Former Westmont tennis star Cade Pierson is taking her game to the professional level.
But Pierson, a two-time NAIA All-American, four-time all-Golden State Athletic Conference honoree, a 2020 Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award recipient and the current women’s tennis head coach at Westmont, isn’t pursuing a career on the pro tennis circuit.
She’s discovered a new love: playing pickleball.
Pierson transitioned to the fastest-growing sport in the country last spring and has taken off in it.
She won gold medals in high-rated divisions at amateur tournaments in 2023 and is now playing in pre-qualifiers and qualifiers in singles, doubles and mixed doubles in professional events. She’s advanced to the main draws in eight tournaments and reached the round of 16 in singles at a tournament in Sacramento in June.
She clearly is a quick learner.
“I kind of surpassed the original goals I set,” Pierson said. “I think, for me, once you make the round of 16 typically in PPA (Professional Pickleball Association) or ninth place in often APP (Association of Pickleball Players) events you make prize money.
“I would love to do those things at either tour or multiple tours.”
Presently, she’s been paying out of pocket to play in tournaments around the country.
“I’ve played five tournaments back to back just to go all in, which was obviously very expensive between entry and travel,” she said. “Even though I’m savvy, it adds up. There are women who have supported me as friends and have been in the loop with me.”
Friends Amanda Oh (also a Westmont alum) and Jill Martin held a fundraising raffle and started a GoFundMe to help support Pierson on her pro pickleball journey.
Pierson’s move to pickleball was unexpected because tennis has always been a big part of her life and she was very good at it. She had a goal of playing professionally after completing her stellar collegiate career at Westmont.
“I was a tennis snob,” she admitted during an interview at the Santa Barbara Municipal Courts. “I thought pickleball was stupid… pickleball is for the washed-up tennis players or the weird tennis players.”
Pierson, 25, got interested in pickleball after being coaxed into playing in a Fellowship of Christian Athletes fundraising tournament run by FCA area director and Westmont men’s tennis assistant coach Ryan Warner last spring.
“I met a lot of nice people and made some contacts, and people started asking, ‘When are you going to start playing with us?’’’
She started playing and learning more about the game at the municipal courts.
“In the summer (of 2023), I made some friends I hit with regularly and started coming here to Muni for open play,” she said. “Throughout the summer I was like, ‘This is pretty fun.’
“I caught the (pickleball) bug that way. It’s a drug, it’s a cult, it’s all those things and more. I got hooked.”
She started drilling with local coaches Vince Kosek and Michael Challen and friend and fellow pro player Bryanna Ojeda of Carpinteria.
She also received personal training from Martin, who is known as Pickleball Yogi and is co-author with local senior professional player Dayne Gingrich of the book “Pickleball Mindset.”
Pierson has drilled with Gingrich and partnered with the U.S. Open senior champion in a pro tournament.
“He’s been a really great support system for me and somebody who has pushed me with a lot of belief,” Pierson said. “There are so many names of people who are willing to get a call at funky hours and train and improve together. As (with) most things, it takes a village and I’m grateful for the community.”
She gave a shout-out to The Santa Barbara Pickleball Shop, where she bought her first paddle.
A former soccer player, Pierson, a 2016 Santa Barbara High graduate, is a terrific athlete. Her athleticism, fitness, court savvy and mindset have contributed to her early success as a pro.
Ellie Johnson, Pierson’s coach at Westmont, called her a fierce competitor who continually developed her game and played with outstanding character.
“Her work ethic is unmatched and her drive to be the best she can be has gotten her to where she is,” Johnson said.
Pierson is playing on both the PPA and APP pickleball tours.
“They both have their similarities and their differences. I’ve been trying to play in both just to gain exposure and experience,” she said of the two tours.
While her schedule seems hectic, she said the summer offers her the flexibility to work at her “dream job” as the Westmont women’s tennis coach and play in as many pro pickleball tournaments as she can.
“I want to go all in this summer and see what I can do. My goal was to start making main draws and I’ve won main-draw matches in all events.”
She’s played some of the top players in the pro game. In one tournament, she pushed 13-ranked Jorja Johnson to the maximum of three games in a singles match.
“That was bittersweet,” Pierson said of that match. “It was cool to see that I could compete and take somebody at the top to three games but it also was, ‘Man, I wish I could have another go at it.’’’
The fundraising drive should help keep her going so she can get another crack at beating a top player and finish in the money.
Pierson is grateful to her newfound pickleball community.
“It’s been just amazing to see the support and the generosity that people have to support me and my dream.”