IU Pickleball’s Rise to Prominence

Over the last three years, pickleball has become the fastest-growing sport in the country in part due to its social nature and its multi-generational appeal.

After playing the sport nonstop during the pandemic like so many others, Sam Hutner decided to start a pickleball club at IU in 2021 during his freshman year.

During its first two years of existence, the club was primarily used as a way for Hutner and his friends to be active and have fun on the weekends.

However, this all changed when the idea for a competitive team grew out of the recreational club last fall. This decision meant club advisor and head coach Timber Tucker needed to recruit some of the talented players already on campus. This is what led him to Gables Bagels.

While eating his usual order, a blueberry bagel with strawberry cream cheese, Tucker sat across from then sophomore Carter Wittendorf.

Wittendorf was rated as a top pickleball player in high school, and Tucker gave him the pitch as to why he should join the team.

“I really think it was just the opportunity to get to play a lot more especially with people my own age,” Wittendorf said.