USA Racquetball names 2026-27 national adult team after Tempe qualifier

USA Racquetball’s new adult team announcement did more than name names. It showed which players turned the Tempe qualifier into a claim on the 2026-27 U.S. National Adult Team, and it pointed to a national depth chart that still runs through familiar veterans.

Singles finalists and semifinalists, along with doubles finalists, earned places on the team effective June 1. On the men’s side, the roster includes Jake Bredenbeck, Sam Bredenbeck, Daniel De La Rosa, Adam Manilla and DJ Mendoza. On the women’s side, Michelle Andersen, Erika Manilla, Annie Sanchez and Lexi York made the cut. Sheryl Lotts also qualified for the 2026-27 U.S. Team in USA Racquetball’s April leadership update, underscoring how broad the qualifying pool was even though the adult-team announcement highlighted a narrower roster.

The Tempe event carried real weight because it was not just another national stop. The National Indoor Championships were held February 11-15, 2026, at Arizona State University’s Sun Devil Fitness Complex in Tempe, Arizona, and USA Racquetball said 212 athletes competed, a 17 percent increase from the 2025 event. That field fed directly into the team pipeline, with the National Indoor Championships serving as the U.S. Team qualifier that formed the 2026-27 U.S. Team, running from June 1, 2026 through May 31, 2027.

That makes the adult-team list a snapshot of the sport’s current hierarchy, not a static honor roll. The Bredenbeck brothers, De La Rosa and the Manilla name give the men’s roster a clear veteran core, while Andersen, Erika Manilla, Sanchez and York give the women’s side a similarly established spine. With several athletes qualifying in more than one division, the Tempe results also showed how much overlap exists among the top players in U.S. racquetball.

The selection process is not finished. USA Racquetball said Head Coach Pablo Fajre and the U.S. Team Committee, chaired by Larry Haemmerle, would bring a delegation recommendation to the Board of Directors in June. That delegation will matter most for the International Racquetball Federation World Championships in October, where the adult team becomes the pool from which the international lineup is built.

USA Racquetball has framed the indoor nationals as the opening major event on its 2026 calendar, and Tempe fit that billing. The February championships also included a silent auction to benefit the U.S. Adult and Junior Teams, another reminder that the national-team pathway is sustained by more than what happens on court. The roster now formalizes who earned a place in the next adult cycle, and it sets the stage for the board decisions still to come.