repped the garnet and gold with pride as she cruised in the women’s singles final 15-9, 15-4, over Lauren Mercado (Utah Tech). Lesa Ritchie (UC San Diego) secured the women’s singles third place finish.

Men’s Doubles
After facing one another in the men’s singles final, FAU teammates Jayden Broderick and Alec LaMacchio teamed up for their men’s doubles run. The Owls duo took down the University of Texas squad of Jack Munro and Eli Trumeter 4-11, 11-7, 11-9, giving LaMacchio his third overall national title of the tournament. Clayton Boydston and Liam Duffin (Utah Tech) finished third overall.

Women’s Doubles
In a repeat from 2025, the women’s doubles final featured all Utah Tech players, with Lauren Mercado and Mary Monson defeating their schoolmates Ella Boydston and Ashlee Searle, 11-8, 11-7. Victoria Falk and Erin Johnsen (Texas) earned third place overall.

Mixed Doubles
Utah Tech continued to collect hardware as Mary Monson and Liam Duffin defeated Bella Nelson and Alec LaMacchio (Florida Atlantic) in the mixed doubles final, 15-2, clinching Monson her second national title of the event.