Eight College Baseball and Softball Athletes Join Outback Steakhouse’s TeamMATES Program

Outback Stakehouse has recently added four college baseball and four college softball athletes to the roster of its TeamMATES program.

As announced on its website and Twitter, the eight athletes come from four different schools and with unique achievements.

• Ben Joyce (University of Tennessee – Baseball – Redshirt Junior): Pitched 105.5 mph, a record in college baseball history.
• Jordan Beck (University of Tennessee – Baseball – Junior): Among the 55 players on the 2022 Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List.
• Baylee Klingler (University of Washington – Softball – Senior): Named 2022 Pac-12 Player of the Year.
• Kelley Lynch (University of Washington – Softball – Junior): Named to the 2021 Pac-12 All-Freshman Team.
• Jocelyn Alo (University of Oklahoma – Softball – Redshirt Senior): Twice named USA Softball National Player of the Year in 2021 and 2022.
• Jayda Coleman (University of Oklahoma – Softball – Sophomore): Named to the 2021 All-American 1st Team.
• Coby Halter (University of Florida – Baseball – Sophomore): Named the SEC Co-Player of the Week (Feb. 28)
• Hunter Barco (University of Florida – Baseball – Sophomore): Rated as the No. 7 Collegiate 2022 MLB Draft Prospect by Baseball America.

According to the Outback’s press release, the new signings will be celebrated with a release of 8,000 limited edition NFTs that will “engage and reward consumers in an entirely new way.”

The NFTs will launch on Jun. 27, the National Onion Day, in honor of the chain’s famous Bloomin’s Onion. They will be available, for free, to Outback fans and redeemable at Outback Steakhouses for rewards.

Supporters can follow updates via Outback’s website where the NFTs will “immortalize” the chain’s most popular menu items. The “winning menu of NFTs” is said to launch on Jun. 23.

This is the first major announcement since Outback Steakhouse announced the signing of 12 college basketball players in early February as part of its TeamMATES program.

Brett Patterson, the president of Outback Steakhouse, said the chain is continuously looking for unique ways to engage with athletes and fans.

“In the latest iteration of the program,” Patterson said, “we’re celebrating America’s pastime and integrating NFTs as a way to rally fans of baseball, softball and Outback.”

In its release on the campaign, Outback emphasized giving back as one of its core values and stated that the brand would aid members of TeamMATES support the charities that they are passionate about.