Expedition League
Sport | Baseball |
---|---|
Founded | 2015 |
President | Steve Wagner (2015–present) |
Motto | Where Tomorrow's Stars Play...Today |
No. of teams | 4 |
Countries | United States Canada |
Headquarters | Rapid City, South Dakota, United States |
Most recent champion(s) | Souris Valley Sabre Dogs (2021) |
Official website | Expedition League |
The Expedition League is a collegiate summer baseball league in the Great Plains region of the United States and Canada. The league was founded in 2015 in Rapid City, South Dakota, by Steve Wagner, who also serves as president. The league featured eight teams in its inaugural season that began in May 2018.[1] It added the Wheat City Whiskey Jacks and the Fremont Moo for the 2019 season.[2] There are currently 12 teams in the Expedition League.
Teams play a 64-game season from late-May through the beginning of August. Playoffs take place in the second week of August. The Expedition League has two divisions, the Lewis Division and the Clark Division. The season is broken into two halves, with the first half winner and the second half winner in each division meeting in the divisional round of the playoffs. The Lewis Division champions meet the Clark Division champions in a best-of-three League Championship Series.
The Rapid City Jackalopes, originally announced for the 2020 season,[3] were described in early 2020 as being "at least one more year away" due to the lack of a suitable stadium.[4] The Hub City Hotshots have suspended operations for the 2020 season and the city of Aberdeen, South Dakota has terminated the contract for use of Fossum Field.[5] In December 2019, the Sioux Falls Sunfish announced that the team would begin play in the 2020 season,[6] playing at Karras Park Home of Ronken Field in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.[7] The Mining City Tommyknockers began play at 3 Legends Stadium in Butte, Montana for the 2021 season.[8][9][10][11]
Teams
Division | Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity | Head Coach | General Manager | Website | Inaugural Season | Team Owner |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lewis | |||||||||
Souris Valley Sabre Dogs | Minot, North Dakota | Corbett Field | 2,000 | Steve Wagner | Souris Valley Sabre Dogs | 2018 | Steve Wagner, Connie Wagner | ||
Wheat City Whiskey Jacks | Brandon, Manitoba | Andrews Field | 2,000 | Robby Laughlin | Ray Walker | Wheat City Whiskey Jacks | 2019 | Steve Wagner, Connie Wagner | |
Clark | |||||||||
Pierre Trappers | Pierre, South Dakota | Hyde Stadium | 1,250 | Monterio May | Pierre Trappers | 2018 | Steve Wagner, Connie Wagner | ||
Sioux Falls Sunfish | Sioux Falls, South Dakota | Karras Park Home of Ronken Field | Sioux Falls Sunfish | 2020 | Steve Wagner, Connie Wagner |
Membership timeline
Possible future teams
Location[12] | Stadium | Capacity | Possible start date |
---|---|---|---|
Gillette, Wyoming | 2021 | ||
Grand Forks, North Dakota | 2021 | ||
Kearney, Nebraska | 2021 | ||
Rapid City, South Dakota | 2021 | ||
Williston, North Dakota | 2021 |
League officials
Position[12] | Name |
---|---|
President | Steve Wagner |
Director | Connie Wagner |
Vice President of Operations | Mitch Messer |
References
- ^ Spedden, Zach (May 30, 2017). "Expedition League to Launch in 2018". Ballpark Digest. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
- ^ Bergson, Perry (Oct 3, 2018). "Expedition League bringing team to Brandon". Brandon Sun. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
- ^ "Jackalopes coming to Rapid City, Expedition League in 2020". Rapid City Journal. May 15, 2019. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
- ^ "Jackalopes won't be ready for Expedition League 2020 season". Rapid City Journal. January 15, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
- ^ Sand, Elisa (September 5, 2019). "Hotshots suspend 2020 season, city terminates Fossum Field contract". AberdeenNews.com. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
- ^ Palleschi, Jerry (December 18, 2019). "Expedition League Set to Announce New Sioux Falls Affiliate". ESPN 99.1. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
- ^ "New for 2020: Sioux Falls Sunfish". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. February 20, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
- ^ "Expedition League expands to Butte". Ballpark Digest. October 9, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
- ^ "New for 2021: Mining City Tommyknockers". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. October 29, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
- ^ Sayler, Bruce (June 1, 2021). "Spuds top Tommyknockers in opening slugfest". Butte Sports. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
- ^ Fussell, Blake (Jun 1, 2021). "Mining City Tommyknockers welcome fans to 3 Legends Stadium". The Montana Standard. Retrieved November 8, 2021 – via 406 MT Sports.
- ^ a b Sayler, Bruce (January 17, 2018). "Collegians might be on deck at 3 Legends". Butte Sports. Butte, Montana: Butte Broadcasting, Inc. Retrieved December 28, 2018.