Banana Ball’s Northeast Florida stop isn’t quite a homecoming for Dalton Mauldin.
But it’s not too far off.
The Lake City native is on the roster for the Loco Beach Coconuts of Banana Ball, scheduled to take on the Indianapolis Clowns in the three-game series in the free-wheeling baseball variant at Jacksonville’s VyStar Ballpark from July 2 through July 4.
First pitches for each of the three games are scheduled for 7 p.m.
Mauldin played baseball at Columbia High School, a little more than an hour’s drive along Interstate 10 west of VyStar Ballpark.
The Coconuts’ roster lists Mauldin as a utility player, and in his case, versatility even extends to music. A singer-songwriter with a country flavor, Mauldin has released several songs online on his YouTube channel, most recently “Ashes and Dust” during the spring.
Not surprisingly, his music and his behind-the-scenes videos of the Banana Ball universe have made him a popular online figure, with more than 83,000 YouTube subscribers and 186,000 Instagram followers as of June 25.
Dalton Mauldin’s baseball career
Mauldin is no stranger to the wackiness of Banana Ball.
In 2022, he arrived for a tryout with the best-known of the series’ teams and the original one, the Savannah Bananas. The Savannah Morning News reported that Mauldin wasn’t hard to spot: He dressed up for the tryout as Buddy the Elf, Will Ferrell’s character from the 2003 movie “Elf.” He got the job.
Mauldin has spent the past four-plus years in Banana Ball, first with the Bananas before moving to the Loco Beach Coconuts for 2026.
At Columbia, Mauldin played four varsity seasons from 2011-14, seeing part-time duty in his first two years but blossoming into a serious contributor by his senior season in 2014. He batted .370 that year with five doubles, 10 stolen bases, a 6-1 pitching record, a 1.24 ERA and 50 strikeouts to earn first-team recognition from the Gainesville Sun.
He began his college baseball career at the College of Central Florida, batting .286 and .289 in two seasons there.
After a stint at Bethune-Cookman and a pause in the sport due to the coronavirus pandemic, Mauldin completed his time in college baseball with Trevecca Nazarene University in 2021. He earned honorable mention in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference as a junior.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Banana Ball’s Dalton Mauldin set for baseball return to Jacksonville
Reporting by Clayton Freeman, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Clayton Freeman, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union | USA TODAY Network
