The rise of the Savannah Bananas and Banana Ball is lastly being felt throughout the unbiased baseball world.
With two growth groups, an actual league construction, a participant draft (for each baseball and leisure expertise), and sold-out stadiums nationwide with waitlists within the lots of of hundreds, Banana Ball has began pulling in indy ball expertise to bolster its rosters.
As of this writing, 61 Banana Ball gamers have unbiased baseball expertise throughout the Atlantic, American Affiliation, Frontier, Pioneer, USPBL, and Pecos leagues.
I’ve been requested quite a lot of instances currently whether or not I believe Banana Ball is hurting indy ball. With gamers making the change, it would look that approach on the floor.
However truthfully? I believe it’s serving to way over it’s hurting.
Getting extra eyes on baseball—any baseball—is an effective factor. Getting youngsters enthusiastic about watching baseball is an effective factor. Getting individuals fired up in regards to the sport once more is an effective factor.
Any time a Banana Ball participant will get talked about and the dialog turns to their previous indy ball expertise, that’s one other alternative for followers to study baseball outdoors the main leagues.
In actual fact, this may be the push indy ball must turn into extra of a sizzling commodity.
Proper now, unbiased baseball is doing a fairly good job of wounding itself. It doesn’t want Banana Ball’s assist with that… it wants Banana Ball to assist make it higher.
With the fixed progress and growth of indy leagues, expertise is getting unfold skinny. These leagues want to determine themselves as true locations for gamers who need to hold competing outdoors of affiliated baseball.
In addition they have to shake issues up for followers—make their stadiums and groups the ticket on the town.
Gamers need to really feel seen and to know they’re competing in a spot the place the sport issues.
That begins with bringing in one of the best expertise you will discover… which implies going out and really discovering it. Over the previous few years, it appears like too many leagues have simply shuffled the identical gamers round. Roster guidelines that after pushed organizations to herald youthful, hungrier expertise have quietly disappeared.
I genuinely consider the indy leagues on this nation can area high-caliber rosters crammed with faculty grads and gamers launched early from affiliated ball. They are often aggressive and entertaining—perhaps not with trick performs or mid-inning TikTok dances, however with actual, compelling baseball.
However they’ve to herald the gamers. And to herald the gamers, they’ve to herald the followers. All of it goes hand in hand.
Banana Ball and conventional skilled baseball completely can coexist. In order for you my full ideas on that, try my earlier article, Purists, Loosen up. Enjoyable Baseball Isn’t Ruining the Recreation.
And with that—let’s dive into the record of former unbiased baseball gamers who are actually including Bananaland to their baseball journey.
Savannah Bananas
Reese Alexiades – Pioneer (Ogden 2021-2023)
Ryan Cox – Frontier (Washington 2018-2020)
Austin Drury – American Affiliation (Sioux Metropolis 2023-2024)
Max Jung – Goldberg – Pioneer (Boise 2024-2025)
Frankie Mosciatiello – Can-Am (Rockland 2018-2019), American Affiliation (Gary 2019), Frontier (Southern Illinois Miners 2019, Quebec 2021-2024), COVID leagues (Washington and New York 2020), Atlantic (Lengthy Island 2021-2022, Charleston 2025)
Get together Animals
Tanner Thomas – USPBL (Westside 2022)
Noah Fisher – Frontier (Gateway 2023), Atlantic League (Staten Island 2023)
Reece Hampton – Atlantic (Gastonia 2021-2022)
Bret Helton – American Affiliation (Fargo-Moorhead 2019-2022, Milwaukee 2022)
Garett Delano – American Affiliation (Lincoln 2021-2022)
Jake Skole – Atlantic (Gastonia 2021-2022)
Andy Cosgrove – Frontier (Southern Illinois 2019)
Brady Kais – Pioneer (Glacier 2022), American Affiliation (Lake Nation 2022-2024)
Nate Tellier – American Affiliation (Kansas Metropolis 2024)
TJ Reeves – Frontier (Florence 2024-2025)
Michael Ballard – Frontier (Florence 2025)
Dylan Porter – Pioneer (Idaho Falls 2025)
Riyan Rodriguez – Pioneer (Grand Junction 2023)
*Jake Lialios – Pecos (Tucson 2020)
Firefighters
Caden Inexperienced – Pioneer (Nice Falls 2024)
Zachary Bridges – Atlantic (Charleston 2023)
Liam Spence – American Affiliation (Sioux Falls 2024)
Dalton Cornett – Pioneer (Billings 2021), Atlantic (Kentucky 2022)
Ben Dum III – Frontier (Southern Illinois 2019), Atlantic (York 2023)
Eric Jones Jr. – USPBL (Utica 2019), Frontier (Gateway 2021), Atlantic (Gastonia 2022)
Lamar Sparks – Pioneer (Missoula 2022), American Affiliation (Cleburne and Fargo-Moorhead 2025)
Dakota McFadden – COVID (Skylands 2020), Pecos (Bakersfield 2021), USPBL (Birmingham-Bloomfield and Westside 2025)
Tyner Hughes – Pioneer (Boise 2024)
Mason Maxwell – Atlantic (Excessive Level and Staten Island 2024)
*Marshall Shill – Pacific Affiliation (Sonoma 2019), Frontier (Quebec 2021-2022), Pioneer (Ogden 2023)
Texas Tailgaters
Jon Reid – Frontier (Florence 2017 and 2019)
Zach Watson – Atlantic (Lexington 2023)
Jorden Hussein – Frontier (Lake Erie 2022), USPBL (Westside 2023)
Taj Porter – USPBL (East Aspect and Utica 2023)
Jordan Barth – Pioneer (Billings 2022), American Affiliation (Sioux Falls 2023-2025)
Reese Miller – Pioneer (Northern Colorado 2024, Grand Junction 2025)
Kyle Martin – American Affiliation (Winnipeg 2019-2021, Cleburne 2025), Atlantic (York 2025)
Brett Sanchez – Frontier (Joliet 2024-2025)
Joe Sperone – Atlantic (Staten Island 2024)
Jose Gonzalez – Pioneer (Yolo 2024), American Affiliation (Cleburne 2025)
Jimmy Lewis – Pioneer (Yolo 2024)
Loco Seashore Coconuts
Erik Ostberg – American Affiliation (Milwaukee 2024-2025, Fargo-Moorhead 2025)
Dane Tofteland – Frontier (Quebec 2021, Ottaway 2022), Pioneer (Ogden 2023, Rocky Mountain 2024-2025)
Brett Carson – Frontier (Washington 2023), Pioneer (Rocky Mountain 2023, Oakland 2024)
Joe Filomeno – American Affiliation (Kansas Metropolis 2018, Fargo-Moorhead 2019)
Grady Morgan – Pioneer (Idaho Falls 2024-2025)
Indianapolis Clowns
Jackie Bradley Jr. (Sure… THAT main league Jackie Bradley Jr.) Atlantic (Lengthy Island 2024)
Correll Prime – American Affiliation (Texas 2019, Fargo-Moorhead 2019 – 2021 and 2023, Milwaukee 2022)
Bobby Lada – Pioneer (Yolo/Yuba-Sutler 2024-2025)
David Griffin – American Associaton (Gary 2019 and 2021), COVID (Washington and Rockland 2020), Atlantic League (Lengthy Island 2024-2025)
Niko Hulsizer – Atlantic (Lancaster 2024)
Joe Grey – Atlantic (Gastonia, Lengthy Island and Gastonia 2024), American (Lake Nation and Milwaukee 2025)
Andrew Irvine – Pioneer (Rocky Mountain 2023)
Joe Lytle – Frontier (Evansville 2018, Windy Metropolis 2019, Florence 2021-22), Can-Am (Quebec 2019), American (Lincoln 2019)
Daniel Foster – Pioneer (Billings 2025)
Eli Paton – Pioneer (Glacier 2025)
Dayan Reinoso – Pioneer (Nice Falls 2024), Frontier (Lake Erie 2025)
Vinny Santarsiero – Frontier (Evansville 2021-2022)
Chris Burgess – American (Gary 2022, Winnipeg 2023), Frontier (Tri-Sity 2024-2025, Trois Rivieres 2025)
Kirkland Banks – Pioneer (Yolo/Yuba-Sutter 2024-2025, Idaho Falls 2025)
Brian Dansereau – Pecos (Sante Fe 2019, Salina 2020), American (Houston 2021), Pioneer (Ogden 2022, Rocky Mountain 2023)
* Denotes “Leisure” participant on roster
