By JOE McFARLAND

It might be a while before “Dancin’ Dane” Tofteland is a nickname that sticks.

But don’t be surprised to see the Albertan from just outside Grande Prairie bust a move or two when he suits up in the brand new Banana Ball circuit next summer.

Selected in the seventh round of the league’s inaugural draft by the Loco Beach Coconuts, Tofteland is coming off a successful collegiate career at Indiana State University and a three-year run in the Pioneer League.

Getting to delay the inevitable “real job market,” the slugger is looking forward to keeping his baseball dreams alive in a unique way.

“My wife is trying to get me into a gymnastics spot so we’re going to learn a backflip here shortly,” Tofteland told Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast.

“I’m going to have to get out of my comfort zone a little bit and get the hips loosened up.”

It’s been a wild ride for the Dawgs Academy and Okotoks Dawgs alum, which nearly came to an end before an unexpected Instagram message changed his entire mindset.

NEW FRONTIER

Tofteland has been doing everything in his power to finally show that he’s capable of playing at higher levels.

His pro career had to take a backseat right out of college thanks to the pandemic, leading to him looking for Canadian options as soon as restrictions started to lift.

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The 6-foot-4, 230-pound third baseman played a few games with the Frontier League’s Quebec Capitales in 2021, then suited up with a few more games for the Ottawa Titans in 2022.

He made the move to the Pioneer League in 2023, helping the Ogden Raptors claim the league championship by hitting .248 with nine home runs and 29 RBI in 47 games.

“That was a special group of guys,” Tofteland reminisced.

“It was like we were the Avengers – every game we played, we were better at all nine positions. It was a special team.”

However, he felt like he had even more in the tank.

GOOD VIBES

Heading into the 2024 season, Tofteland found an opportunity to be more of an everyday player with the Rocky Mountain Vibes.

The move paid off immediately as he sported a .313 batting average to go along with 17 roundtrippers and 77 RBI in 91 games.

Happy with his performance, he decided to play out his final year of eligibility in the league by rejoining the Vibes in 2025. Tofteland finished that season with a .345 average, 15 home runs and 103 RBI in 91 games.

The campaign included an incredible stretch of games near the end of the season where Tofteland knocked in 30 runs over 10 games.

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While the Vibes didn’t make the playoffs in either year he was there, he says they were treated like big leaguers.

“Rocky Mountain definitely has a special place in my heart,” Tofteland said. “Just the mountains, it reminds me of home. It’s beautiful, the ballpark is beautiful, and I loved it all.”

As the season started to wind down, he admits he was starting to scope out LinkedIn for potential coaching jobs at area colleges. Just something … anything … to stay in baseball.

DROPPING IN THE DM’S

Little did Tofteland know, his prayers would be answered in the most unlikely place: Instagram.

With the countdown on until the end of the Pioneer League season and his search for a job to keep the bills paid for, he received a message request from a Berry Aldridge.

In the message, the director of recruiting for the famous Savannah Bananas explained how a new league was being created with several new teams and they would be having a draft in November 2025.

Tofteland was invited to a training camp in Nashville, where he went in thinking he had nothing to lose, even if he had questions about whether it was actually baseball.

“I go to the tryout and we play a simulated game and … it’s baseball,” he said. “It’s exactly what baseball is. It’s no different. You’re doing trick plays and there’s a couple of different rules, but it’s ball, man.”

Happy with the way he performed, all Tofteland could do was wait for the draft to see if his name would come up.

While he didn’t get the typical draft experience out of high school or college like other athletes have, the 29-year-old was still very nervous about the prospect of continuing to play baseball for a living.

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“We had the whole draft party going on the first day, then you’re just sitting there watching for hours straight hoping your name gets called,” Tofteland said. “Then finally I got the FaceTime call from Coach (Mark) Crocco and everyone was fired up. It was awesome.”

GOING BANANAS

The team chat has been getting busier since the draft as players get to know each other a little bit and start to talk about expectations heading into the inaugural season of Coconut baseball.

For Tofteland, he’s hoping to bring a steady veteran presence to the dugout, along with his powerful bat.

He’s also hitting the gym more to work on his foot speed as he’s hoping to steal a few more bases than he did during his other pro stops, and he’s even had conversations about making a move to second base.

Whatever it takes to help the team win.

“I’m pumped that I get to be on a field every day for ‘work,’” he said. “As long as I can delay that corporate job or whatever, it’s a blessing.”

Tofteland also harkens back to his days growing up in a small town, and realizes how fortunate he is to still get to do what he loves.

“I had three people in my grade four, five and six class – that’s it,” he says. “To come from that and to now be in Banana Ball, it’s kind of crazy when you think of it.”

A backflip catch followed by a break dance from Dane Tofteland: might be even crazier but clearly not out of the realm of possibility.