National Pickleball League’s Senior Pro Season: Three athletes with connections to Fort Wayne, Indiana, are playing in the third season of the National Pickleball League, which began Friday. Cara Beth Lee, Ryan Keirns, and Natasha Nuerge are competing in the senior professional league for players aged 50 and over. The season runs through October, with matches streamed on YouTube, Baller TV, and Selkirk TV.
The National Pickleball League was created in 2022 and features 144 players across 12 teams. The league is made for players aged 50 and older. The 2025 season will have five event weekends. The championship will be held in Seattle from October 16 to 19.
Fort Wayne Native Cara Beth Lee Back for Second Season
Cara Beth Lee, who grew up in Fort Wayne and now lives in Seattle, is playing her second season with the Seattle Tsunami PB. She works as the assistant medical director at Comagine Health in Seattle. Her pickleball journey began again in 2022 when her sister invited her to a tournament in Arizona.
“It was shocking how much fun it was just to be over 50 and to play a team sport again. I truly thought once I hung up my (tennis) racket after college, that that phase of my life was over. To truly be on a competitive team at this age is, it’s just so much fun.” – (lee)
Lee played tennis at Snider High School and Indiana University. She also completed medical school and became an orthopedic surgeon. Now, she has found time to return to sports through pickleball.
Ryan Keirns Earns First NPL Spot After Hard Work
Ryan Keirns, a longtime tennis coach and teacher in Fort Wayne, is joining the National Pickleball League for the first time. He plays for the Indy Drivers. He also coaches boys tennis at Wayne High School and teaches pickleball at Wildwood Racquet Club.
Keirns did not make the league last year. But he used that as motivation to improve his game and play in more senior tournaments.
“That was kind of a moment where I said, ‘You know, Ryan, you’re a teacher and a coach. You know what you tell your players when something happens? Well, you can always get better. You can always work on things.’ So that was my thing going into this year, there were some things I needed to do better, … and I needed to play some senior pro tournaments to get noticed. It was a motivating factor to get better.” – (Ryan Keirns)
Keirns also helps run the Vera Bradley Classic Pink Pickleball Tournament, which raised more than $1.1 million for breast cancer research in 2022.
Natasha Nuerge Returns to NPL with New Team
Natasha Nuerge is back in the league this season after playing for the Kansas City Stingers in 2024. This time, she will represent the Princeton Bruisers. She often practices with Ryan Keirns in Fort Wayne.
“(Nuerge) had good results last year in the league, so it wasn’t if she was going to get picked, it was when. (Lee) is a really solid player. She’s a doctor, but she does have a lot of flexibility in traveling, and she’s done well in a lot of the senior pro tournaments across the country.” – (Ryan Keirns)
Two years ago, Lee and Nuerge played in the Vera Bradley Classic together. That event helped bring Lee back into sports after her time away.
More Than Just a Game
The return of these three athletes to competitive sports shows how pickleball is growing, especially for older players. They are showing that age is no limit when it comes to being part of a team and enjoying competition.
With the regular season continuing through September and the championship in October, these players will represent their teams and their city throughout the year. Their stories show how sports can bring people back together, even after long breaks.
News in Brief: National Pickleball League’s Senior Pro Season
Three Fort Wayne-connected players—Cara Beth Lee, Ryan Keirns, and Natasha Nuerge—are playing in the third season of the National Pickleball League, a senior pro league for players aged 50 and up. The season started Friday and ends with a championship in Seattle this October.
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