Evan Floersch, founder and CEO of the Texas Ranchers MLP is redefining what it means to build a professional sports franchise. Floersch had a bold vision: create a pro team fueled by a community of stakeholders rather than the traditional model of singular private ownership. In 2022, he launched the Texas Ranchers, a coed Major League Pickleball team based in Austin and backed by an all-star roster of global investors.
Evan Floersch, founder and CEO of the Texas Ranchers
With pickleball now a $2 billion market opportunity, Floersch has emerged as an unstoppable under-30 entrepreneur, investor, and champion of change. At just 26, he became the youngest principal owner in professional sports Ownership Group by securing a controlling interest in the Ranchers, supported by powerhouse partners including Lil Wayne, Scottie Scheffler, Kendra Scott, and NBA owner Dennis Wong. Together, they are leading both Austin and the sport of pickleball into an exciting new era.
Austin is now known as the Pickleball City of the USA today, and with the release of the Texas Ranchers Lil Wayne collection a trend setter once again on and off the court.
Lil Wayne Texas Ranchers MLP co-cowner and Creator of New Collection
In October 2023, hip-hop legend Lil Wayne became an investor and co-owner of the Texas Ranchers, a professional pickleball team of Major League Pickleball (MLP). Lil Wayne is a Grammy Award-winning musician who has now turned into a pickleball team co-owner and strategic adviser.
Lil Wayne’s investment and endorsement of the Texas Ranchers MLP team have attracted more fans to the sport of pickleball. Now, more than two years after his investment, Texas Ranchers achieved multiple milestones in 2025.
Hip Hop Legend, Co-owner of the Texas Ranchers, Lil Wayne
New Fan-Gear Collection
Possibly the most notable milestone of the year is Lil Wayne’s release of his first official pickleball fan-gear collection. The product line prices range from $14 to $85, ensuring that all pickleball fans can afford something from the collection. Each apparel product is designed to showcase a bold, game-day style for any pickleball lover. And if anyone knows somebody else who is a pickleball lover, the fan-gear products make wonderful presents and stocking stuffers for Christmas,
Lil Wayne may be known as a creative artist and musician, but that creativity has definitely spread beyond the music industry. Now, he has applied his creative skills to his pickleball fan gear collection, which reflects both Lil Wayne’s and pickleball fans’ styles. The hope is that everyone in the pickleball community will wear the apparel, including the Texas Ranchers’ players.
“I’ve always believed creativity doesn’t belong to one lane. I love the opportunity to express what I can create beyond music. I hope everyone sees the Wayne in this collection. And, I hope people in the pickleball community see the Ranchers in it, too. Together, we’re evolving the game and working to bring new audiences into it. This collection represents that mindset.” Lil Wayne
Shop the full collection at Lil Wayne Collection
Texas Ranchers MLP pro team players Eric Oncins and Wyatt Stone wearing the new Lil Wayne collection off season
Texas Ranchers Ranks in the Top 10 MLP for a Second Year
The Texas Ranchers just finished the 2025 season as the 6th seed out of 22 teams. It is the second consecutive year in which the Texas Ranchers managed to rank amongst the top 10 MLP teams.
The Texas Ranchers MLP team is already reimagining how audiences consume the sport. Aside from acting as merely a sports team, it is also acting more like a business. The newfound merchandising and fame associated with the Texas Ranchers MLP team have certainly helped it gain more attention. Maybe the team’s new fame has inspired the players to train harder and perform better for their celebrity co-owners and growing number of fans.
On October 11th, 2025, the Texas Ranchers hosted a first-of-its-kind live stream event with the One True King (OTK) Network in Austin, Texas. OTK is a dynamic media organization that primarily focuses on distributing online content creations. The event, called the “OTK Creator Smash Pickleball Invitational Austin,” featured various content creators who play pickleball. Audiences could watch the live stream event on OTK’s KICK channel, one of the leading international livestreaming platforms.
Pickleball is now bigger than ever in Austin, thanks to KICK and OTK teaming up with the Texas Ranchers MLP team to host the mega event. Some of the minor league pickleball players who played for the event included Felicity DiLaura and Wyatt Stone. Meanwhile, the biggest online content creators to make an appearance included Asmongold, EsfandTV, Jamie Gordon, Juliano Hodges, Kyle Gordon, Malcolm Kelner, Nmplol, Rachel Pizzolato, Rapnamefogie, and Sodapoppin.
Content creators see pickleball as an opportunity to promote themselves and their creations while bringing more energy and excitement to the pickleball court in the process.
Minor League Program Launch
Texas Ranchers launched a minor league program to cater to the local Austin community. It encourages the most talented local youth players to compete against one another while developing their pickleball skills together. Those who do well in the minor league may find themselves on a path to joining a professional MLP team when they get older, perhaps even the Texas Ranchers.
New Junior Pickleball Program Launch
The consecutive annual high-profile events and celebrity endorsements surrounding Major League Pickleball have sparked growing interest in finding the next generation of talent to join the league. The fame led to another major milestone this year for the Texas Ranchers: the launch of a junior program for up-and-coming pickleball athletes in elementary, middle, and high school.
Pickleball was traditionally considered an older person’s game. No structured junior pickleball program ever really existed before. That is why the new junior program’s initiative is to encourage youth development in pickleball so that the most talented children can have a structured pathway toward a professional career in the sport.
Members of the Texas Ranchers Junior Team Sporting the Lil Wayne Collection
