Cornhole more than a game for local teenager

By Carol McIntire
Editor
A Carrollton teen is scheduled to play for a share of $25,000 in prize money at the American Cornhole League (ACL) Pro Invitational this weekend in Philadelphia, PA.
Trey Burchfield, son of Misty and Shaun Burchfield, and his partner, Derrick King of Kentucky, earned a spot in the July 4 event by winning the South Bend Pro Invitational Qualifier in South Bend, IN, June 6. The eight-team tournament will be broadcast July 4 at 1 p.m. on ESPN2.
The 17-year-old Carrollton High School senior and King, 22, are the third seed in the field and will face the No. 6 seeded team, Jay Rubin and Lester Prince, who qualified by winning the 2020 Big Brawl at Galveston, TX, May 16, in the first game.
“We’re very familiar with everyone in the tournament. We play against them all the time,” said Burchfield, who is ranked sixth in the nation in singles and second in Ohio. As a team Burchfield and King are ranked second in the nation in only their first year of competing together.
He is qualified for the ACL Pro Championship, scheduled Aug. 11 in Rock Hill, NC, in both the singles and team events.
For Burchfield, throwing beanbags at boards with a circular hole cut in them began at a young age.
“I’d go with dad and grandpa to local tournaments,” he said. “I’d practice my game on the side. “I got to be pretty good and started going to local tournaments.”

That led to bigger tournaments and to the ACL. Today, he travels across the country competing in tournaments as a professional.
Asked if 17 is young to be a professional in the sport of cornhole, the youth replied, “Well, kind of. But there are a couple younger than me.”
The number of ACL-sanctioned tournaments won determines professional status.
There are four national tournaments held during the year. The first two were held prior to the coronavirus pandemic forcing the shutdown of all sports in March, according to Burchfield. The Philadelphia tournament is the fourth in the series.
During a normal year, Burchfield said he usually competes in weekend tournaments, but sometimes, has to miss a Thursday and Friday during the school year to compete.
“You definitely meet a lot of new friends,” he said. “You get to travel the country, which is something not everyone gets to do,” the teenager said, adding he is accompanied by his father to competitions. “Mom goes when she can,” Trey added.
As a senior in high school this fall, he is making plans for his future and wants to go to college.
“There are colleges that have cornhole teams, but since I’m considered a professional, I can’t compete on a college team,” he explained. “Cornhole is getting bigger and bigger as a sport. My hope is that it gets big enough so that you can actually make a living playing it like they do in other major sports. That’s what I would like to do.”
He is well on his way to reaching that goal and has landed sponsorships from AllCornhole, Axiom Wireless and Carrollton Eagles.