Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada for players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operate from early June to early August. Unlike college baseball, which permits players to use baseball bats made of aluminum or other inorganic materials, these leagues require wooden bats—hence the nickname "wood-bat leagues". The leagues enable college baseball players to compete—and professional scouts to observe them—with professional rules and equipment .
Contents
- Active leagues
- National Alliance of College Summer Baseball
- National Amateur Baseball Federation
- National Baseball Congress
- Minor League Baseball Prospect Development Pipeline
- Other (unaffiliated) leagues
- Defunct leagues
- See also
- References
- External links
To find a collegiate summer team, players work with their college coaches and prospective teams' general managers. They report to summer leagues after completing their spring collegiate season, arriving late if their college team goes deep into postseason play. Players drafted during the collegiate summer season may remain with the team until they sign a professional contract.
Summer leagues often housed their players with volunteer host families in the area, but the recent flow of money to baseball's lower leagues has enabled some teams to put their players up in local hotels. They generally travel by private coach bus to and from road games, and stay in hotels during road trips. [1]
The leagues vary greatly in their attendances, quality of play, and ability to attract scouts. The Alaska Baseball League (ABL) and the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) are considered the premier collegiate summer leagues. [2] [3]
