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Frontier League

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"National Association of Professional Baseball" redirects here. For other organizations known as the "National Association", see National Association (disambiguation).

Frontier League
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2026 Frontier League season
ClassificationIndependent baseball
SportBaseball
Founded1993
CommissionerSteve Tahsler
No. of teams18
Countries
  • United States (15 teams)
  • Canada (3 teams)
HeadquartersForeFront Field
2009 Baseball Boulevard
Avon, Ohio, United States
ContinentNorth America
Most recent
champions		Québec Capitales
(4th title)
(2025)
Most titlesSchaumburg Boomers and Québec Capitales
(4 titles)
Streaming partnerFrontier League Network / HomeTeam Network
Official websitefrontierleague.com

The Frontier League (FL; French: Ligue Frontière, LF) is a professional baseball league in North America composed of 15 teams in the United States and 3 in Canada.[1] The league is an official MLB Partner League and is the oldest active independent professional baseball league in North America.[2] The FL is headquartered at the Crushers' ballpark in Avon, Ohio.

In April 2026, the league announced that it would rebrand as the National Association of Professional Baseball (NAPB) beginning with the 2027 season.[3] The league stated that its history, statistics and records would continue under the new identity.[3]

The Frontier League was organized during the winter of 1992–1993 by a group seeking to bring professional baseball to communities in West Virginia, eastern Kentucky and southeast Ohio that were unlikely to receive affiliated professional baseball teams. The group named the new circuit the Frontier League.[4]

At its inception, the FL had eight teams, all in the United States. The league expanded to Canada in 1999, when the London Werewolves joined. From 2008 to 2019, the league operated with several different franchise structures, peaking with 14 teams. The league added five teams as a result of the Can-Am and Frontier Leagues merger in 2020, increased to 16 teams by 2021, and reached 18 teams with 2025 expansion clubs in Pearl, Mississippi, and Kinston, North Carolina. The Mississippi Mud Monsters were established at Trustmark Park following the departure of the Mississippi Braves, while the Down East Bird Dawgs were established at Grainger Stadium following the departure of the Down East Wood Ducks.[5][6]

The league's regular season is typically held from May to September, with each team playing 96 games.[7] Following the conclusion of the regular season, eight teams advance to the Frontier League playoffs, a three-round tournament that runs into late September to determine the league champion.[8] The reigning league champions are the Québec Capitales, who defeated the Schaumburg Boomers in five games in the 2025 Frontier League Championship Series to win their fourth consecutive league title.[9]

History

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Early years

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The Frontier League was founded in 1993. It initially struggled to retain franchises, with four of its eight founding teams folding within three seasons, though it steadily grew to twelve teams within a decade. The first league champions were the Zanesville Greys. Eight teams have won more than one championship: Springfield in 1996 and 1998; Johnstown in 1995 as the Steal and in 2000 as the Johnnies; Richmond Roosters in 2001 and 2002; Windy City in 2007 and 2008; the Joliet Slammers in 2011 and 2018; the Evansville Otters in 2006 and 2016; the Schaumburg Boomers in 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2021; and the Québec Capitales in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. With four titles each, the Boomers and Capitales are tied for the most league championships.

On June 20, 2000, Brian Tollberg debuted with the San Diego Padres, becoming the first FL player to make it to the major leagues. A week later, Morgan Burkhart made his debut with the Boston Red Sox.

Although the league does not have any teams located in the same city as Major League teams, several Frontier League teams play within Major League Baseball markets. The Chicago area has three teams, the Joliet Slammers, Schaumburg Boomers and Windy City ThunderBolts, while the New York area has the New Jersey Jackals, Sussex County Miners and New York Boulders. Other markets include St. Louis with the Gateway Grizzlies, Cleveland with the Lake Erie Crushers, Cincinnati with the Florence Y'alls and Pittsburgh with the Washington Wild Things.[10]

League merger

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On October 16, 2019, it was announced that the Frontier League would merge with the Can-Am League, absorbing five of its teams to form the largest independent professional baseball league. This added the New Jersey Jackals, New York Boulders, Québec Capitales, Sussex County Miners and Trois-Rivières Aigles to the league. The Ottawa Champions, the last remaining Can-Am League team, were not invited to participate.[11] The divisions were renamed, with the easternmost teams playing in the Can-Am Division and the westernmost teams playing in the Midwest Division.

On September 24, 2020, Major League Baseball announced that it named the FL as an MLB Partner League.[12] This enabled collaboration with MLB to jointly discuss marketing and promotional initiatives to grow, expand and enhance the game and quality of baseball.[13]

Border issues

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For the 2021 season, the league announced that it would add two new teams. The first announcement came around the same time as the announcement of the partnership with Major League Baseball, as Ottawa was granted an expansion franchise in the league. The team, as chosen by fans in a contest, was named the Titans and started playing at Ottawa Stadium.[14][15] Then, on January 8, 2021, after the reorganization of Minor League Baseball, the league added the Tri-City ValleyCats, which were one of several teams left without affiliation when the New York-Penn League was folded. The Titans, ValleyCats and Washington Wild Things joined the five former Can-Am League teams in the Can-Am Division, while Lake Erie was transferred to the Midwest Division.

On April 22, 2021, the league announced that the Québec Capitales, Trois-Rivières Aigles and Ottawa Titans would not compete in the 2021 season due to the prolonged closure of the Canada–United States border as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Titans, Aigles and Capitales later joined forces to form a new team that competed as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Can-Am Conference.[16] Known as Équipe Québec, they began the season as a traveling team. Starting on July 30, 2021, they shared home games between Quebec City and Trois-Rivières following a loosening in border restrictions.[17][18] The team played 10 games in Québec City and 11 in Trois-Rivières. It did not play in Ottawa due to COVID-19 restrictions in Ontario.

Expansion era

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On October 6, 2021, the owners of the Southern Illinois Miners, Jayne and John Simmons, announced they would be retiring from professional baseball to spend more time with family. The Miners ceased operations and dropped out of the FL.[19][20] As a result, the league formed the Empire State Greys, a traveling team with a roster of players from the Empire Professional Baseball League.[21]

In September 2023, the league announced a new team, the New England Knockouts, planned to play at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton, Massachusetts, beginning with the 2024 season. This brought the total number of permanent members of the league to sixteen teams.[22] After playing one season as the Knockouts, the team was renamed the Brockton Rox in January 2025.[23]

In September 2024, the league announced expansion clubs in Mississippi and North Carolina.[5][24] A franchise was awarded to Pearl, Mississippi, called the Mississippi Mud Monsters,[25] following the departure of the Atlanta Braves Double-A affiliate, the Mississippi Braves.[5] The Down East Bird Dawgs, a new team in Kinston, North Carolina, began play at Grainger Stadium, which was formerly home of the Texas Rangers-affiliated Down East Wood Ducks.[26][24][27] The additions brought the league to 18 teams.

Rebrand to National Association of Professional Baseball

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On April 22, 2026, the Frontier League announced that it would rebrand as the National Association of Professional Baseball beginning with the 2027 season.[3] The league said the change followed a strategic planning process that began in fall 2024 and was intended to reflect the league's growth beyond its original regional footprint.[3]

The league stated that the Frontier League name would remain in use through the 2026 season, with the National Association identity beginning in 2027. The league also stated that its 34-year history, statistics, records and team histories would continue under the new name.[3] The full set of new marks was scheduled to be unveiled during the 2026 Home Run Derby at Thomas More Stadium in Florence, Kentucky.[3]

Season structure

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The Frontier League season is divided into a preseason in late April and early May, a regular season from early May through early September, and a postseason that runs until late September.[7]

Teams usually hold a spring showcase for prospects in April and participate in prospect tournaments, full games that do not feature any veterans, in late April. Full training camps begin in late April and include a preseason consisting of a few exhibition games. Split squad games, in which parts of a team's regular season roster play separate games on the same day, are occasionally played during the preseason.

During the regular season, clubs play each other in a predefined schedule. Since 2021, all teams have played 96 games in the regular season: 48 home games and 48 road games. Teams play most of their games against clubs in their own geographic division and play limited interconference series.[28]

The league's regular season standings are based on winning percentage. At the end of the regular season, the team that finishes with the highest winning percentage in each division is crowned division champion.

The Frontier League playoffs are an elimination tournament. Four teams from each conference qualify: the top team in each division plus the two conference teams with the next highest winning percentage.[29] The two Wild Card Series winners proceed to the Frontier League Division Series as the league's conference finals, and the two conference champions proceed to the Frontier League Championship Series. In all rounds, the higher-ranked team is awarded home-field advantage, with up to three games played at that team's home venue. In the championship series, the team with the most regular season wins receives home-field advantage.[8]

Players

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Teams in the FL must recruit and sign their own players, who usually are undrafted college players or former affiliated prospects who have been released by their organizations.

The league has roster rules designed to provide opportunities for younger players. These include a maximum of eight veterans per team and a minimum of ten rookies on the roster.[30] The remaining six players on the 24-man roster can be classified as Experienced-1 or Experienced-2. Rosters are limited to 24 players for the Opening Day series, although up to 10 additional players can be added to a team's roster during the regular season before the transactions limit.

Teams

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Map
About OpenStreetMaps
Maps: terms of use
440km
273miles
Windy City ThunderBolts
Windy City ThunderBolts
Washington Wild Things
Washington Wild Things
Trois-Rivieres Aigles
Trois-Rivieres Aigles
Tri City ValleyCats
Tri City ValleyCats
Sussex County Miners
Sussex County Miners
Schaumburg Boomers
Schaumburg Boomers
Quebec Capitales
Quebec Capitales
Ottawa Titans
Ottawa Titans
New York Boulders
New York Boulders
New Jersey Jackals
New Jersey Jackals
Mississippi Mud Monsters
Mississippi Mud Monsters
Lake Erie Crushers
Lake Erie Crushers
Joliet Slammers
Joliet Slammers
Gateway Grizzlies
Gateway Grizzlies
Florence Y'alls
Florence Y'alls
Evansville Otters
Evansville Otters
Down East Bird Dawgs
Down East Bird Dawgs
Brockton Rox
Brockton Rox
Locations of teams in the Central, East, North, and West divisions for the 2026 season.

For the 2021 season, the Frontier League consisted of 14 teams, 13 based in the United States and one in Canada.[31] The FL divided the 14 teams into two conferences: the Can-Am Conference and the Midwest Conference. Each conference was split into two divisions.[32] The league temporarily realigned from the 2022 to the 2024 seasons but returned to a two-conference, four-division alignment for the 2025 season. With the addition of the Empire State Greys in 2022–2023 and the Brockton Rox in 2024, the league operated at 16 teams with two divisions, East and West.[33][34]

The league expanded to 15 teams with the addition of the Ottawa Titans in 2020, then to 16 with the addition of the Tri-City ValleyCats in 2021.[35] In September 2024, a new expansion team in Mississippi was created following the departure of the Mississippi Braves.[36] A second new team in Kinston, North Carolina, joined the FL and started playing in 2025 as the Down East Bird Dawgs.[37] The expansion brought the league to 18 teams and marked its first expansion into the Deep South. The league reverted to a two-conference, four-division setup.[38]

List of teams

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Overview of FL teams
Conference Division Team City Stadium Capacity Founded Joined General manager Manager
Atlantic East Down East Bird Dawgs Kinston, North Carolina Grainger Stadium 3,400 2025 Shari Massengill Brett Wellman
New Jersey Jackals Paterson, New Jersey Hinchliffe Stadium 7,800 1998 2020 John Hunt Albert Gonzalez
New York Boulders Pomona, New York Clover Stadium 8,362 2011 2020 Shawn Reilly T.J. Stanton
Sussex County Miners Augusta, New Jersey Skylands Stadium 4,200 2015 2020 Vincent Sangemino Chris Widger
North Brockton Rox Brockton, Massachusetts Campanelli Stadium 4,750 2024 Connor Carey Jerod Edmondson
Ottawa Titans Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa Stadium 10,332 2021 Martin Boyce Bobby Brown
Québec Capitales Quebec City, Quebec Stade Canac 4,297 1999 2020 Mike Petillion Patrick Scalabrini
Tri-City ValleyCats Troy, New York Joseph L. Bruno Stadium 6,500 2002 2021 Matt Callahan Greg Tagert
Trois-Rivières Aigles Trois-Rivières, Quebec Stade Quillorama 4,000 2013 2020 Simon Laliberté Jonathan Albaladejo
Midwest Central Evansville Otters Evansville, Indiana Bosse Field 5,181 1995 Travis Painter Andy McCauley
Florence Y'alls Florence, Kentucky Thomas More Stadium 4,500 2003 Max Johnson Chad Rhoades
Lake Erie Crushers Avon, Ohio ForeFront Field 5,000 2009 Brian Wentzel Jared Lemieux
Washington Wild Things Washington, Pennsylvania EQT Park 3,200 2002 Tony Bucilli Tom Vaeth
West Gateway Grizzlies Sauget, Illinois Arsenal BG Ballpark 6,000 2001 Kurt Ringkamp Steve Brook
Joliet Slammers Joliet, Illinois Duly Health and Care Field 6,016 2011 Bruce Maddox III Mike Pinto
Mississippi Mud Monsters Pearl, Mississippi Trustmark Park 6,500 2025 Andrew Seymour Jay Pecci
Schaumburg Boomers Schaumburg, Illinois Wintrust Field 5,665 2012 Michael Larson Jamie Bennett
Windy City ThunderBolts Crestwood, Illinois Ozinga Field 3,500 1995 1999 Mike VerSchave Toby Hall

Former teams

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Timeline

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Mississippi Mud MonstersDown East Bird DawgsBrockton Rox (Frontier League)Tri-City ValleyCatsOttawa TitansTrois-Rivières Aigles (Frontier League)Sussex County MinersQuébec CapitalesNew York BouldersNew Jersey JackalsFrontier GreysPennsylvania Road WarriorsSchaumburg BoomersJoliet SlammersNormal CornBeltersLake Erie CrushersSouthern Illinois MinersSlippery Rock SlidersKalamazoo KingsGateway GrizzliesCook County CheetahsCanton CrocodilesRichmond RoostersNewark BuffaloesErie SailorsRiver City RascalsZanesville GreysWest Virginia Coal SoxTri-State TomahawksPortsmouth ExplorersOhio Valley RedcoatsLancaster ScoutsKentucky RiflesChillicothe Paints

Champions

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Records

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Individual career records

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Batting

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Statistic Record Player
Games Played 745 Santiago Chirino
At Bats 2,928
Runs 452
Hits 929
Home Runs 127 Charlie Lisk
Runs Batted In 442

Pitching

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Statistic Record Player
Games 300 Jake Joyce
Games started 121 Zac Westcott
Innings Pitched 781.2
Wins 53
Strikeouts 621
Complete Games 18 Aaron Ledbetter
Saves 74 Zach Strecker

Broadcasting

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On February 24, 2022, the FL announced that all games for the 2022 season would be available through the streaming platform FloSports.[40] In 2025, the league moved its streaming broadcasts to the Frontier League Network, powered by HomeTeam Network, as part of a multi-year streaming and broadcast partnership.[41]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ "Frontier League". Frontier League. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  2. ^ "American Association, Frontier League now MLB Partner Leagues". Ballpark Digest. August Publishing. September 24, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Frontier League Set to Become the National Association of Professional Baseball (NAPB) Beginning of the 2027 Season". Frontier League. April 22, 2026. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  4. ^ "History". Frontier League.
  5. ^ a b c Simmons, Scott (September 9, 2024). "New baseball team coming to Trustmark Park as M-Braves leave". WAPT. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  6. ^ "Frontier League Adds Down East Bird Dawgs In Latest Expansion". Frontier League (Press release). September 17, 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Frontier League Announces 2025 Season Schedule". Frontier League. October 27, 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Frontier League championship series preview". Frontier League. September 10, 2024.
  9. ^ "Québec wins fourth straight championship". Frontier League. September 21, 2025. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  10. ^ "Team History". Washington Wild Things. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
  11. ^ "Frontier League, Can-Am League to Join Forces". Frontier League. October 16, 2019. Archived from the original on October 16, 2019. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  12. ^ "PressRelease". MLB. September 24, 2020. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  13. ^ "American Association, Frontier League now MLB Partner Leagues". Ballpark Digest. August Publishing. September 24, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  14. ^ Reichard, Kevin (September 25, 2020). "Frontier League returns to Ottawa in 2021". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  15. ^ Baines, Tim (September 23, 2020). "PLAY BALL! Sam Katz confident baseball will be a hit in Ottawa when it returns next year". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  16. ^ "Équipe Québec Unveils Branding". Frontier League (Press release). April 27, 2021. Archived from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
  17. ^ "Frontier League Adjusts 2021 Schedule". Frontier League (Press release). April 17, 2021. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
  18. ^ "Retour du baseball professionnel au Québec". Québec Capitales (in Canadian French). July 21, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  19. ^ "Jayne and John Simmons Announce Retirement from Professional Baseball in Marion, Illinois" (Press release). Southern Illinois Miners. October 6, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  20. ^ Reichard, Kevin (October 7, 2021). "Southern Illinois Miners ceasing operations". Ballpark Digest. August Publishing. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  21. ^ Reichard, Kevin (February 12, 2022). "New for 2022: Empire State Greys". Ballpark Digest. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  22. ^ "Frontier League Awards Membership to New England". Frontier League (Press release). September 21, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  23. ^ Touri, Amin (January 29, 2025). "Brockton Rox returning to professional baseball with Red Sox Hall of Famer Jim Rice as co-owner". The Boston Globe. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  24. ^ a b Sartori, Gabby; Layton, Courtney (September 17, 2024). "Down East Wood Ducks reveal new team name and logo at Grainger Stadium". WNCT-TV. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  25. ^ Reily, Ross (September 28, 2024). "New name for a new baseball team in Pearl, Mississippi". Clarion Ledger. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  26. ^ "Frontier League Adds Down East Bird Dawgs In Latest Expansion". Frontier League (Press release). September 17, 2024.
  27. ^ "Down East Bird Dawgs coming to Kinston's Grainger Stadium". WITN. September 17, 2024. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  28. ^ "Frontier League, Ottawa Titans Announce 2025 Schedule". www.ottawatitans.com. October 28, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
  29. ^ "Frontier League".
  30. ^ "Frontier League".
  31. ^ "2021 Frontier League". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  32. ^ "Frontier League - standings". Pointstreak Sports Technologies. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  33. ^ "2023 Frontier League". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  34. ^ "2024 Frontier League". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  35. ^ "Ottawa Sun".
  36. ^ "The Frontier League Announces Newest Expansion Team In Mississippi". Frontier League (Press release). September 9, 2024.
  37. ^ "Frontier League adds Down East Bird Dawgs in latest expansion" (Press release). Frontier League. September 17, 2024.
  38. ^ "Frontier League, Ottawa Titans Announce 2025 Schedule". www.ottawatitans.com. October 28, 2024. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  39. ^ Dugan, Chris. "Frontier League season canceled". Observer-Reporter. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  40. ^ "Frontier League and FloSports Announce Landmark Streaming Rights Agreement". OurSports Central (Press release). Frontier League. February 24, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  41. ^ "Frontier League Announces Multi-Year Streaming and Broadcast Partnership With HomeTeam Network" (Press release). Frontier League. Retrieved April 7, 2025.
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