- - Banana Ball Player Says He'd Take CMA Award Over World Series After 'Idol' Success

TMZ StaffFebruary 1, 2026 at 2:05 AM

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From the dugout to the spotlight ... Banana Ball star Jayson Arendt knocked his "American Idol" audition out of the park!

TMZ Sports caught up with the ballplaying country artist after he stole the show on the 24th season premiere when several of his teammates joined him for the audition ... dancing and hyping up the room before Arendt performed Chris Stapleton's "Fire Away."

His raw, country sound resonated with judges Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan and Carrie Underwood ... all gave Arendt their approval to punch his Golden Ticket to Hollywood!

Arendt admits he was jittery in front of the stars -- "I've played in front of thousands of people before and surprisingly enough, standing and singing in front of three people you’ve idolized for a really long time is far more nerve-wracking."

He used to separate ball from music when he played collegiately at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. But now he gets to do both as an outfielder and entertainer for the Texas Tailgaters in the Banana Ball Championship League.

Arendt performs a concert before and after every game ... so the Tailgaters treated the audition like it was their own game -- they watched the season premiere together as a team this week, too.

"I didn’t know I had as much support as I do," he said. "The guys are really fired up about it."

We also asked Arendt what would be a bigger accomplishment: a World Series ring or a Country Music Award???

"A World Series ring is crazy -- in Banana Ball, we don’t get those," he said. "I've always wanted to win a CMA ... Entertainer of the Year is like the cream of the crop, that is the mecca."

Next up, he says he’s going to show Hollywood everything he's got for the next Idol round of competition.

From the diamond to the stage ... Arendt is proof that sometimes life throws you a curveball way sweeter than a home run.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”