About Dakota McFadden
Dakota McFadden is a two-way utility player for the Firefighters and one of the longest-tenured players in Banana Ball. From Rocky Point, North Carolina, he played at Keystone College in Pennsylvania, where he was a genuine two-way star: a .367 average with 119 hits, 28 doubles, 18 home runs and 109 RBI in 87 games, plus 137 innings and a 3.74 ERA with 119 strikeouts on the mound.
After graduating in 2019 he bounced through independent ball — the Skylands Cardinals in the pandemic summer of 2020 and the Bakersfield Train Robbers of the Pecos League in 2021 — before trying out for the Savannah Bananas on February 25, 2021. He made the team that day.
McFadden played for Savannah from 2021 through 2023 and moved to the Firefighters when the team launched its first full touring season in 2024. He also kept playing pro ball on the side, spending 2025 with the Birmingham-Bloomfield Beavers and Westside Woolly Mammoths of the USPBL. His old Keystone coach, Jamie Shevchik, said he "was destined for Banana Ball before Banana Ball was a thing" because of the energy he brought every day.
In 2026 he wears No. 24 and does a bit of everything for the Firefighters: regular at-bats where he has hit above .300, fill-in innings on the mound and a walk-up routine fans know by heart. In May 2026 he returned to northeast Pennsylvania to play the Loco Beach Coconuts at PNC Field in Moosic, near his college. His live stat line is above.
Dakota's career highlights
- Keystone College two-way star: .367 AVG, 18 HR, 109 RBI plus 119 strikeouts pitching
- Made the Savannah Bananas at a tryout on February 25, 2021
- Played for Savannah 2021–2023 before joining the Firefighters in 2024
- Independent-league stops with Skylands, Bakersfield and the USPBL
- Played a 2026 homecoming series against the Coconuts at PNC Field in Moosic, Pa.
Sources: gokcgiants.com , thefirefighters.com . Stats above are updated automatically from the official Banana Ball stats feed.