Southeastern Minnesota cornhole players Hugeback, Ferguson have taken game by storm

Jul. 8—ROCHESTER — Lexi Hugeback and Brodey Ferguson had zero idea that they'd be any good at this.

They'd "thrown bags" before, but barely, and only knew it as a backyard game that folks mostly did at barbecues.

They know it as infinitely more than that now. That backyard game has essentially turned into both of their livelihoods. And they no longer know it as "bags." It's now cornhole.

Hugeback, a 2019 Kasson-Mantorville graduate, and Ferguson, a 2020 Mayo High School grad who did most of his growing up in Chatfield, seem to have both been born with the same rare skill. It is to precisely loft hand-sized resin-filled bags into a hole carved into an angled board that is stationed 33 feet from them. Also coming naturally for both is the ability to play defense with those bags when the situation dictates, their tosses settling exquisitely just in front of the hole. That's so the competition can't have a clear path to the hole when they throw.

All of it is crucial when taking cornhole skills to the next level. Hugeback and Ferguson are both certainly next-level players. Hugeback is the only professional female cornhole player in Minnesota and Ferguson is well on his way to also becoming a pro.

To all of this, the collective response is: "Who knew?"

Hugeback, 22, and Ferguson, 21, have the same backstory. They stumbled into this game not so long ago. Hugeback got her start six years ago and Ferguson is just 18 months into it.

"I had some family friends invite me to a small-town (cornhole) tournament in Eyota," Ferguson said. "I was going to play in the lower division — the 'social' division — because I'd never really played before. But they told me, 'Why don't you play with us big dogs?'"

Long story short, Ferguson took their advice, wound up winning the tournament and went home $150 richer.

More importantly, the former football, baseball and wrestling athlete went home thinking he might be onto something with this bags tossing.

"I had never thrown before, other than here and there at campgrounds," Ferguson said. "But I kind of knew after that tournament that I was more advanced than others. After that, I just said to myself, 'This is a blast. I need to do more of this.'"

He would. A lot more.

The story is the same for Hugeback, who recently completed her college basketball eligibility at Rochester Community and Technical College, her team winning the national championship this past season.

Her introduction to cornhole was an innocent one, just like Ferguson's.

"I got my start probably 6 years ago," Hugeback said. "My family and I were camping in a campground near Austin (that offered cornhole)."

Like Ferguson, the skill she demonstrated throwing bags was immediate. She won a mini tournament, then one slightly bigger than that, and then one bigger still.

But her cornhole demarcation line is certain. It happened in October of 2021. It was then, still an amateur at the time and playing in an American Cornhole League (ACL) event in South Dakota loaded with professionals, that she finished as the women's singles champion.

The nudges she'd been getting to go all-in on this new sport finally registered to her in a new way.

"That was a big win," Hugeback said.

What followed has been Hugeback taking the same locked-in path that Ferguson has also been on the past year. Often throwing together, they now train up to six hours per day in cornhole, lofting bag after bag after bag. There is also video to watch, the two learning new tricks from the best of the best in a game that includes plenty of strategy and is gaining steam worldwide.

There's also been the matter of each settling on the right kind of bag to throw, one they could best learn to manipulate. They've both settled on BG Cornhole bags, believing those give them their best chance.

"Once I figured out how to control them, things skyrocketed from there," Hugeback said. "The more you play, the more you learn."

The result of all of that is that Hugeback is now a professional cornhole thrower and Ferguson is not far from pro status. There are five strictly professional tournaments per year and they have the best payout. Pro status also gives cornhole throwers the best chance to land lucrative sponsors.

Hugeback is thankful for her professional status. It's given her a new life.

"This is my job now," Hugeback said. "I would say I'm going to do this the rest of my life."

Hugeback reached professional status last September in a conference qualifier in South Dakota, one that included cornhole players from Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. Hugeback went 8-0 on the day, guaranteeing her a spot in the pro ranks.

"I put a lot of time into (preparing)," Hugeback said. "I felt like I wanted it more than anyone else."

Ferguson hungers in the same way to be special in this sport. He's certainly getting there and in a hurry.

Chris Evans, a noted cornhole athlete in Minnesota, was at the Eyota event that Ferguson won right out of the chute. Evans couldn't help but notice Ferguson's natural talent.

"When he saw that, he told me, 'You've got to do this more,'" Ferguson said.

He complied, winning an array of small tournaments before finding himself right in the mix in some big-time ACL events. Like Hugeback, he often plays singles, doubles and mixed-doubles in those tournaments.

Ferguson became connected with Hugeback nine months ago, the two meeting in a Minnesota state tournament that saw Ferguson make his first big splash, ultimately finishing second in it.

"After I finished second at state, Lexi really hyped me up and made me feel great," Ferguson said. "She told me what it would take to be the best. And after that, I just told myself, 'I want to run with this.' "

Hugeback invited Ferguson to go to an Illinois ACL event with her shortly after that, which he did. Both from the same corner of the state and with the same cornhole aspirations, they've become — as Ferguson puts it — "attached at the hip" ever since.

Ferguson credits Hugeback more than anyone for his quick cornhole progress.

"It's Lexy, 100 percent," said Ferguson, who like Hugeback has sponsors who support him in cornhole, which coupled with the nearly $80,000 he's cleared in tournaments this year, has given him financial stability and allowed him to quit his construction job.

"(Lexi and I) have become best friends," Ferguson said. "She has guided me through the ACL part, playing at the highest level, and given me the drive and support I needed. She's ahead of me in this and she knows what to expect and what to do. She is my rock."

The two have done a bunch of tournaments together, including having recently returned from a 20-hour jaunt to Corpus Christi, Texas, for a major event, them also playing small-town tournaments along the way.

It's quite a life the two of them have going, including Ferguson likely just a few months from qualifying as a professional cornhole thrower.

Their response to this mirrors everyone else's. It's, "Who knew?"

There are a host of places to play cornhole in southeastern Minnesota. Among the most popular is Hwy 218 Cornhole in Austin. It runs leagues and tournaments in the Austin surrounding area and also sells and rents set-ups, including boards, bags and score towers.

—Chip Shots in Rochester also has summer and winter cornhole leagues and room for up to 60 boards.