By Mallory Mattingly
Savannah Bananas star Jackson Olson is taking his dancing off the diamond and moving it to the dance floor.
The Bananas announced on Tuesday that Olson will be a contestant on Season 35 of DANCING WITH THE STARS.
“The @dancingwiththestars stage is going to add a little bit of yellow this season🤩” the Bananas posted on Instagram.
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In just four years with the Bananas, Olson has grown his social media platform to over 2 million followers. What’s crazy is that when he concluded his career at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, Olson never thought he’d play baseball again.
“I thought I was done with baseball after my career at Stetson University,” he told PEOPLE earlier this week. “Mentally, I kind of fell out of love with the game. And the Bananas brought that back.”
But his time with the Bananas hasn’t been easy. He dealt with some serious panic attacks.
“I’m standing out there and I [had] this really out-of-body experience where I was talking to myself and trying to get myself out of it,” Olson recalled in an interview with Sports Illustrated. His first panic attack occurred in February 2025. “But it didn’t even feel like it was me talking or me moving. I wasn’t really controlling my body, and it was a very weird feeling. That created so much anxiety for me, not being able to feel everything. I’m like, ‘Am I having a stroke?’”
Ultimately, he was taken out of the game in the second inning, where he eventually learned he had a panic attack.
“That moment caused a ripple effect for the next three months of like, ‘I hope this doesn’t come back’, and then it would come back in the middle of a game,” Olson shared. “I’m like, ‘Well, I can’t play.’ I have to go into the locker room and just sit there with my hands on my head and just wait for it to go away.”
Olson relied on his friends and family to help pull him out of panic attacks.
“Seeing my nephew laugh, going golfing with my brother and spending time outside instead of rotting in my bed for hours and hours,” he shared in a post on social media last September of what helped him recover. “I’m so grateful for everything that’s happened this year. From visiting ESPN HQ to our Banana day at Disney to getting my first-ever TV commercial, it’s been a wild one. But I never would’ve been able to do it all without my friends and family.”
“To my teammates, my family and all of you: you’re the reason I get up every morning ready to crush the day. Anxiety is real. Mental health is important. And friendship is the key. Always know you’re not alone, that’s the first step. Love you guys,” he added.
Season 35 will premiere on ABC this fall.
Read Next: Savannah Bananas Star Opens Up About Secret Battle With Panic Attacks
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