NATS 2026 DaLLAS SECTIONAL PREVIEW
Written by Drew Ryder
The North American Tour Series drops into Dallas, Texas this week for the second tournament of the season. While the field is smaller than the big bang of a season opener, the stakes remain just as high. With 27 Bronze+ teams and 6 Women’s teams set to compete, this event still plays a crucial role in shaping the early season picture for those with their eyes on Team USA, Major Division Qualification, and the Pro Division Points Race. For some, the season starts this weekend. For others, the goal is to build upon their Atlanta performance. It’ll be particularly interesting to see how the teams with reps under their belt perform against the many teams debuting in Dallas. With our new rules and an ever-progressing meta on display, the field is too deep to bring less than your highest level.
Animal Jam is the only team returning after Atlanta as they seek their first podium finish (Photo from Roundnetwork).
While the Women’s division is smaller this weekend, it should be hotly contested top to bottom. Kalin Morgan, who took home 1st place in Atlanta, is mashing up with Joanna Gould who she faced in finals en route to that season opening victory. This team has a great mix of experience and overall talent to where their A game can beat anyone. Expect cohesive defense and high ability to convert on their break opportunities. Sarah Allen makes a return to roundnet having not played a tour level event since July of last year. She’s teaming up with Ally Chou, fellow Californian who had a fair share of success in 2025. Animal Jam is the season partnership of note making the trip to Dallas. Stef Ding and Sammy Barklow will be eager to rebound from their 5th place finish in Atlanta. Oh, and don’t forget reigning Women’s and Mixed National Champ Elle Lowe is reuniting with Seb Kim under their legendary team name: “ellelowe sebmarine”. In this division, there are no unlucky draws - each team will have the right to dictate their bracket draw through full division round robin before entering a highly competitive bracket.
Before diving into the open favorites, let’s break down some notable teams beginning their tour this weekend:
Tyler Fernandez has his sights on a much stronger performance in his home state after a 12th-place finish in Atlanta (Photo from Roundnetwork).
The Diamond Dogs (Bennett Anderson/Reid Pfutzenreuter): A team built on athleticism and raw talent, these two have proven themselves as top competitors across multiple events over the years. That said, limited travel meaning fewer opportunities to build ELO leave them slightly under the radar, with simulations giving them just an 11% chance to reach semifinals. Still, if there were odds on this event, this is the kind of pick that could pay off in a big way. With the new rules rewarding athleticism more, expect the Diamond Dogs to produce some spectator friendly plays you do not want to miss.
Zero Gravity (Garrett Carver/Xande Plaisted):Coming off a very strong showing with their Utah squad in January, Garrett and Xande step into Dallas as a problematic 15 seed overall with minimal sanctioned play under their belt (despite an Open Bronze National Championship for Xande). This is a brutal draw for any top team in pool play, especially considering the lack of familiarity the field will have with these two post rule changes. Expect Xande to be a problem from 7ft with Garrett providing a well rounded mix of consistency and pop-off ability.
NEM Phantom (Tyler Fernandez/Caleb Cummings):Debuting on home turf, this Texas duo brings both experience and results to the table. Having been around the pro scene for years, they’ve accumulated plenty of hardware and know what it takes in nuanced high pressure moments. Tyler is the more defensive-minded of the two, and Caleb has one of the most powerful serves in the game. Their ability to hold and make receives on the top servers in the field will be paramount.
Three of the top four teams from Atlanta are making the trip to Dallas, and they headline the field as our top three seeds. With proven results and strong early-season form, the standard has been set for the rest of the field..
Seeded #3 is NEM Seazonal who put up a solid t-3 in Atlanta but are hungry for more. Zach Snover and Jacob Summers are what you’d expect from a “new gen” team. These two have hits and serves in the bag that would’ve been unthinkable before the rule changes. They have demonstrated their ability to dominate with some impressive lopsided wins under their belt, but their high risk high reward decision making means a low error count is crucial this weekend for Seazonal. Atlanta was enough to keep them right in the mix for Team USA, but “right in the mix” is not where they wanna be if you were to ask them.
The #1 seed entering Dallas is Fever, another team whose t-3 did not meet up their lofty standards. It was 2024 where both Connor Nelson and Kieran Rose established themselves on tour, with Connor earning multiple pitchers (one was with a contender player!) en route to a finals run that year at the Championship. Kieran also had his fair share of glassware, most notably winning a stacked Richmond Major that 2024 season. Fast forward two years and you’ve got the #2 team on the pre-season power rankings. While it seems they’re pretty much locked in for Team USA this August at worlds, nothing is guaranteed on tour yet. Surely Fever see this tournament as a great opportunity to assert their dominance and eliminate any doubt.
They’re only seeded #2, but after a demolition of a tournament win in Atlanta, Paradox (Kyle Fowler and Paq Clifford) is the team to beat. Frankly, it’s hard to imagine a loss if they bring the same focus to Dallas. To provide context, here are some of their scores from Atlanta in bracket:
Paq Clifford’s soft-touch defense was on point in their Atlanta semifinal Game 3 route versus Fever (Photo from Roundnetwork).
21-13, 21-11 over F/M in the quarterfinals
21-10 over Fever in semifinals game 3
21-14 over Rogue in finals game 2
Kyle and Paq are getting it done on both sides of the ball, holding serve well and producing breaks of their own at a dangerous frequency. The key for success with this team lies in the mental game. The talent is clearly there but bringing your best level two tournaments in a row, with raised expectations, is not easy.
Roundnet season is entering full swing and we couldn't be more excited! With selection camp around the corner, along with the race to pro for both men and women, there is a ton to look forward to for both players and fans. To view the results in Dallas, see the forecasted predictions, and keep up to date with everything going down on tour, check out the links below.
Follow along with the Dallas Sectional here
View the forecasted predictions here
Check out the North American Tour Series here to stay up to date with all the big tournaments going down this year!
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