Bastrop boy becomes pro cornhole player
An 11-year-old boy from Bastrop has turned this game into a career.
BASTROP, Texas (KXAN) — Cornhole is often something we see played at tailgates, backyards or bars.
Yet, an 11-year-old boy from Bastrop has turned this game into a career.
Brayden Wilson is the youngest professional player in the American Cornhole League. His love for the game grew during the COVID-19 pandemic when the world shut down.
“The first time I threw the bag, I fell in love with it,” Wilson said.
Almost every day, he practiced and played cornhole with his father, Steven.
When the world got back to normal, Wilson started competing in tournaments across the country. Now, he’s taking home trophies almost every weekend.
“I'm only 11 years old and I'm a professional at this game,” Wilson said.
Last season, he earned the Stevie Award given to the Amateur of the Year.
To get geared up for the upcoming American Cornhole League season, Wilson trains for two hours every day.
His father, Steven, says this can be tough at times for his sixth-grade son, who attends Bastrop Intermediate School.
“Sometimes tournaments don’t end till eleven at night if you're in the finals," he said. “Then Brayden has got to wake up and go to school the next day.”
At the Community Gardens — Wilson’s favorite spot to train in Bastrop — the scoreboard reads out 22-0.
Symbolizing the final tally he and his partner Cameron Dambrosio placed while winning the Junior Doubles World Championship in August.
“Every time the games went farther, he went further along in the brackets and the more the game meant, he just would do better than normal,” Steven said.
“When I first started playing, I thought learning this sport was going to take forever,” Wilson said.
“But I told myself that I'm going to do this and here I am now. Going to all these tournaments across the world and competing with the best in the game.”
Along with his hopes of becoming the best cornhole player in the world, Wilson has long-term goals of becoming a motivational speaker.
“I'm also saving up for a car and maybe even college," he concluded.
The first tournament that Wilson will take part in professionally is the ACL Open 1. That will be played in Rock Hill, South Carolina October 6-8.