FEATURE
FORMER OAKDALE HIGH PITCHER SUITS UP FOR INDIANAPOLIS CLOWNS By MARG JACKSON
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fter losing out on the opportunity to play baseball his senior year at Oakdale High School due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Brett Maddock never envisioned he would be standing on the mound at a Major League ballpark in Anaheim, staring down a hitter. Especially if that hitter was armed with a light saber and Maddock received the game ball from Darth Vader. But that has been just one of the unique experiences for the 2020 OHS graduate, who now plays for the Indianapolis Clowns, one of six teams in the entertaining, fan-focused and wildly popular Banana Ball Championship League. Banana Ball founder Jesse Cole makes sure the fans are always first, Maddock said, which means he spends as much – or more – time meeting and greeting fans than actually playing the game. The Savannah Bananas were the original team in the league and have since been joined by the Party Animals, Firefighters, Texas Tailgaters, Loco Beach Coconuts and the Indianapolis Clowns. Both the Coconuts and Clowns are new to the league this season. A pitcher for Indianapolis, Maddock was invited to the try outs – along with about 2,500 other invitees – and was one of those that made it through to the draft day. There, he was selected
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by the Indianapolis Clowns and is in his first season with the team. “I tried out in May of 2025, so a long time ago, but the draft wasn’t until November,” explained Maddock, who was drafted in November 2025 and started training and preparing for the 2026 Banana Ball season shortly thereafter. During the period from when he tried out to when he was drafted, Maddock continued with his ‘day job’ – working as a nurse in the emergency department
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at a hospital in Wichita, Kansas. He earned his nursing degree from Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina, Kansas and played collegiate baseball there. “They liked me at the try outs,” Maddock said of the Banana Ball staff. “I tried out in scrubs.” Showing that lighthearted approach, Maddock fit in well with the entertainment aspect of Banana Ball. With some 2,500 ball players trying out, only 160 were taken to draft day and, out
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5/27/2026 7:33:28 AM