He walked into Fifth Street in Greensville, North Carolina with a group of friends one night and somehow found himself on stage, smack-dab in the middle of the bar’s karaoke hour.
He didn’t know it then, but becoming what others knew as “the karaoke guy” would ultimately change his entire life trajectory.
Jayson Arendt never thought he’d be pursuing a career in music, and he certainly didn’t think he’d ever be a Banana Ball player.
Now, he’s an emerging country singer and the first player on Banana Ball’s newest team, the Texas Tailgaters.
Here’s how it happened:
Arendt fell in love with baseball at eight years old after picking up a ball and glove for the first time.
The Holly Springs, North Carolina native played through high school, where naturally, he was a standout. He found his stride when playing for The Performance Academy Baseball League (TPABL), a competitive baseball program in the area that strives to close the gap between travel baseball and recreation leagues, according to its Instagram.
Despite his success as a young utility player, Arendt, unlike many of his peers, never really dreamed of playing in the big leagues.
“My main focus, honestly, was to go and compete for something that mattered,” Arendt said of his desire to play Division I baseball.
And that’s exactly what he ended up doing.
His pathway to get there, however, didn’t come without adversity.
At the end of his highschool career, Arendt committed to Elon University, a private college in Elon, North Carolina, where he was set to live out his dream of playing Division I ball.
Unfortunately, Arendt, along with many college athletes across the country, didn’t get the freshman year that he was hoping for. The Covid-19 pandemic derailed college athletics around the country. Though he didn’t get much opportunity to demonstrate his skills on the diamond, he did have the ability to discern his place there. After taking a step back, Arendt realized that Elon wasn’t the place he was meant to be.
He then went to Pitt Community College, and after spending his two years as a Bulldog, transferred to the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where he reunited with his brother on the field.
“From the time I was 10 years old to high school, we played together,” Arendt said, “so it was really cool to transfer in and almost reunite and play some more with him.”
At UNCW, Arendt finally got to do what he had set out for in the first place. He got to compete at a higher level, for something that, to him and his teammates, truly mattered.
“We were in two straight regionals during my two years at UNCW,” he said. “It was super cool, because that means you’re one of the top 60 teams in the country. You’re competing to win a national championship. That was something that I had always dreamed of doing, and I got to accomplish that.”
Though UNCW was where he ultimately landed to play baseball, it was his time at PCC that truly sparked his passion for music.
One night, while at PCC, he strolled into Fifth Street, a popular college bar and social club in Greenville, North Carolina. It happened to be karaoke night, and his friends had somehow convinced him to hop onto the stage. While he was familiar with the scene at Fifth Street, being in the spotlight at that capacity was very new to him.
“I always loved singing,” Arendt said. “In the car, in the shower, all that stuff, just for fun. But I got up there, and I’ll never forget my first time doing it. It was like love at first sight.”
From there, he was hooked.
He became more and more popular amongst the local college crowd, gradually becoming known as the guy that not only plays baseball, but also frequents the karaoke stage. In January of 2022, Ardent started seeing his potential in the industry.
“I actually ended up getting in contact with a major morning show in Nashville called the Bobby Dunn Show,” he explained. “I sent him a video of me singing, just to pick his brain and see what he thought. He put it on the radio. He said, ‘You’re good, you’re talented. Go do it, see what happens. Call me back whenever you make some growth.’”
That was the encouragement that Arendt needed to pursue his passion.
From there, he started playing acoustic shows and after nearly two years of doing so, he decided to fully commit. In the midst of competing for a Coastal Athletic Association championship, Arendt was writing songs, putting a band together and playing in shows. By the time summer of 2024 rolled around, he was a back-to-back CAA champion, had released three singles and was getting ready to go on tour.
“I traveled all the way down to Florida and Mississippi, and all the way up to Chicago this past summer on the weekends,” he said. “It was something I’ve wanted to do since I found that being on stage or with a band behind me was really fun, enjoyable. Now, I want to go do that all over the place.”
Just as he didn’t think he’d have a career in music, he also didn’t think he’d be playing baseball on a competitive level after graduating from UNCW. That was, until he got the call.
He got the opportunity to suit up in pink when the Party Animals were in Greensboro, and the shoes couldn’t have fit more perfectly.
Not only did he get to perform in front of a sold out crowd of Banana Ball fans, but he also got to grab a bat and helmet and play ball; Banana Ball that is.
“I fell in love with it,” Ardent said.
Performing as not only a player but as a musician as well was the ideal scenario. The opportunity presented him a dream that he didn’t even know he had.
When he was contacted a few months later about being a part of the Tailgaters, it was a no-brainer.
“I knew that it could work really well,” he explained. “The ability to do both, that’s the dream, so it was cool that people were supporting that.”
@jaysonarendt Watch till the end to see how my first appearance with @theofficialpartyanimals went🤷♂️🤷♂️ #partyanimals #bananaball
Looking ahead, Arendt is excited to see that duality of a dream come to full fruition, and once again be a part of something that truly matters. He’s also settled into the Fans First mindset quite easily.
“Once you understand what it is you’re going after, which for us is to be Fans First, it’s easier to understand what you’re trying to achieve,” Arendt explained. “It’s cool to understand that the fans come first, and their experience is what matters. It makes you feel good as a player to be able to give whoever is in front of you the time of their life.”
He’s also pretty excited to stick to his roots, and thinks that his own personal brand fits in quite nicely with that of the Tailgaters. Just check out his social media, where there’s barely any posts that don’t include him with either a cowboy hat, boots, or both.
“In college baseball, you can’t do that,” he explained. “You can’t go out there with a cowboy hat and just enjoy what you’re doing, so that’s something that I’m super excited for.”
Lucky for Arendt, this isn’t baseball, it’s Banana Ball, and a cowboy hat is a part of his new uniform.
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