The Quad Cities River Bandits are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Their home games are played at Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport, Iowa, one of the Quad Cities.
The Burlington Bees are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Burlington, Iowa, and have played their home games at Community Field since 1947. Founded in 1889, the Bees played in Minor League Baseball's Midwest League from 1962 to 2020. With Major League Baseball's reorganization of the minor leagues after the 2020 season, Burlington was not selected to continue in affiliated baseball.
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional players, as baseball's professional minor leagues are more extensive, with a greater history of supplying players to Major League Baseball (MLB). Moving directly from high school to the professional level is more common in baseball than in football or basketball. However, if players opt to enroll at a four-year college, they must complete three years of college to regain professional eligibility, or have turned at least age 21 before starting their third year of college. Players who enroll at junior colleges regain eligibility after one year at that level. During the ongoing regular season, 301 teams have competed in NCAA Division I in the United States, with top teams progressing through the regular season, various conference tournaments and championship series, and the 2023 NCAA Division I baseball tournament to play for the Division I championship in the 2023 Men's College World Series.
The Northwoods League is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league. All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. The league is amateur, and players are not paid, so as to maintain their college eligibility. Graduated senior pitchers are also eligible to play in the Northwoods League. Each team may have four of these players at a time.
Centennial Field is the name of the baseball stadium at the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont, and is the home of the Vermont Lake Monsters.
Marinelli Field is a stadium in Rockford, Illinois located in Blackhawk Park and is overseen by the Rockford Park District. It is primarily used for baseball.
Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring 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. In contrast to college baseball, which allow aluminum or other composite baseball bats, players in these leagues use only wooden bats, hence the common nickname of these leagues as "wood-bat leagues". Collegiate summer leagues allow college baseball players the ability to compete using professional rules and equipment, giving them experience and allowing professional scouts the opportunity to observe players under such conditions.
The Vermont Lake Monsters are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Burlington, Vermont. From 1994 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL). They play their home games at Centennial Field, one of the oldest minor league stadiums, on the campus of the University of Vermont.
The Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League (GLSCL) is a collegiate summer baseball league in the Great Lakes region of the United States. It is affiliated with the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball and comprises teams with college baseball players from around North America. The league is sanctioned and supported by Major League Baseball. Players are not paid so as to maintain their NCAA eligibility, and the league follows NCAA rules. Many of the teams play in baseball stadiums that are normally occupied by college teams.
The Springfield Lucky Horseshoes are a collegiate summer league baseball team of the Prospect League. They play at Robin Roberts Stadium at Lanphier Park and are based in the city of Springfield, Illinois. The team was established in November 2007 as the Springfield Sliders and were an expansion franchise for the 2008 season. The Lucky Horseshoes and other collegiate summer leagues and teams exist to give top college players professional-like experience without affecting NCAA eligibility.
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.
The Quincy Gems was the primary name of the minor league baseball team in Quincy, Illinois, that played in various seasons from 1883 to 1973.
The Rockford Expos was the initial moniker of the minor league baseball teams located in Rockford, Illinois, from 1988 to 1999. The Expos were Rockford's first entity in the Midwest League and Rockford teams were minor league affiliates of the Montreal Expos (1988–1992), Kansas City Royals (1993–1994), Chicago Cubs (1995–1998) and Cincinnati Reds (1999), hosting home games at Marinelli Field.
The Rockford Rox was the primary moniker of the minor league baseball teams based in Rockford, Illinois, between 1871 and 1949. In an era of early baseball, Rockford hosted teams in numerous leagues beginning in 1871. From 1916 to 1923, the Rox played in the Class B level Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League, and from 1947 to 1949, they played in the Class C level Central Association. The Rockford Rox were preceded by the Rockford Red Sox (1901–1904) and Rockford Wakes (1914–1916) in the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League. Several other Rockford teams played in various leagues leading up to the Rox. The Rockford Rox were an affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds from 1947 to 1949.
The Lakeshore Chinooks are a baseball team based in Mequon, Wisconsin, United States and a member of the Northwoods League, a collegiate summer baseball league. The Chinooks play their home games at Kapco Park on the campus of Concordia University Wisconsin.
The Northern League is a collegiate summer baseball league consisting of teams in Indiana. It was named the Midwest Collegiate League (MCL) from 2010 to 2021.
Brenden Patrick Spillane is an American professional baseball first baseman and outfielder for the Windy City ThunderBolts of the Frontier League.
The Basin League was an independent collegiate minor league, that operated from 1953 to 1973, featuring teams primarily from South Dakota and one from Nebraska. The league name reflected the number of teams situated along the Missouri River Basin. The league roster structure evolved from having some professional players to totally being amateur. The Basin League was a pioneer of what is known today as collegiate summer baseball.
