NATS 2026 COLUMBUS SECTIONAL PREVIEW

Written by Drew Ryder and Sammy Barklow. Photos by Ben Dantowitz. NATS is sponsored by Spikeball.

NATS 2026 Columbus Sectional Preview

The final sectional of the year on the North American Tour Series is this Saturday in Columbus! This city is no stranger to hosting big tournaments as Columbus has hosted multiple Majors at the tour level in previous years. This division features a big Bronze+ division for the tournament level with 33 teams signed up, along with 7 teams signed up in Women’s Advanced. We’ll give you a deep dive on each team to watch in Open, and everything you need to know about Women’s.

A Pot of Gold in the Bronze Division!

Final Boss Status - Connor Nelson (#1 in NATS Open rank) has lost 2 matches all season and has reached 7 podiums in 7 appearances.

If you’ve been on the scene since before the pandemic, then you probably remember when certain teams were so dominant that TD’s would pay you to beat them. For the first time at tour level in at least 5 years, a bounty has been placed on the top seed - sponsored by Midwest Roundnet. Eliminating Marino/Nelson in bracket this weekend will earn you $500… if you can make it happen. Ryan Marino’s last outing as a mashup was successful, he won Boston with Sunny Gu. This Saturday, he’ll playing with the North American #1. Assuming the serve percentages remain high and their cleanliness stays in check, winning two games to 21 against these guys is an extremely tall task (editor note: heck, one game to 21 should get its own bounty).

Open Challengers

CHEATERS ROUNDNET: Jacob Summers and Jake Dooley enter Columbus as the 3 seed by combined ELO. Jacob has already beaten both Connor Nelson and Ryan Marino in previous tournaments, and he's arriving in excellent form. Dooley brings an X-factor element to the partnership with his athleticism and ability to create something out of nothing when rallies go out of system. His willingness to scrap for extra touches makes him an ideal support player for Summers, whose serving and hitting have gotten alarmingly good in the last 2 years. Confidence can go a long way in marquee matchups, and these two will undoubtedly be fired up if they end up facing Connor and Ryan. 

Temu Klap, made up of Jake Woolley and Zach Snover, enter the weekend second overall in combined ELO and arguably first in serve ceiling. Some of the serves these two are capable of hitting will leave you staring at the net wondering if something's wrong with the equipment.  While Snover relies more heavily on his cut serve, it's Woolley's reverse cut that creates tremendous pressure whenever it's landing. Although this is one of the most dangerous teams in the field, neither has managed to eliminate Connor Nelson or Ryan Marino from a tournament this season. Their level is likely high enough to do well, but it will take their A-game from start to finish if they want to go the distance.

Thomas Hamilton (#20) is used to being the favorite alongside Ryan Marino. This weekend, he gets to play the role of spoiler.

EMPIRE, consisting of Thomas Hamilton and Cliff LeVeque, enters as the 4 seed by combined ELO while defending home turf. This Midwest pairing has built a reputation for consistently winning and podiuming in the region. You'd have to go back almost exactly three years to the Columbus Major on August 12, 2023, to find the last time Thomas failed to reach the podium at a Midwest tournament. While Thomas has made it clear that his competitive career is entering its later stages, he’s still physically capable of competing with anyone in the field. LeVeque has spent years learning alongside Hamilton through the same local pickup scene, and his athleticism allows him to make spectacular defensive plays while his quick serve trigger and high percentages with both hands create constant pressure from the service line. The formula for success is fairly straightforward here: limit the unforced errors and trust their ability to generate breaks. Neither player has faced Connor Nelson this season, but there may not be a team in the tournament that knows Ryan Marino's game better than these two. If that matchup comes to fruition, they'll be more than ready for the challenge. Before they can think that far ahead, however, they'll need to handle a difficult 2 seed in pool play of Jaxon Gonzalez and Ben Savage.

The Diamond Dogs, Reid Pfutzenreuter and Bennett Anderson, have steadily built hype over the past few seasons, and it only takes one match to understand why. They play an exciting brand of roundnet that's easy for anyone to appreciate, whether you're a longtime competitor or watching your first tournament. Despite passing the eye test, the breakthrough result at the tour level has yet to come in 2026. With just a T-9 and T-5 finish to their name this season, Columbus represents an important opportunity to build momentum heading into the final stretch of the year. With the New York City Major still on the horizon, these next two tournaments present the perfect chance to flip the script on their season. They'll likely be tested early by Renewal, made up of Caleb Shorter and Aleks Essen, another team searching for a signature result. Expect that matchup to feature plenty of exciting rallies, but whichever team best tackles the mental will likely come out on top.

Rising Stars Seek to Make a Mark

With a late scramble for Women’s Pro Points wide open, there are a few leading teams but many strong contenders taking the opportunity to shine in Columbus this weekend. A podium could secure a coveted Women’s Pro berth for the NATS Championship in October, while some battle-tested players sharpen their game ahead of the World Championship.

Sammy Barklow (T-15) leads all women’s players in points ahead of this weekend, highlighting the openings for any given team to break out and secure their spot for the Women’s Pro Division.

THE BOYS (Sylvia Dean/Jaime Cunningham): This duo is no stranger to a good time- and good competition. This duo consists of Jaime and Sylvia who have both been selected to play on Team Canada at the Roundnet World Championships. This team is definitely the one to watch this weekend as their strong chemistry and superb consistency can carry them to a win this weekend. 

Barklow/Freeman (Sammy Barklow/Leah Freeman): We’ve seen Sammy quite a bit this season, but her partner Leah Freeman is a bit newer to the scene. With Leah having success at the collegiate level, it will be exciting to watch this upstart player hold her own and match-up with Sammy, who will be competing in Paris in just a few short weeks on Team USA.

Kevin&Bob: Another team to be on the lookout for this weekend consists of Abby and Alaina. Abby swings hard and generates a lot of power and when her stuff hits, it hits. Neither player has made a pro run yet, but this last sectional of the NATS season can certainly put them in a good position to do so. 

Mystery Inc. (Katie Hansen/Natalie Hansen): Our dark horses of the weekend are the sisters who have found great success at the collegiate level. Having competed together at college sectionals and nationals on MSU’s women’s line, they have the on-net and off-net chemistry to make a podium run this weekend. It will be interesting to see what this pair can pull off.

A Champion Returns

One of the more intriguing storylines this weekend is the return of 2023 STS Champion Grant Klapwijk. After roughly a year away from tournament competition, Grant is back alongside Andrew Sullivan, a midwest player who was building momentum at the top level before significantly reducing his tournament volume. It's been a long time since Grant has entered a tournament as the third seed in his pool, but that's exactly where he and Andrew find themselves this Saturday in Columbus. With two accomplished players returning to the national stage, they'll certainly be a team worth keeping an eye on throughout the weekend.

The stage is set for what is looking like one of the better sectionals in a while from a strength of field perspective. Marino/Nelson have separated themselves from the pack with their resumes, but there are at least 5 or so teams that present a serious threat to their success. To keep up with the results in Columbus, click here. Be sure to keep up with all things USA Roundnet and Roundnet Canada too.