NEED TO KNOW
Vince Vaughn’s Coachella Valley Scorpions are officially National Pickleball League champions.
The actor’s team clinched the 2025 NPL title after a commanding 7–2 victory over the top-seeded Seattle Tsunami last month at the Side Out Tsunami Pickleball Center.
“Congratulations to the Coachella Valley Scorpions on winning the 2025 NPL Pickleball Championship! Well played!” Vaughn, 55, said in a statement shared with PEOPLE.
“The players brought teamwork, dedication and fun to the court all year. Well done Kim Jagd on lights-out coaching and playing,” Vaughn continued. “Big congrats to the entire league on an exciting and entertaining season. Onward.”
The No. 2-seeded Scorpions — who are co-owned and managed by Kim Jagd, a former UCLA volleyball standout, alongside Vaughn, Ruth Ann Poppa, Don Zuker and Rob Zwemmer — avenged two regular-season losses to Seattle in the championship match.
National Pickleball League/ Instagram
“This has been a culmination of two years of hard work building this franchise,” Jagd said in a press release. “We are so grateful for the NPL and to the Seattle Tsunami for putting on a first-class championship event.
He continued, “Our ownership group… had a vision, and we are so pleased to execute that vision. I want to congratulate our players and staff for creating a top-notch organization built on sportsmanship, camaraderie and fun!”
Vaughn, who became the Scorpions’ majority owner in July 2024, has been a visible supporter of the team and the sport throughout the season.
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“I have always enjoyed the game and in meeting Kim, I was impressed with her — not only as a player, but her passion and style of coaching,” the Wedding Crashers star previously told PEOPLE. “I’m excited to support her and the Scorpions on their journey.”
The Scorpions took home the $50,000 first-place prize from a total $100,000 purse awarded to the top teams during the three-day championship event — a major milestone for the Southern California–based franchise and its Hollywood backer.
Vaughn’s Easy’s Waltz premiered at the 2025 Toronto Film Festival in September. He is now filming season 2 of Bad Monkey for Apple TV.
