There was an article on the ESPN website last week with the headline: “The next great Olympic sport? It could be cornhole.”
Ethel graduate Brian Buddington hopes that is the case. His goal is to become a professional in the fast-growing sport.
“I have a passion for it,” he said.
So much so that he is seeking sponsors “to help me reach my goal.”
Buddington began playing cornhole a year ago after his father and friends took up the sport.
“All the kids came and had a kids’ tournament. I enjoyed it,” he told The Star-Herald.
So much so that he practices three to four hours a day and has traveled to tournaments, including the World Qualifier Cornhole Tournament earlier this month in Rock Hill, South Carolina. He finished seventh out of 64 competitors in his singles bracket and fifth in doubles.
Cornhole is somewhat similar to horseshoes. Competitors attempt to throw bags filled with feed corn through a six-inch diameter hole on a sloping board from 27 feet. Three points are awarded for a bag that goes through the hole, one for a bag that ends up on the board.
The pandemic inadvertently led to a growth in the sport. With little else to televise last year, ESPN started showing American Cornhole League tournaments. The league has more than 100,000 members, male and female, who compete in 25,000 tournaments a year. With sponsorship from national brands including Johnsonville Sausage, Bush Beans and DraftKings, which posts odds on matches, annual prize money has grown to $500,000.
In order to achieve his goal of becoming a professional, Buddington will have to compete in seven regional and two out of state tournaments. “It will take dedication and a lot of traveling.”
One tournament on his schedule will be in Biloxi Oct. 2.
He is currently ranked third in Mississippi.
Buddington graduated high school this year and is working in shipping and receiving at Waters Truck & Tractor Co. of Kosciusko. College is a possibility for the future.
