Jackson Olson made no secret of his desire to compete on “Dancing with the Stars.”
He plays second base for the lively Savannah Bananas, so dancing is already part of his job description.
He is also a social media influencer with 2.1 million TikTok followers and hasn’t been shy about using 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,” nicknamed “DWTS.” He joins the already-announced Maura Higgins of “Traitors” and “Love Island” and Ciara Miller of “Summer House” as competitors for the coveted Mirrorball Trophy, with more participants yet to be revealed.
“I kind of manifested this whole thing and posted a couple TikToks last year just joking … never thinking that it was a possibility,” Olson said during a “Good Morning America” interview on Wednesday. “But when I posted it, I’m like, ‘Maybe there is a possibility.’ I saw some comments, I’m like, ‘OK, maybe this is possible.’”
A 28-year-old native of New Milford, Conn., 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 start until he started playing for the Bananas — whose offbeat and entertaining brand of baseball incorporates dancing and other shenanigans — in 2022.
Jackson Olson, front, is introduced after the Savannah Bananas’ game against the Staten Island Ferryhawks on Aug. 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 anything like that,” Olson said. “I was a shy kid that never danced, never put myself out there, never entertained, and found a passion for it.”
Athletes have been a staple of “DWTS” since the show began in 2005, with several sports stars emerging as champions. They include NFL players Emmitt Smith, Hines Ward, Donald Driver and Rashad Jennings; Olympians Apolo 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 who is now a judge on the show, may have let the cat somewhat out of the bag in March. During an appearance at a Savannah Bananas game at Angel Stadium, Hough started a dance routine by tossing a miniature mirrorball to Olson, who shrugged toward the camera.
“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 any ballroom banana peels, though, if he can dodge a fastball, he can handle a quickstep!”
