From backyard to ‘Big League,’ Western Wiffle Ball Classic showcases sport’s community, growth
By Char O'Neil ·
From backyard to ‘Big League,’ Western Wiffle Ball Classic showcases sport’s community, growth
by Char O'Neil, Cronkite News
November 2, 2026
Cronkite News offers an audio version of this story using an automated voice created by AI. Errors in pronunciation, pacing and intonation may occur. If you notice an error please contact [email protected] – During a time when an eerie quietness ruled the world, one backyard still made noise – filling the silence with cheers, whistles and the whir of spinning Wiffle balls.
In search of a way to cure his COVID-19 boredom, a then 13-year-old Logan Rose brought friends, plastic bats and plastic balls together for games in his yard.
Who could have imagined that those backyard competitions would lead to a real league – and more.
Still only 20-years old and a sophomore at Southern Methodist University, Rose is not only the founder and CEO of Big League Wiffle Ball, he and his family now own the iconic American brand and manufacturing business behind the dancing perforated balls and yellow bats.
The Wiffle Ball Inc.
In October, Rose and his family bought the trademarked Wiffle business from the Mullany family, which had owned it since David N. Mullany founded the company in 1953. The owners of the 73-year-old Connecticut-based brand had been stretched too thin, and now the Roses hope to stabilize and build the company in their new roles – with Logan as CEO and his 17-year-old brother Carson serving as chief growth officer.
“The league itself was really me,” Logan said, recalling how the enterprise expanded beyond his backyard into a Big League Wiffle Ball. “It wasn't anything crazy at the time, so it was a good skill to learn. Schedule games, communicate with everyone; we launched a tournament in 2020 as well.”
From loosely organized games and creative YouTube videos, to the construction of Big League Wiffle Ball, Logan’s commitment stayed consistent – with his cousin Luke Rose noting how those early efforts paid off.
“Even when it was the fun YouTube videos, it was him grinding hours and hours of editing videos when it didn't even really matter,” Luke Rose said. “Just for the fun of it – and to see the passion and then see cool opportunities blossom.”
Although Logan was at the forefront of the league’s development, Wiffle ball is a Rose family affair. His brother Carson began playing the sport as a toddler – competing against relatives and learning the skills required to play baseball.
“As long as I’ve been alive, I’ve played,” he said. “My first steps were actually to a Wiffle ball bat.”
Physical steps became metaphorical ones, with the Roses advancing the sport from level to level, with those backyard roots sprouting the Western Wiffle Ball Classic tournament.
Over the past six years, the classic has been held at Scottsdale Stadium, the spring training site of the San Francisco Giants. Since the beginning, attendance and activities have varied, with the first few years hovering at around 20 teams. This year’s event attracted approximately 45 teams.
In the early stages, one challenge for the Roses was enticing people to come to Arizona, which didn’t have a lot of history in Wiffle ball events.
“Getting the word around because Wiffle ball in Arizona hadn't happened really with tournaments,” Carson said, remembering what the family was up against. “There's big tournaments all around the country, but there's a pretty small crowd here for it, so we kind of had to just grow it.”
A noticeable shift took place during the 2025 edition of the Western Wiffle Ball Classic – which was also Big League Wiffle Ball’s Opening Day – when the brothers screened “Field of Dreams” and partnered with actor and Los Angeles Naturals team owner Kevin Costner.
For the 2026 classic, celebrity participation continued, with the Home Run Derby taking on a new look. Participants paid $10 for 60 seconds of hitting, with the top 16 advancing. Those competing included Valley favorites such as Arizona Coyotes legend Shane Doan.
“(The Home Run Derby) will help with getting people to be ultra competitive,” Carson said. “People trying to go compete and play multiple times, and try to qualify against these guys because anyone wants to go hit against Shane Doan.”
Roman Basurto, a participant in this year’s Western Wiffle Ball Classic, enjoyed the community aspect of the event. Basurto played alongside his little brother and embraced the feeling of “having that kid dream of just playing baseball in the backyard.”
“It’s so fun, just bringing the kid outside of me, seeing everybody smile,” Basurto said. “That’s what it’s all about. Just everyone having fun and just enjoying the moment, being in the moment.”
Big League Wiffle Ball’s community is established and expanding, and the Roses hope advancements will continue since they acquired The Wiffle Ball Inc.
The league and manufacturing business will remain independent but share the same goal of advancing the sport across all ages and cities.
“It is great to be able to own the intellectual property of the league,” Carson said. “There's no other sport in the world that has that, so that'll be super, super beneficial.”
Wiffle ball has progressed in the hands of the Roses, with the family’s league serving as the centerpiece of the sport – and their ambition has no limit, as they continue to move the sport forward.
“We see what we've done with the league as essentially the pinnacle of the sport,” Logan said. "There's a lot of room for growth in building out the actual sport of Wiffle ball.”
This article first appeared on Cronkite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Originally published by Cronkite News Sports