Like most of us, Brayden Rayhon’s cornhole addiction started in the backyard with some friends. After baseball games, Brayden, age 13, says he would go back to a buddy’s house, go swimming and throw bags. While throwing at his friends house, he really he started liking the game, and realized he was pretty good at it as well.
“I started putting 2 out of 4 bags in the hole on a regular basis, and we were playing there pretty much every weekend. I started to wonder what I could do with better bags against better players.”
Brayden’s first blind draw
This got Brayden into doing some research. He ended up asking for a set of Slide Rites for Christmas 2019, and Santa was more than happy to oblige! In his first blind draw, he ended up as a walker, but he didn’t let them deter. He took it as a challenge and ended up taking second place.
He threw in a couple of tournaments with the Slide Rites, but it was at his first regional when he noticed that he might want to change to something else. And as his game progressed, he has come to really like throwing Reynolds Pro Advantage and Pro X’s. His game has been on an upward climb ever since.
When he isn’t playing twice a week in leagues, he and his dad Ken throw bags in the backyard, honing in on their skills. When the weekend rolls around you can find them traveling together to different tournaments and supporting great causes.
“My biggest win to date was winning a 60 team tournament with my dad. It wasn’t a very high level tournament, but we were raising money for police officer’s families who lost their lives on 9/11, and I got to hang out with my dad. We lost our very first game but fought back and were able to pull off the double dip for the win! This was the proudest moment of my life because I got to do it with my dad!”
Outside of cornhole
Even though he and his dad spend a lot of time throwing, Brayden gets his family time in as well. They reside in Howell, NJ, and he says he loves spending time at the beach with his mom and dad, and his two little sisters, Emma and McKenzie. And while at the beach, he says one of his favorite pastimes is surfing. And if he wasn’t busy enough, Brayden also does kickboxing, Jiu-Jitsu and track and field.
This young man is definitely putting in the work, and when he is throwing at his weekly league, and weekend tournaments the competition is pushing him to get better as well. You can find him during the week at Jersey Nightmare Cornhole, NJ Mayhem Cornhole and M Club in Manasquan.
“I get to throw with ACL Pros Jimmy Youmans at the Mayhem Cornhole League, and Ashton Speas is at a lot of our local tournaments. It is awesome to throw with these guys and challenge myself to get better.” Jimmy and Ashton are two of Brayden’s favorite throwers, along with ACL Pro Erick Davis.
He doesn’t back down from a challenge, and he has an awesome drive and work ethic, so when he says he wants to win a world championship and become one of the best throwers in the ACL, we at Cornhole Addicts believe it is definitely within reach, and maybe not too far down the road!
Getting to Know Brayden:
Favorite TV Show – All American
Cake or Pie – “I would choose cake over pie any day!”
Favorite sport to watch (other than cornhole of course) – Football
Favorite non-cornhole player – Usain Bolt (“He has a drive in him that inspires me”)
Pets – 2 Dogs, Bruno and Holly, 2 birds and a bunny
