Savannah Bananas star Jackson Olson joins ‘Dancing with the Stars’
Jackson Olson has made no secret of his desire to participate in “Dancing with the Stars.”
He plays second base for the bustling Savannah Bananas, so dancing is already part of his job description.
He is also a social media influencer with 2.1 million followers on TikTok and has not hesitated to use the platform to campaign for his dream gig.
It worked.
On Tuesday, ABC announced Olson as the latest contestant on the upcoming season 35 of “Dancing with the Stars,” dubbed “DWTS.” He joins already announced Maura Higgins from “Traitors” and “Love Island” and Ciara Miller from “Summer House” as competitors for the coveted Mirrorball Trophy, with other entrants yet to be revealed.
“I kind of manifested all of this and posted a few TikToks last year just as a joke…never thinking that it was a possibility,” Olson said during an interview on “Good Morning America” on Wednesday. “But when I posted it, I thought, ‘Maybe there’s a possibility.’ I saw some comments, I was like, “Okay, maybe that’s possible.” »
A native of New Milford, Connecticut, Olson played five years of college baseball at Hartford and Stetson, batting .273 with 171 hits, 62 RBIs and five home runs in 183 games. His dancing career didn’t really begin until he started performing for the Bananas — whose quirky and entertaining brand of baseball incorporates dancing and other shenanigans — in 2022.
Jackson Olson, front, is shown after the Savannah Bananas’ game against the Staten Island Ferryhawks on August 11, 2023, in New York.
(Al Bello/Getty Images)
“When I was a kid, I never thought any of this was possible, even playing for the Bananas or something like that,” Olson said. “I was a shy kid who never danced, never showed off, never had fun and discovered a passion for it.”
Athletes have been a staple of “DWTS” since the show began in 2005, with several sports stars becoming champions. They include NFL players Emmitt Smith, Hines Ward, Donald Driver and Rashad Jennings; Apolo Olympians Anton Ohno, Kristi Yamaguchi, Shawn Johnson, Meryl Davis, Laurie Hernandez and Adam Rippon; IndyCar driver Hélio Castroneves; and NBA player Iman Shumpert.
Derek Hough, a six-time “DWTS” champion as a professional dancer and now a judge on the show, may have let the cat out of the bag a bit in March. During an appearance at a Savannah Bananas game at Angel Stadium, Hough began a dance routine by tossing a miniature disco ball to Olson, who shrugged at the camera.
“I can’t wait to see him trade home runs for heel leads and curveballs for cha-cha-cha,” Hough wrote on Instagram. “Let’s just hope he doesn’t slip on the ballroom banana peels, though, if he can dodge a fastball, he can handle a quick step!”
