Trystan Levesque’s impressive career with the University of Rhode Island baseball team resulted in him hearing his name called in a draft, just not the MLB one.
Levesque ’25 is the all-time leader in career starts for the Rams with 52; he is also second all-time in strikeouts with 310 and in wins with 24. After capping off his career at URI with an Atlantic 10 Conference Championship in May, Levesque was hoping to hear his name called in the MLB draft.
“I didn’t know really where I stood,” Levesque said. “The draft happened, and I was close but didn’t get selected, so we tried to give this last little push and go for the MLB Draft League.”
Levesque traveled across the country to pitch in the MLB Draft League in an effort to get signed to a professional team. However, no team ended up offering Levesque a contract.
Levesque kept his eyes peeled for a new opportunity, and it paid off. Berry Aldridge, who is the director of recruiting for the Savannah Bananas, reached out to Levesque on Instagram about a Banana Ball tryout.
Banana Ball is an entertainment-based style of baseball with a twist. Banana Ball has their own unique set of rules and is different from regular baseball, as it focuses on entertaining fans with music, dancing, trick plays and many other antics. The Bananas played the first official game under “Banana Ball” rules in 2020 and have since created the Banana Ball Championship League featuring six teams.
“I tried out down in Philly [Philadelphia],” Levesque said. “That was amazing, probably the most fun I think I’ve ever had on a baseball field. Their message to us was, imagine you’re 12 years old again, [and] go have fun.”
In order to make himself more appealing and stand out during the tryout, Levesque wore a fisherman’s costume to display some creativity.
“One of my trick pitches I had, I had my glove hiding my face,” Levesque said. “I dropped my glove to go into the windup, and I had a gummy worm or a Swedish Fish hanging out of my mouth.”
After trying out, Levesque had to wait until Thursday, Nov. 13, for the 2025 Banana Ball Player Draft to see if his name would be called. After the first four rounds of the draft came and went, Levesque was selected by the Bananas in the fifth round.
“The TV didn’t have any sound, but I was reading the guy’s lips, and it looked like he said ‘Trystan Levesque,’ and my name popped up on the bottom of the screen,” Levesque said. “I had my brother with me, and I had to give him a hug; it was so special.”
Levesque’s former teammates and coaches were excited about his new opportunity for him and also what it meant for the URI baseball program, according to URI Head Coach Raphael Cerrato.
“The day after he came by to school, he was super excited, which was great to see,” Cerrato said. “His teammates were so pumped for him, too; they all saw him, and everyone was really excited. It’s great for him, and it’s really cool for the program.”
When Levesque was at URI, he wasn’t known as someone who monkeyed around; he was very serious about his craft and winning games, according to Cerrato.
“He was just all business, so that was a little bit of a surprise,” Cerratto said. “But I see him embracing what Banana Ball is… He’s going to work just as hard on the other stuff that makes Banana Ball work.”
Levesque wasn’t the only player from the 2025 A-10 championship-winning team to get drafted. Anthony DePino ’25 was selected in the seventh round of the 2025 MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox. Eric Genther ’25 also signed a deal with the New York Yankees. Levesque, however, is the only player to get drafted to the Bananas and is the first player in URI history to play Banana Ball.
The Bananas will play their first game of the 2026 Banana Ball World Tour on Feb. 28, 2026, against the Texas Tailgaters in Dick Howser Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida.
