A few years ago, Alex Ziegler was hustling behind the counter at PNC Park, handing out hot dogs and sodas to fans as part of his sport management coursework at PennWest California. Recently, he was back at the ballpark – but instead of concessions, all eyes were on him under the bright stadium lights.

Ziegler, a Butler native and former California Vulcans baseball player, returned home to Pittsburgh as a member of the Savannah Bananas, the team that has reimagined America’s pastime as part circus, part comedy, and all-out spectacle. Both of the Bananas’ PNC Park games sold out, with more than 80,000 fans packing the stands to see the viral baseball phenomenon.

Known as the “Harlem Globetrotters of baseball,” the Bananas are the creation of Jesse Cole, a sport marketing visionary whose flair for entertainment has earned the team more than 10 million TikTok followers and over a billion YouTube views. And right in the middle of it all is Ziegler – balancing bats on his nose, spinning them like a magician, and pulling off tricks that have earned him world records, including holding a bat steady on his nose for an hour and a half and sinking a cornhole shot from 126 feet away.

For fans in the stands, Ziegler’s high-energy stunts were just another highlight in the Bananas’ nonstop, fan-first show. But for those who knew him at PennWest California, his success is no surprise.

“Alex was in the very first sport marketing class that I taught at Cal,” said faculty member Lindsay Hammond. “He was quiet and humble and a good student. It’s amazing that he is now working for one of the greatest sport marketing minds of today – Jesse Cole.”

Ziegler’s journey—from growing up in Butler, to earning his degree in sport management, to now performing for a team that has transformed baseball into a global entertainment brand—underscores just how far a mix of talent, creativity, and hard work can take someone.

And while his balancing tricks might defy gravity, his career path proves that sometimes dreams really can balance perfectly between preparation and opportunity.