GRANDVILLE, Mich. — During Memorial Day weekend, you’re bound to see a few corn hole boards in the yard as a fun outdoor game. But for one grandville junior, he’s trying to take this outdoor sport and go pro.
“I started playing in some local tournaments and started to win some money so I thought it would be fun to start playing some more,” said Jayden.
The only thing stopping Jayden Ellis from pro status is his age. A requirement set by the American Cornhole League.
“I was about 13 or 14 years old when I got involved. I had no intentions of playing corn hole until my dad and his buddy, John Rookus, were out in our front yard just throwing and he thought it would be a fun idea if I just went out and played,” said Jayden.
Stuck at home during covid. The former travel baseball kid traded his bats and gloves for bags and boards.
“And regardless of what he says, from day one it was obvious that he was better than most,” said Jason, Jayden’s dad.
From those local tournaments, Jayden made his way to ACL opens across the country.
“California, Florida, Texas, Minnesota, Ohio,” said Jason.
His first year, he and his buddy Evan won the junior world championship. And in 2023, Jayden earned the ACL High School World Champion at the worlds tournament in Rockhill, South Carolina.
“I was so in the moment I didn’t really feel any nerves but once I got into the last game before the world championship I started to feel it and it kinda got hard to lock in. I had to re-focus,” said Jayden.
Cornhole has been one of North America’s fastest growing sports since the ACL was founded in 2016. And there’s money in it too. Jayden has reaped the benefits of a successful juniors career so far, bringing home nearly $40,000.
“I’m trying to look at getting a car right now but I’m also putting it away in my bank account so I can grow interest on it and stuff like that,” said Jayden.
Because of its accessibility, Cornhole is sweeping the nation. Jayden says that there are certain tricks to making sure the bag lands just right. Something that he taught himself to do.
“It’s almost like a frisbee, you want to release off your fingers so it’ll fly straight and come out with a couple revolutions and that’s what helps pushing bags and dragging bags on the board,” said Jayden.
Jayden is the only amateur in the United States and Canada to win the singles championship in both countries. But he’s not done. He’ll try to go back to back at worlds this summer.
“I really want to try and make it top 10 in my bracket. There are four brackets that all have 64 players in it, especially at the pro national level so it would be fun to place high in that,” said Jayden.
Not only is he winning money and world titles, but there could be a full ride scholarship coming his way too.
“I wan’t planning on going to college at all but I’ve had thoughts about it because there’s a college in South Carolina, Winthrop University, and they’re giving out full ride scholarships for corn hole. So I’m really considering it,” said Jayden.
Jayden and his dad will travel to Ramsey, Minnesota at the end of June for the ACL Open Pro Shootout.
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