Will Stein and his wife challenged Peter Burns and Chris Doering to a pickleball match

A very important pickleball showdown is coming soon to the SEC Network. Peter Burns and Chris Doering were in Lexington on Thursday to interview Kentucky’s new football coach, Will Stein. Instead of a boring sitdown at the Joe Craft Football Training Center, they took their talents to PKL Lexington, where Stein and his wife, Darby, challenged Burns and Doering to a pickleball match.

Burns, who had never played pickleball before Thursday, tweeted about the match, which lasted three sets and, according to his breakdown, featured two meltdowns, one epic comeback, and zero major injuries. He did not disclose the winner; we’ll have to wait until the segment airs this summer to find out. My money is always on the Steins, but Doering does have a good history against Kentucky Football, unfortunately.

4 players
3 sets
2 meltdowns
1 epic comeback
0 major injuries

Great day at PKL Lex & with @CoachWillStein & his wife Darby.

Please ask @ChrisDoering who won…#WelcomeToTheSEC https://t.co/BGq64pxG51 pic.twitter.com/RZWSj8aF6O

— Peter Burns (@PeterBurnsESPN) May 7, 2026

According to a UK spokesperson, the match will be part of the SEC Network’s “Welcome to the SEC” series featuring the league’s new football coaches. Stein’s bit is pickleball. What will Burns and Doering do with Jon Sumrall (Florida), Alex Golesh (Auburn), Ryan Silverfield (Arkansas), and Pete Golding (Ole Miss)? Lane Kiffin may be part of that group, too, after making the move from Ole Miss to LSU. His has to be hot yoga, right? I hope they have some sweatproof mics.

There is an interview portion of the segment, with Stein, Doering, and Burns sitting down at PKL in a very cool area featuring the old interlocking Wildcat UK logo on the wall. Stein is wearing his favorite Kentucky sweatshirt, which also features a retro Wildcat and the Power K on the sleeve.

Burns and Doering aren’t the only ESPN/SEC Network personalities Stein has met this week. On Wednesday, he tweeted a picture with Holly Rowe and Beth Mowins, who are in town to cover the SEC Softball Tournament. Once again, Stein rocks the Power K, which we love to see.

Two 🐐s @sportsiren @bethmowins pic.twitter.com/DHPz8P4JYs

— Will Stein (@CoachWillStein) May 6, 2026

Pickleball is an officially sanctioned KHSAA sport

This also isn’t the first time we’ve talked about pickleball this week. Much to Matt Jones’ chagrin, the KHSAA voted to make pickleball and girls’ flag football officially sanctioned sports on Wednesday. Pickleball will be a fall sport, with the first Kentucky high school pickleball state championship taking place in 2027. Girls’ flag football will be a spring sport, with the first state championship set for 2028.

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