John Fuentez's Cornhole Biography

Justin Stranger

I am Justin Stranger ACL Pro from the Atlantic Conference and this is my story of how and when I started playing cornhole and worked my way up to an ACL Pro. I am a high school student and a professional cornhole player. I’ve been playing for approximately 3 years.

I partnered with Shawn Smith in the Pro Doubles Division for the 2019-2020 season. I am partnering with Tony Smith in 2020-2021 season.
I got my start like most people did, playing in my backyard with my dad on bouncy boards with corn bags and sometimes at breweries my dad liked to visit until someone from his work invited us to play some blind draws. In August 2017, my dad and I started plays $5 blind draws with handicaps on Monday and Thursday with Carroll County Cornhole run by Brian “Fitz” Fitzsimmons. That is where I met my cornhole mentor, Bob Mallonee, who is also going pro this year. Once I started mastering some of the basics, my dad and I started playing in tournaments, mostly in social divisions, if they had them. Around 6 months in, I started to get pretty good and people were asking my dad if I could partner with them. I started having some successes, which included placing in and winning events. I then heard about COBS and really wanted to go. My dad kept saying “let’s see.” In June of 2018, there was a local tournament called “Jack Taylor” that had juniors. My goal was to win that and prove to my dad, I should go to COBS. I came in second. However, I played in the competitive division with a another non-pro and we finished 4th in a group that included Timmy Pitcher, Leston Allen, Frank Modlin, John Kitchin, Jordan Camba, Jay Corley and other high level players. After the event, my dad said we were going to COBS because even though I was not happy with my junior’s performance and seemed down, my dad was proud of me for fighting back, never quitting and playing hard in a stacked division. I went to COBS, went 3-2 in Junior’s singles. My dad and I met a lot of good people, got a lot of advice and I fell in love with cornhole.

So we decided that in 2018, I should focus on the ACL and the Junior’s division. In my first month of the season, I was fortunate enough to be able to play a Regional with ACL Pro John Kitchin (still one of my favorite players), who I thank for taking a chance by playing with an unknown 14 year old. Early in the season, I had quite a bit of success in singles and doubles early in the season with Zach Owings, which helped each of us start to show our skills. I wanted to root him on at the ACL National College Championships that December, so my dad went on a search for someone to play with me, since Zach could not. He was able to get Seto Soto to play with me. We did pretty well and it enabled me to play against some top level players that I had been admiring.

During the rest of my first ACL season, I generally partnered with very good advanced players and ACL Pros, which included Ryan Smith, Dylan Wood, Matthew Morton, Leston Allen, Eli Stevens and my now Pro partner Shawn Smith. I capped my year off by winning the Junior’s Championship and on the way home, my parents and I talked and decided it was time to let me go Pro. So, here I am, an ACL Pro. I am looking forward to playing a sport I love, being an ambassador for the sport and teaching other to play the game, like the players in my cornhole club I just started at school.

Oh and just so you know, I still play some tournaments with my dad and I still play with Carroll County Cornhole, but we’ve gotten rid of handicaps because there is no need. There are great players there that challenge and push me. If you’re ever in my area, I recommend coming out to play with us on Tuesday nights! (Once COVID restrictions are over)

Jim Glasscock

I am ACL Pro Jim Glasscock from the Mid-South Conference and this is my story of how I became a professional cornhole player for the ACL.

Eric Tscherne

I am ACL Pro Eric Tscherne from the West Conference and this is my story of how I became a professional cornhole player for the ACL.
From Encinitas, CA, Eric Tscherne is a 1st year ACL Pro. Originally from Twinsburg, Ohio, Tscherne graduated from the University of Cincinnati and moved to Southern California in 1999. He is a member of the Diecast Hall of Fame and Toy Hall of Fame for his work as a Hot Wheels Designer from 1999-2004. He is also well known for his work on the hit TV show PAW Patrol where he was part of the creative team behind the show and the toys.

Eric was introduced to the game of cornhole 7 years ago while camping with his father and son YMCA Adventure Guides tribe The Mighty Wappo of the Redhawk Nation. His passion and love for the game grew from here as he went on to host several charity events and tournaments while camping with this group. This lead to hosting events for friends and neighbors locally in North County San Diego via his 4 In Cornhole club.

In 2017 he started playing more regionally with Dirty Bags. From here his game grew considerably. Tscherne's game really took form in the 2019-2020 season. He was committed to playing top level cornhole and traveling. Covid 19 did not stop Eric. He spent the initial months playing many virtual tournaments and performing very well. As restrictions lifted, Tscherne came out hot and won his first San Diego Advanced Regional in June 2020, besting a field of 4 current ACL Pros and 3 more who would become pros for the 2020-21 season. Tscherne carried that momentum into the ACL World Championships in Rock Hill, SC.. He qualified on Sunday via the 1st ACL Pro Qualifier.
Tscherne is a member of Team Ultra having thrown Ultra Bags for most of his career. His favorite bag is the Viper. For the 2020-21 ACL Pro season, Tscherne is teaming with Andrew Robinson. Robinson and Tscherne have partnered in the past as both players were coming up. Tscherne has claimed a singles Regional victory in the 2020-21 Season and is looking for more.

Tscherne is married to a supportive wife Geri. They have 2 kids Madelyn and Roxton.

Kyle Malone

I am Kyle Mayday Malone ACL Pro from the Southeast Conference and this is my story of how and when I started playing cornhole and worked my way up to an ACL Pro. My favorite aspect about this sport is the amazing people it has brought into my life. It’s not just a group of people, it’s a family. When I first started at a local bar as no more than an amateur, the crowd welcomed me and approached me with tips and advice to help my game. Now from there I’m on the pro circuit looking to be a world champion. Outside of that though my main hobbies are softball and fishing naturally since I do live in Florida. Without cornhole I honestly do not know what I would do on the weekends or even during the week anymore. At this point, I couldn’t imagine not playing.

Drew Brown

I am ACL Pro Drew Brown from SouthEast Conference the and this is my story of how I became a professional cornhole player at the American Cornhole League. I grew up playing baseball year round in high school. I was a very aggressive pitcher/3rd baseman and had a passion for winning all my life. During my senior year I contracted mononucleosis and was told by doctors that it was the worst case they had seen in almost 35 years of practice. I went from 155 lbs to 125 lbs in just over a month and they rushed me to the hospital twice within that month to be sure I was getting the right amount of fluids. I also missed my last month of my senior year of high school but I was fortunate enough to be released on the day of graduation and was given the "OK" from doctors to attend the ceremony. After high school I went on to play college ball at Bethany College, but quickly knew I didn't have the strength that I once had. In an effort to focus on my health and devote more to my studies, I transferred to a school closer to home. I needed something to keep my competitive edge going and that is when I turned to cornhole. My cousin, Wes Phillipson, brought boards to our thanksgiving dinner one year and needless to say I was very much a beginner player. He beat me in every game that we played that year and I there was only one way I knew how to respond. PRACTICE. All winter long and through the summer I practiced everyday, even tying the chandelier to the banister with a rope in my mom's house when it was cold out so I could play indoors. I wanted to make sure at the next family function I wouldn't be able to be beat so that I had bragging rights at the dinner table. Sure enough my dedication paid off. So much so that I thought that I was one of the best in the state at that point taking down local tournaments in my hometown. After that I started googling tournaments and I would take my buddies CJ and Jake Blanchard to play cornhole across the state just to play in tournaments. That was when I ran into the unstoppable duo of Matt Guy and Randy Atha in Dublin Ohio at the Irish festival. They beat us 21-0 but I quickly received word on who these two were in the cornhole world. That was who I wanted to be. This is where a new chapter began and my search to become one of the household names in cornhole started. I knew I had a lot of work to do to get where I needed to become one of the best. During one of my google searches, I found a tournament in West Virginia and got introduced to my good friend, Ted Dillon. He is the one that I give a lot of credit to, for he was the first person to take a chance on me as a player and be my partner. It also helped that he ran an abundance of regional tournaments where I slowly started to meet and play against today's most familiar faces. Now after over 10 years of playing against the best in the world, I believe I am ready to prove to everyone that I have what it takes.

Yetty Irwan

I am ACL Pro Yetty Irwan from the Mountain South Conference and this is my story of how I became a professional cornhole player for the American Cornhole League. My now-husband, Harry Stoltzfus, moved to Colorado with me in 2017 and set up a cornhole court in the basement. Eventually I joined him during his practice session and started throwing bags with him at the local league and tournaments. When he qualified to be an ACL Pro for 2019-2020 season, he convinced me to be his pro doubles partner.

Allan Rockwell

I am ACL Pro Allan Rockwell from the Atlantic Conference and this is my story of how I became a professional cornhole player for the ACL. Started 11 years ago at an outside venue called " The Knot Hole Station". Ken Parsons, Owner, got the group started. This is the same place Pros players James Baldwin, Harlee Culpepper, Ronnie Culpepper and Allison Heine played on a weekly basis as there was no other place around playing. After playing for months, the 1st time me and another player threw a double 4 bagger everyone clapped and roared out loud as that was unheard of. Played there for almost a year before I got in a National group. When $1000 cornhole tourney would come out on Facebook that was 4 hours away, we would go and before long we were traveling to all of them.

We are sorry to report that on September 29, 2021, the Cornhole world lost one of its “OGs”, Allan “Rocky” Rockwell, after a fight with prostate cancer.
You can read his obituary here

Matthew Sorrells

I am Matthew Sorrells aka Short Shorts ACL Pro from the Southeast Conference and this is my story of how and when I started playing cornhole and worked my way up to an ACL Pro. When I was fourteen years old I picked up a cornhole bag for the first time. I was at Redneck Riviera. A place where people drive boats to hangout and play cornhole. To nobody’s surprise I was beaten badly by Nick Ramsey and Chuck Martin, two local legends. I became motivated to improve my game and purchased my first set of cornhole boards. This led to practice, practice, and you guessed it more practice. Here I am four years later an ACL pro and serious competitor in every tournament I attend. I could not be more thankful for this opportunity.