Prospect League
 Prospect League logo | |
| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1963 |
| No. of teams | 12 |
| Country |
 |
| Most recent champion(s) | Terre Haute Rex |
| Official website | Prospect League |
The Prospect League is a collegiate summer baseball league comprising teams of college players from North America and beyond. All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. So as to maintain their college eligibility, players are not paid. Beginning in 2012, the league added four games to the season, making a total of 60 games per team (30 home and 30 road).
League history
In 1963, the Central Illinois Collegiate League (CICL), the precursor league to the Prospect league, was formed as a charter member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) summer collegiate baseball program. The league existed under NCAA rules and guidance for 41 years. In 2005, the NCAA ended its official association with summer collegiate baseball; however, the CICL continued to preserve the amateur status of its member athletes by abiding by the rules and regulations of the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball (NACSB).[1] In 2009, the CICL planned to expand to six teams by adding the Hannibal Cavemen, but in winter 2008, the league ownership voted for further expansion.
Dr. Chris Hanners, owner of the Chillicothe franchise and one of the founders of the Frontier League, wanted to keep a Paints baseball team in Chillicothe. Dr. Hanners, Leo Trich, former Frontier league director of development; General Manager and majority owner of the Butler BlueSox,[2] and Duke Ward, former owner of the Frontier League's Richmond Roosters[3] worked with the ownership of the CICL to form the Prospect League.
The Prospect League began its inaugural season in summer 2009 with the original CICL teams forming the Western Division. Five expansion teams formed the Eastern Division. Three of the Eastern Division teams began play in markets previously served by Frontier League teams. Besides the Chillicothe Paints, the Richmond RiverRats (Richmond, Indiana) played in the previous home of the Frontier League's Richmond Roosters, which are now the Traverse City Beach Bums. The Slippery Rock Sliders (Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania) played in the previous home of the Frontier League team of the same name.[4]
In 2010, the Prospect League expanded adding four new franchises: the Terre Haute Rex (Terre Haute, Indiana), the West Virginia Miners (Beckley, West Virginia), the DeKalb County Liners (Sycamore, Illinois), and the Nashville Outlaws (Nashville, Tennessee).[5]
Due to a change in team ownership in 2010, the North Coast Knights became the Lorain County Ironmen.[6]
In 2011 the DuPage Dragons franchise folded after five years with the CICL (2006–08) and Prospect League (2009–10). As a result the league returned to a 2-division format after having 3 divisions in 2010. Richmond was moved to the six-team Eastern Division, while Danville, Nashville, Terre Haute, and Dubois County were moved to the eight-team Western Division.
Before the 2012 season, the Nashville Outlaws folded, and the DeKalb County Liners left the league to join the Midwest Collegiate League, leaving the Prospect League with twelve teams in two, six-team divisions. The 2012 schedule consisted of 60 games with no "cross-over" games; with all games played among teams from the same division only. The only time teams from opposite divisions meet is in the Championship Series.
For the 2015 season, the league added its easternmost team yet, the Jamestown Jammers (Jamestown, New York).[7] The Kokomo Jackrabbits (Kokomo, Indiana) were also added to the league to play in the new Kokomo Municipal Stadium, set to open for the 2015 season.[8] After the 2015 season, the Richmond RiverRats folded,[9] and the Jamestown Jammers moved to the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League after just one season in the Prospect League.[10]
The league stayed at 12 total teams for the 2016 season by adding the new Lafayette Aviators (Lafayette, Indiana) and DuPage Drones (Lisle, Illinois).[11][12][13]
For the 2017 season, the league contracted to 10 teams, as the Hannibal Cavemen and DuPage Drones both ceased operation. [14] Hannibal reentered the league for the 2018 season as the Hannibal Hoots.[15]
The league will remain at eleven teams for the 2019 season with the addition of the Cape Catfish in Cape Girardeau, Missouri[16] and the departure of the Kokomo Jackrabbits to the Northwoods League.[17]
Current teams
- Cape Girardeau franchise replaces the Kokomo Jackrabbits for the 2019 season. Finalized 2019 divisions still to be determined.
Division and League Champions
| Year | Eastern Division Champion | Western Division Champion | League Champion |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Chillicothe Paints (31-25) | Quincy Gems (36-20) | Quincy over Chillicothe, 2 games to 0 |
2009 playoff format: After 56-game schedule, teams with best record in each division faced each other in a best-of-three series for the Championship.
| Year | Eastern Division playoff winner | Central Division playoff winner | Western Division playoff winner | League Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Chillicothe Paints 5, West Virginia Miners 3 | Danville Dans 4, Nashville Outlaws 2 | Quincy Gems 2, Springfield Sliders 0 | Chillicothe 7, Danville 6 (11) [after Danville def. Quincy, 7-3, in play-in game] |
2010 playoff format: 56-game schedule divided in two halves. Winners from each half in each division faced each other in a one-game playoff (home field to team with best overall record). Where the same team won both halves in a division, the team with the next-best overall record from that division was declared the wild card. Championship Series was a two-game affair with the divisional playoff winner with the best overall record receiving a bye into the Championship Game. The remaining two divisional playoff winners met in a one-game play-in for the right to go to the Championship Game. Championship Series held at Chillicothe, Ohio.
Teams in italics qualified for that season's playoffs as a wild card entry under that particular season's playoff format.
| Year | Eastern Division Champion or playoff winner | Western Division Champion or playoff winner | League Champion |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | West Virginia Miners 2, Slippery Rock Sliders 1 | Quincy Gems 15, Terre Haute Rex 5 | Quincy 5, West Virginia 0 |
| 2012 | West Virginia Miners 6, Chillicothe Paints 2 | Dubois County Bombers 3, Terre Haute Rex 2 | West Virginia over Dubois County, 2 games to 0 |
| 2013 | West Virginia Miners over Chillicothe Paints, 2 games to 0 | Quincy Gems over Danville Dans, 2 games to 0 | West Virginia Miners over Quincy Gems, 2 games to 0 |
| 2014 | Chillicothe Paints over Butler BlueSox, 2 games to 0 | Quincy Gems over Danville Dans, 2 games to 1 | Quincy Gems over Chillicothe Paints, 2 games to 1 |
| 2015 | West Virginia Miners over Chillicothe Paints, 2 games to 1 | Terre Haute Rex over Danville Dans, 2 games to 0 | Terre Haute Rex over West Virginia Miners, 2 games to 0 |
| 2016 | West Virginia Miners over Kokomo Jackrabbits, 2 games to 0 | Quincy Gems over Springfield Sliders, 2 games to 0 | West Virginia Miners over Quincy Gems, 2 games to 0 |
| 2017 | Butler BlueSox over West Virginia Miners, 2 games to 0 | Lafayette Aviators over Terre Haute Rex, 2 games to 1 | Lafayette Aviators over Butler BlueSox, 2 games to 1 |
| 2018 | Kokomo Jackrabbits over Chillicothe Paints, 2 games to 1 | Terre Haute Rex over Danville Dans, 2 games to 1 | Terre Haute Rex over Kokomo Jackrabbits, 2 games to 0 |
2011 playoff format: 56-game schedule divided in two halves. Winners from each half in each division faced each other in a one-game playoff (home field to team winning the first half). Where the same team won both halves in a division, the team with the next-best overall record from that division was declared the wild card. Divisional playoff winners met in one-game playoff with home field awarded to the team with the best overall record from the regular season.
2012 playoff format: 60-game schedule divided in two halves. Winners from each half in each division to face each other in a one-game playoff to be hosted by the first-half champions in each division. If the same team wins both halves, the team with the best overall record from that division will be declared the wild card. Winners of each divisional playoff game will meet in a best-of-three Championship Series, with home advantage given to the division that wins the annual All-Star Game (to be held in Butler, PA). Game One of the Championship Series will be played at the home field of the team from the losing division at the All-Star Game, with Game Two and Game Three (if necessary) held at the home field of the team from the winning division at the All-Star Game.
2013–2016 playoff format: 60-game schedule divided into two halves. Winners from each half in each division to face each other in a best-of-three with game one being held at second-half winner and games two and three (if necessary) at home of first-half winner. There are no travel days in the Division Series. Each division champion plays in the best-of-three Prospect League Championship Series. Game one is held at the home of the team representing the division that lost that year's All-Star Game. Games two and three (if necessary) are held at the home of the team representing the division that won that year's All-Star Game.
2017–Present playoff format: After a 60-game schedule, the top two teams in the East Division and the West Division play each other in the first round in a best of 3 series with the first place teams getting home field advantage. The winner of the East Division and West Division series face off in a best-of-three Prospect League Championship series with the team with the best record getting home field advantage.
Mike Schmidt Award winners (Player of the Year)
| Year | Winner | Position | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Tyler Bullock | Catcher | Richmond River Rats |
| 2010 | Jeff Holm | Outfielder | Chillicothe Paints |
| 2011 | Chris Serritella | First Baseman | Quincy Gems |
| 2012 | Matt Tellor | Infielder | Springfield Sliders |
| 2013 | Matt Calhoun | Infielder | Slippery Rock Sliders |
| 2014 | Ronnie Dawson | Outfielder | Chillicothe Paints |
| 2015 | David Marcus | First Baseman | Butler Bluesox |
| 2016 | Aaron Meyer | Second Baseman | DuPage Drones |
| 2017 | Dougie Parks | Third Baseman | Lafayette Aviators |
Pitcher of the Year Award winners
| Year | Winner | Throws | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Rusty Shellhorn | Left | Northcoast Knights |
| 2010 | Dean Wolosianski | Right | West Virginia Miners |
| 2011 | Clayton Schulz | Left | Chillicothe Paints |
| 2012 | Kris Gardner (LH Starter), Sam Lewis (RH Starter), Nick Blount (Reliever) | Hannibal Cavemen, West Virginia Miners, Terre Haute Rex | |
| 2013 | Wes Judish | Right | Hannibal Cavemen |
| 2014 | Adam Bleday (LH Starter), Chase Boster (RH Starter), Kolin Stanley (Reliever) | Butler BlueSox, West Virginia Miners, West Virginia Miners | |
| 2015 | Tanner Allison | Left | Chillicothe Paints |
| 2016 | Brian Hobbie | Right | Terre Haute Rex |
| 2017 | Brad Depperman | Right | Lafayette Aviators |
References
- ↑ "CICL:About Us". Retrieved 2009-06-08.
- ↑ "Blue Sox Staff". Archived from the original on 2009-05-19. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
- ↑ "Franchise gives Richmond hope for baseball". Retrieved 2009-06-08.
- ↑ "Sliders in Ypsi for '09 season". Retrieved 2009-06-08.
- ↑ "Prospect League Announces Expansion Team in Nashville". Retrieved 2010-01-23.
- ↑ "North Coast Knights become the Lorain County Ironmen". Archived from the original on 2012-03-02. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
- ↑ "Prospect League Team Keeping Jammers Name". The Post-Journal. Jamestown, New York. January 17, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
- ↑ Jackrabbits name, logo, and manager reveal, archived from the original on 2016-02-12
- ↑ Jimenez, Jesus (10 October 2015). "'Rats say so long". Palladium-Item. Gannett Company. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ↑ Jamestown Jammers Join PGCBL, archived from the original on 2016-02-12
- ↑ 2016 Schedule Announced, archived from the original on 2016-02-12
- ↑ Lafayette, Fans Select Logo for New Team, archived from the original on 2016-02-12
- ↑ DuPage Drones Logo Unveiled, archived from the original on 2016-02-12
- ↑ "Hannibal Cavement to 'suspend operations' for 2017 season". Hannibal Courier-Post. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
- ↑ Graeler, Kevin. "Final countdown: Hannibal Hoots prep for inaugural season". Hannibal Courier. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
- ↑ "Prospect League Notebook: Gems change color scheme, Cape Girardeau franchise named, Tennessee may get team". Herald-Whig. May 30, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
- ↑ Spedden, Zach (July 5, 2018). "Jackrabbits Shifting to Northwoods League". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. Retrieved July 6, 2018.