The 2026 Olympic Team Trials for curling start Tuesday, November 11 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with the men taking the ice at 1 p.m. ET on Peacock. 

The high-stakes competition contains significant ramifications, as the winner moves one step closer to qualifying for the Winter Games in Milan Cortina. Conversely, the three squads who come up short will need to wait until 2030 to try to realize their Olympic dreams.

Team Shuster headlines a highly competitive American field, with Olympic gold medalist and skip John Shuster leading the pack. Joining them in the spiel (tournament) are the defending national champions Team Dropkin, a streaking Team Casper and the upstart junior national champions Team Hebert.

Games will be played in a round-robin format from Tuesday through Thursday (Friday, if a tiebreaker is necessary), with each of the four rinks facing off against the other twice. The two teams that finish with the best records slide into the finals—a best two-out-of-three series airing on USA Network this weekend to crown a winner. That victor will earn the opportunity to compete in the Olympic Qualification Event in December, where they’ll join seven other countries vying for two final spots in Milan Cortina.

Here’s the full Trials schedule, followed by what to know about the four teams.

The last time John Shuster wasn’t representing the United States at a Winter Olympics, George W. Bush was in the midst of his first term as president. 

The 43-year-old is the most accomplished curler in American history, having skipped the U.S. team that won the first and only gold medal in the “Miracurl on Ice” in 2018.

The rink put forth a valiant effort during the 2022 Beijing Olympics, falling just short of taking home more hardware.

“It was kind of a bummer,” reflected Chris Plys, the longtime sweeper for Team Shuster. “Fourth place is already tough enough, but just the environment with COVID, there’s so many people on your journey you would have loved to be there.”

The redemption story is there for Plys and Co., who bring three members from the 2022 team to the Trials in Sioux Falls. The fourth is a rock-solid sweeper they brought into the fray in 2023. 

“In my opinion, Colin Hufman is the best sweeper in the country,” Plys asserts. “He makes our life so easy. Instead of having to hit that pinpoint perfect shot, now I have four inches to throw at knowing he can put that rock wherever we need it. That's been a huge confidence booster for all of us.”

Olympic résumé aside, Team Shuster has made its bones in national competitions, winning two out of the last three National Championships and five out of the last eight. Notably, rinks skipped by Shuster never have lost in Team Trials tournament play, dating back to 2009. As the adage goes, to be the man, you need to beat the man. Right now, Team Shuster is the man.

Team Dropkin: From left Tom Howell (third), Korey Dropkin (skip), Andrew Stopera (second), Mark Fenner (lead)

USA Curling

Seemingly always the bridesmaid, never the bride, Team Dropkin is ready for the chance to finally put a ring, or rather an Olympic medal, around their necks.

For years, they’ve posed the biggest threat to Team Shuster, positioning themselves as an heir apparent, but have fallen short when the lights were brightest, placing second in both the 2018 and 2022 Olympic Team Trials. Team Dropkin did, however, win the 2025 National Championships in dramatic fashion, perhaps exorcising those big matchup demons. 

“Obviously the Olympic Trials come with the Olympic aura. I think in the past, young Korey let it get to him a little bit too much,” skip Korey Dropkin admitted. “I've done this so many times. I've thrown millions of curling stones, and I know how to make shots. It’s more so being in the right headspace and having the right stuff between the ears.”

Dropkin already qualified for the 2026 Winter Olympics — his first time doing so — in the mixed doubles event alongside Cory Thiesse. He concedes the weight on his shoulders feels a bit lighter, but he’s still motivated to lead his team to the promised land.

“Each squad has that mentality of a brotherhood, and we do, too,” he said. “We want it for each other. We want it for ourselves. We want it for our families, for our supporters, for everyone that's had a piece in putting this together.”

He continued: “I dream about that situation of throwing the last rocks and leading my boys to a championship and to an Olympic Games. That's the stuff that I’m going to stay up all night thinking about.”

Team Casper: From left Luc Violette (third), Ben Richardson (second), Danny Casper (skip), Aidan Oldenburg (lead), Rich Ruohonen (alternate)

USA Curling

The top-ranked curling rink in the United States currently isn’t Team Shuster or Team Dropkin. It’s Team Casper, who at eighth in the world, is throwing stones better than they ever have — and they’re feeling supremely confident. 

“We’re the best team in the U.S.” skip Danny Casper declared. “For the last year and a half or two, we've kind of felt that, and we think we have the best foundation in terms of team dynamics and communication and mental fortitude.”

The 24-year-old skip missed significant time during the 2024-25 season as he dealt with Guillain-Barré Syndrome, a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks the nerves. He struggled walking for several weeks and his hands and feet constantly tingled. 

Losing their captain and core strategist required the rink to find replacements, often on a moment’s notice. It wasn’t easy plugging a new athlete into the mix, but the adversity paid its dividends.

“It helped us develop as curlers,” claimed Ben Richardson of Team Casper.  “As a sweeper, one of the skills I bring is being able to judge how fast a rock is going. A lot of that comes from watching somebody throw and picking up on small things they do. I did that for eight different people in one year and now I only have to do it for one. It’s made it a lot easier.”

Casper hasn’t missed a game this season due to Guillain-Barré. He’ll certainly be playing at the Olympic Team Trials, and when his rink is at full strength, they’ve proved they are as dangerous as any in the field.

With a combined average age of 19 years old, Team Hebert is the least experienced of the four rinks competing in the Trials. In fact, they’ve never met Team Shuster or Team Dropkin in a spiel. 

Hebert and Co. began playing men’s (i.e. professional) teams consistently in 2024 and “got kicked around a good bit,” according to skip Caden Hebert. Still, the squad does have positive momentum.

“This year we're finding ourselves competing against those men's teams a little bit better, and playing and placing pretty well at a lot of tournaments,” he elaborated.

Team Hebert won the 2025 Junior National Championships and officially qualified for the Team Trials in a September pre-Trials event. A distinct feather in their cap also lies in the fact that the four core members of the rink have played together for seven years, which is more than any other group competing at the Trials. It’ll be an uphill skate for Team Hebert, but they’ve got their curling shoes at the ready.

“We're definitely the best we've ever been,” Hebert states. “We're excited to take on the challenge and play all three of these teams with everything we've got. We're not going in to lose. We're going in to try to win games.”