Women in Banana Ball, 2022–2025

Ashton Landsdell of the Party Animals was the first female batter to face a female pitcher in Banana Ball history. (Courtesy of the Savannah Bananas)

 

Several women have joined the ranks of professional baseball players in recent years, notably the trio of Stacy Pigano, Kelsie Whitmore, and Anna Kimbrel who signed with the independent league Sonoma Stompers in 2016, becoming the first women to play in a professional men’s league in the United States since Toni Stone, Mamie Johnson, and Connie Morgan appeared in the Negro Leagues.1 But Whitmore and others—including USA Baseball national team members Ashton Lansdell and Val Perez, softball stars Jocelyn Alo and Megan Wiggins, and the wife of a pitcher, Magean Wolf—have recently found a professional baseball opportunity from an unexpected direction: Banana Ball.

Banana Ball is professional baseball’s zanier cousin. An in-depth examination of Banana Ball’s origin story is outside the scope of this article, but here is a brief overview. Banana Ball is a variation on baseball that emphasizes the entertainment value of the game experience for the fans and was created by Jesse Cole and the “original six” management team of the Savannah Bananas—team owners Cole and his wife Emily, president Jared Orton, Marie Matzinger, Patrick Briody, and Berry Aldridge.2 While Banana Ball shares most of the same rules with baseball, it has about a dozen unique ones, such as a two-hour time clock, no bunts, no stepping out of the batter’s box, and foul balls caught by fans in the stands count as outs.3

The Bananas under the Coles began as a Coastal Plain League team, but—as documented in the ESPN television docuseries Bananaland—in 2022 transitioned into a barnstorming extravaganza. In 2025, with four teams playing under the Fans First Entertainment banner, they sold out 17 major league stadiums and played in front of over 2 million fans. Their 2026 schedule includes six teams in the newly christened Banana Ball Championship League, which will take the show on the road to 45 states and 3.2 million fans. In an era when Major League Baseball has slashed the number of minor league teams, Banana Ball is a form of professional baseball that is growing by leaps and bounds, and which prompted Joe Torre to say, after a cameo appearance as first base coach when the Bananas played Yankee Stadium on September 13, 2025, “They aren’t making fun of our game. They’re making our game fun.”4

The first woman to appear in Banana Ball was Magean Wolf, the wife of Mat Wolf, one of the players who joined the Savannah Bananas in 2022. Magean, who had majored in sports broadcasting, not only encouraged Mat—a professional firefighter in Oklahoma and son of a firefighter/rodeo clown—to pursue his dream when open tryouts for the Savannah Bananas came up, she even filmed and edited his “trick pitch” audition video, as well as being his catcher.5 As documented in the ESPN series Bananaland, she ended up accompanying him (with their 2-year-old daughter) to Savannah and on the road barnstorming with what was then called the Bananas “Premier Team.”

A softball pitcher herself, Magean was in the right place at the right time when the Bananas thought about putting a woman into uniform. The Bananas already had a player on stilts (Dakota “Stilts” Albritton), a pitcher who sometimes lit the ball on fire (Kyle Luigs), and a 75-year-old former major leaguer (Bill “Spaceman” Lee)—who had a heart attack while warming up in the bullpen and was resuscitated by first responders with a portable defibrillator.6 So putting a woman on the field perhaps did not seem as outlandish as it might have if the Bananas had been a typical professional baseball team. The Bananas, being far from typical, are always looking for ways to make each game more entertaining and special, so on April 14, 2022, in a game versus the Party Animals in Columbus, Georgia, Magean came to the mound to relieve her husband, who then strapped on the catching gear—making them likely to be the first husband-wife battery in professional baseball, but certainly the first in Banana Ball. She then proceeded to strike out hitter Zak Whalin, who came to the plate with his bat literally on fire.7

 

 

With the popularity of Banana Ball exploding and the lottery list for tickets reaching the millions in 2024, Fans First Entertainment—the company that owns the Bananas and their associated teams—added more women to their talent roster, bringing in Valerie “Val” Perez from the USA Baseball Women’s National Team, Ashton Lansdell from Team USA and Ole Miss softball (where she led her team to a College Women’s World Series berth), and Jocelyn Alo, the standout NCAA softball player for Oklahoma who has two College World Series titles and holds the NCAA record all-time for most home runs in softball.8

Alo had first appeared as a one-off special guest for a Banana Ball game on May 27, 2023, in Oklahoma City. She next appeared with the Bananas on April 26, 2024, after the announcement that she would sign a one-month contract with the team, allowing her to also fulfill her professional obligations to the Oklahoma City Spark of the Women’s Professional Fastpitch softball league, and to Athletes Unlimited for whom she competed in the AU Pro Softball AUX in Wichita, Kansas.9 She made an impact with her bat, notching her first hit on May 3, 2024, as a pinch-hitter.10 Memorably, she tallied the game-winning hit in her final at-bat as a Banana, at a game in Oklahoma City no less, when she was inserted as the “Golden Batter.” (The Golden Batter rule allows a batter to “be inserted into the lineup for anyone at any time,” and is typically reserved for “the game’s most critical moment.”11)

Perez, the starting shortstop for the USA Baseball Women’s National Team in 2024, was then nine years into a career as a firefighter in Corpus Christi, Texas. When Banana Ball expanded from two teams to three, and the third team was christened the Firefighters, she was a natural fit.12 She was brought in as “head coach” (manager) but also put herself into the lineup and played the field.13

“You have little kids who want to be baseball players or firefighters. I was that little kid, and here I am doing both,” Perez told WTOC television. “[T]wo worlds colliding in the best, most perfect way, and then being able to manage that team, it’s just incredible.”14 The Firefighters played 19 games in 2024, but expanded to 33 games in 2025, and after 10 years as a firefighter, Perez then retired from the fire service to devote herself to the Firefighters team full time.15

Lansdell, like Alo, first signed a short-term contract, announced on June 28, 2024, for a three-week stint as a Banana.16 Her presence led to another first: the first time a female pitcher faced a female batter in Banana Ball, facing Perez in Washington, DC, on July 13, 2024. Lansdell returned in 2025 for a much longer stay as a player for the Party Animals, joining the team July 20 through September 8.17 “At 24, she’s earned her way onto one of the most-watched rosters in baseball’s most untraditional league,” reported Sports Illustrated.

The universe of Banana Ball expanded in 2025 to add a fourth team, the Texas Tailgaters, who played their “home” games in San Antonio, Round Rock, and Frisco and featured a chicken-fried, country vibe.18 Megan Wiggins, described by Sports Illustrated as “home run royalty,” joined the team in August. “The Texas Tailgaters just made a major move, adding one of professional softball’s most decorated sluggers to their roster. Megan Wiggins, a three-time NPF League champion and seven-time All-Star, will suit up for the Tailgaters through October, bringing a potent mix of power, consistency, and veteran leadership,” wrote SI.19 Wiggins’ resume in women’s softball is long and varied, and includes leading UGA to the College World Series, topping the National Pro Fastpitch league in home runs in three separate seasons, holding the all-time NPF record, owning the Peaches summer collegiate softball team, and founding The Peaches Foundation. She has also distinguished herself in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League/AUX.20 Her first hit as a Tailgater came in her debut with the team, when the Tailgaters played the Party Animals at LSU’s Alex Box Stadium on August 8 and 9.21 Another highlight was a hit in the game versus the Bananas at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.22

In 2025, the Bananas also signed Kelsie Whitmore after she spent several frustrating months without a baseball job. Whitmore had played PONY baseball as a teenager and joined the USA Women’s National Team while still in high school, playing 2014–19 and participating in the PanAmerican Games and two Women’s Baseball World Cups. As a 17-year-old, the Orange County Register described her as “the girl who aspires to play Major League Baseball.”23 While growing up in Southern California, Whitmore attended games at San Diego’s Petco Park and dreamed of pitching off that mound. She had a distinguished college career in softball—during which she received permission to work out with the Cal State Fullerton baseball team, and was named the Big West Conference’s softball player of the year—but she simultaneously sought a pro baseball career.

Her entry into pro ball came with the aforementioned Sonoma Stompers of the independent Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs in 2016–17.24 She spent the 2022–23 seasons with the Staten Island FerryHawks of the Atlantic League, and in 2024 signed with the Oakland Ballers, one of only three players (out of 110) to get signed following an open tryout.25 She also secured a sponsorship from Big League Chew—the baseball-themed brand of bubblegum—who added a woman player to their packaging for the first time in 2019.26 But in 2025 opportunities to play seemed to be drying up. Whitmore expressed her frustration on social media early in the year that teams seemed more interested in hiring her to perform community ambassador duties than to put her on the field.

Then came the call to Banana Ball. “We have a huge goal to bring women into our sport, not only to bring them into the sport but to succeed,” Bananas owner Jesse Cole told an audience and posted to his TikTok. “We feel we have the opportunity to bring some of the greatest women’s baseball players in the world to play Banana Ball.”27 On August 1, the Bananas announced Whitmore would join them through September. “Her presence now brings both credibility and inclusivity to the Bananas’ theatrical take on the sport,” opined an article on the Pioneer League website.28

“The beginning of this year was one of the hardest times during my career,” Whitmore wrote on Instagram. “I had one of my best Spring Trainings as a Professional Baseball player to then being told I was getting cut because of my gender [sic]. Once I was released, I then started reaching out to teams. I got rejected by some and others just wanted me for the wrong reasons.”29 But she had an unforgettable highlight when the Bananas played at Petco Park in San Diego, and she pitched from the mound she had dreamed of as a child. “I got the chance to pitch off the mound in front of a crowd of 40,000 fans while all my family and friends were there to watch.”30 Whitmore also earned the win in game one of the series at Petco.

Banana Ball continues to grow, and so does women’s baseball. In 2026, the Women’s Professional Baseball League (WPBL) will launch with a seven-week season starting August 1 that will overlap with the Banana Ball season. Six women will be playing Banana Ball on six different teams in 2026, five of whom were drafted by the WPBL.31 Whitmore, who went first overall in the WPBL draft, is back as a Banana, Landsdell as a Party Animal, Perez as player-manager of the Firefighters, and the two new teams in the Banana Ball Championship League have each added a new female player: USA Women’s National Baseball team catcher Denae Benites has joined the Loco Beach Coconuts, and former Little League World Series star Mo’ne Davis will join the Indianapolis Clowns.32 Megan Wiggins will return with the Tailgaters. It would appear women will be on the Banana Ball field for the foreseeable future. 

CECILIA M. TAN has been writing about baseball since her fifth grade book report on The Reggie Jackson Story. She has written for Baseball Prospectus, Yankees Magazine, Gotham Baseball, and The National Pastime. She joined SABR in 2002, became Publications Director in 2011, edited the Baseball Research Journal from 2012 to 2025, and now that she’s no longer editing the BRJ, finally has time to write articles for it. She also played women’s baseball from 2000 through 2007, mostly with the Pawtucket Slaterettes, and won a SABR-USA Today research award for her poster presentation on the Women’s Baseball Marathon, a 24-hour charity baseball game that she played in.

 

Notes

1. Michael Clair, “After Three Weeks, Female Players on the Sonoma Stompers Are Still Making History,” MLB.com, July 22, 2016, https://www.mlb.com/cut4/independent-baseball-team-to-field-all-female-battery-c191020146; Alex Coffey, “Hall of Fame Documents Sonoma Stompers: First Women to Play in Men’s League since 1950s,” National Baseball Hall of Fame, https://baseballhall.org/discover/sonoma-stompers-donate-to-hof.

2. “2026 Banana Ball City Selection Show,” Banana Ball YouTube channel, October 9, 2025, https://www.youtube.com/live/Psq4P7ZK9ng?si=4mAmgVvOvNw2e4zk&t=1094.

3. Banana Ball’s rules continue to evolve, with new rules often introduced at the beginning of a season. See Kaycee Sloan, “Savannah Bananas Play by ‘Banana Ball’ Rules,” Cincinnati Enquirer, June 5, 2025, https://www.cincinnati.com/story/entertainment/2025/06/05/banana-ball-savannah-bananas-games-rules-different/83989556007/.

4. “Sharing Banana Ball with Yankees Legend Joe Torre was Unforgettable,” YouTube @YellowTuxJesse, September 24, 2025, https://youtube.com/shorts/b-UvbnnczeY?si=KnhDOAZtemKdg5jb. Note that the description of the video on YouTube, and subsequent reports in the Wall Street Journal, ESPN and elsewhere, misquotes Torre as saying “you’re” when in the video (and the captions) he clearly says “they’re.” Video also availabe on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@yellowtuxjesse/video/7551811450126339383.

5. Nathan Dominitz, “Savannah Bananas’ Mat Wolf Throws Between His Legs, With or Without Pants, For Strikes,” Savannah Morning News, March 12, 2022: https://www.savannahnow.com/story/sports/pro/2022/03/15/savannah-bananas-baseball-team-pitcher-mat-wolf-oklahoma-fireman/7029424001/. Accessed September 22, 2025.

6. Nathan Domnitz, “Bill ‘Spaceman’ Lee Collapses During Savannah Bananas Game,” Savannah Morning News, August 20, 2022: https://www.savannahnow.com/story/sports/minors/savannah-bananas/2022/08/20/savannah-bananas-baseball-pitcher-bill-lee-spaceman-former-mlb-all-star-collapses-heart-attack/7852123001/. Accessed September 22, 2025.

7. “First Woman in Banana Ball,” video, Savannah Bananas YouTube Channel, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T9dIYtg2Os. Accessed September 22, 2025.

8. Anna Laible, “Newest Frontier for Women in Baseball: Banana Ball,” June 14, 2024, MLB.com: https://www.mlb.com/news/jocelyn-alo-valerie-perez-first-women-in-banana-ball.

9. Nick Sardis, “Former OU Softball Star Jocelyn Alo Signs One-month Contract with Savannah Bananas,” The Oklahoman, April 26, 2024: https://www.oklahoman.com/story/sports/college/sooners/2024/04/26/jocelyn-alo-signs-savannah-bananas-oklahoma-sooners-softball/73471383007/.

10. “Jocelyn Alo’s First Hit for the Savannah Bananas,” Savannah Bananas Youtube Channel, May 5, 2024: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F83TWmBhN2s.

11. “Jocelyn Alo Game Winning Hit in Final At-Bat,” Savannah Bananas Youtube Channel, May 20, 2024: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB9GD4zfKWI.

12. “Valerie Perez,” player page, USA Baseball, https://www.usabaseball.com/player/valerie-perez.

13. See “Firefighters Head Coach Valerie Perez’s First Hit in Banana Ball!” Savannah Bananas Youtube Channel, July 8, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFLgZVoPAXQ&lc=UgwqWc-UirS9LoyQVMZ4AaABAg; “Head Coach Valerie Perez’s First Trick Play!” The Firefighters Youtube Channel, July 12, 2024: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEq7az1flj4.

14. Jeff Roberts, “Firefighters Manager Val Perez Living Best of Both Worlds as Real-life Firefighter and Player on USA Women’s National Baseball Team,” WTOC TV, May 30, 2025: https://www.wtoc.com/2024/05/30/firefighters-manager-val-perez-living-best-both-worlds-real-life-firefighter-player-usa-womens-national-baseball-team/.

15. Larissa Liska, “Trading Boots for Bats: Valerie Perez Joins Banana Ball Full Time,” KRIS 6 TV News, May 5, 2025: https://www.kristv.com/sports/friday-night-fever/trading-boots-for-bats-valerie-perez-joins-banana-ball-full-time.

16. Signing announcement, Savannah Bananas Official Instagram, TheSavBananas, June 28, 2024: https://www.instagram.com/p/C8xFgsTsbd8/.

17. Jacobo Garrido, “Ashton Lansdell Joins The Party Animals And She’s Bringing The Heat.” SI.com, July 25, 2025, https://www.si.com/onsi/savannah-bananas/party-animals/ashton-lansdell-joins-the-party-animals-and-she-s-bringing-the-heat.

18. Sean Cronen, “Meet the Texas Tailgaters, Banana Ball’s New Lone Star Team,” Texas Highways, September 27, 2025, https://texashighways.com/culture/meet-the-texas-tailgaters-banana-balls-new-lone-star-state-team/.

19. Jacobo Garrido, “Texas Tailgaters Add Power and Experience With Signing of Megan Wiggins,” Sports Illustrated, August 11, 2025, https://www.si.com/onsi/savannah-bananas/texas-tailgaters/texas-tailgaters-add-power-and-experience-with-signing-of-megan-wiggins.

20. AUSL website, athlete pages, “Megan Wiggins,” https://auprosports.com/softball/athletes/megan-wiggins/.

21. Instagram post, @meganwiggins25, August 14, 2025, https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNWO1pNuxFs/.

22. Instagram post, @bananaball, August 31, 2025, https://www.instagram.com/p/DOByUnoDvg8/. Note the caption on this post reads “Megan Wiggins got her first hit in Banana Ball in front of 40,000 fans at PNC Park” but her first hit had already been documented in her Tailgaters debut against the Party Animals. It should have read “her first hit against the Bananas” perhaps.

23. Mirin Fader, “CSF Softball Recruit Kelsie Whitmore Eyes a Baseball Career,” Orange County Register, July 20, 2016: https://www.ocregister.com/2016/07/20/csf-softball-recruit-kelsie-whitmore-eyes-a-baseball-career/.

24. Bill Baer, “Kelsie Whitmore Signs with the Sonoma Stompers, An Independent League Team,” NBC Sports, June 29, 2016, https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/news/kelsie-whitmore-signs-with-the-sonoma-stompers-an-independent-league-team.

25. Jason Burke, “Oakland Ballers Open Tryouts Announced,” Sports Illustrated online, Feb 3, 2025, https://www.si.com/mlb/athletics/news/oakland-ballers-open-tryouts-announced-01jk6txewfg5.

26. Matt Monagan, “Big League Chew Features Female Player for the First Time,” MLB.com, October 18, 2018, https://www.mlb.com/cut4/big-league-chew-features-female-player-for-first-time-c298153960; “I’m extremely excited to be partnering with Big League Chew this baseball season! I remember chewing this gum in little league and now officially partnering with the brand as a professional athlete.” Instagram, @kelsie_whitmore and @BigLeagueChewGum, February 15, 2024, https://www.instagram.com/p/C3Yc_qoSbwt/.

27. Remarks by Jesse Cole, posted to TikTok, YellowTuxJesse, https://www.tiktok.com/@yellowtuxjesse/video/7462082007384870186.

28. “Former Oakland Baller, Kelsie Whitmore Joins Savannah Bananas, Redefining Baseball’s Limits,” Pioneer League website, August 28, 2025, https://www.pioneerleague.com/sports/bsb/2025/releases/20250828lpaufc.

29. Kelsie Whitmore Instagram, @kelsie_whitmore, September 11, 2025, https://www.instagram.com/kelsie_whitmore/reel/DOeu7m9iT9s/.

30. Kelsie Whitmore Instagram, @kelsie_whitmore, September 9, 2025, https://www.instagram.com/p/DOZqhDSCfXN/?img_index=1.

31. The WPBL draft was announced on November 20, 2025. “Drafted Players,” WPBL, https://www.womensprobaseballleague.com/prospect-ranking/.

32. Banana Ball rosters for 2026 from the official website, BananaBall.com: “View and Print Team Rosters,” https://bananaball.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2026-Team-Rosters.pdf.