A new baseball team is coming to Chicago, and tryouts are coming up soon — and if you juggle, play the tuba, or can do a backflip, the Chicago Snowballs want to chat.
Launching in spring, 2026, the Chicago Snowballs, pro baseball’s first co-ed “sportstainment experience” will blend baseball, performance and entertainment, according to its website.
“We’re inspired by the Savannah Bananas and the Harlem Globetrotters,” co-founder Cherie Travis told NBC 5’s Natalie Martinez. “We wanna have a fun program that brings people together.”
According to organizers, the team isn’t just searching for typical baseball players to try out.
“We want multi-talented athletes with other skills,” the site said. “The shortstop who plays the tuba… the pitcher who does gymnastics… the outfielder who juggles. If you can play baseball and entertain a crowd, you’re our kind of player. If you missed out on Savannah Bananas or Women’s Pro Baseball League, this is your golden opportunity.”
The team is set to make its debut on Sunday, May 3, 2026 at Kerry Wood Field at 3400 N. Rockwell St. in Chicago. Tryouts are set to take place early next month.
According to the team’s website, pay will be equal for men and women that play for the squad, and players will earn salary and profit share. The team will play games in Chicago, but also plans to tour the Midwest, according to team officials.
Mike Napoleon, former New Trier High School head baseball coach and head coach of the Snowballs, said that the team will be focused on entertainment during two-hour games, but they’ll also look to put a quality baseball product on the field.
“The players are professionals, and this is a professional baseball game. It just has a little more entertainment value to it,” he said.
More information on tickets to games can be found here.
Tryouts for the team will take place Jan. 5th through 9th at the The Dome at the Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont at 27 Jennie Finch Way in Des Plaines.
According to the team’s website, the club is looking for “multi-talented athletes with other skills,” describing players as “the shortstop who plays the tuba, the pitcher who does gymnastics” and other combinations of baseball skill and performance.
“We are also looking for special people with umpire, DJ, announcer, circus stunts, antics, and other “wildcard’ experience,” the site said.
