| Northwoods League | |
| Pixels: | 175px |
| Sport: | Baseball |
| Founded: | 1994 |
| Divisions: | Great Lakes Division, Great Plains Division |
| Teams: | 26 |
| Countries: | United States, Canada |
| Continent: | North America |
| Champion: | Kalamazoo Growlers (2) (2024) |
| Most Champs: | Rochester Honkers (5) |
| Level: | Summer Collegiate |
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.
Teams play 72 games scheduled from Memorial Day to the 2nd Saturday in August, while the playoffs take place the week after, starting on that Sunday and ending usually on Friday. The season itself is broken into two halves, with the winners of each half in each of the four sub-divisions playing against each other to determine a sub-divisional champion in a best-of-three series. The sub-divisional champions then meet in a winner-take-all game to determine a divisional champion. The divisional champions then meet in a winner-take-all game for the league championship.
In 2020, some teams cancelled their season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For those teams that did play, instead of playing within their usual divisions, they played in hub regions, with some creating "temporary teams".
In 2023, the Northwoods League announced plans to create a new softball league. The softball league will initially consist of four teams, based in Madison (Madison Night Mares) and La Crosse, Wisconsin (La Crosse Steam); Mankato, Minnesota (Mankato Habeneros); and Minot, North Dakota (Minot Honeybees).[1]
Established in 1994, the Northwoods League was the first for-profit summer collegiate baseball league. It has more teams and plays more games than any other summer collegiate baseball league.[2] The Northwoods League drew over 1.1 Million fans for the fourth consecutive year in 2017. The purpose of the league is to develop players while college baseball teams are not allowed to work out. Many of the teams in the league play in ballparks formerly occupied by professional clubs from the Midwest League, Prairie League, Northern League, and Frontier League. The wooden bat circuit allows communities deemed too small for professional ball to continue to enjoy high-quality, competitive baseball during the summer months. The Northwoods League was the first summer collegiate baseball league to broadcast on the ESPN network, and currently webcasts all of its games.
The teams are located in the Northwoods region of the Upper Midwestern United States and Northwestern Ontario, mostly in the U.S. states of Minnesota (five teams) and Wisconsin (nine teams); also with four teams in Michigan, three in North Dakota, and one team each in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Ontario.
Over 300 league alumni have gone on to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) with 91 alumni entering the MLB ranks from 2013 to 2017. Alumnus Max Scherzer, the 2017 National League Cy Young Award winner, and American League runner-up Chris Sale faced each other as the starting pitchers in the 2017 and 2018 Major League Baseball All-Star Games.
In small cities it may be hard to find the financial stability in a newly-founded baseball league. League leaders realized they needed to gain significant revenue from sponsors in order to succeed. According to league Chairman and co-founder Dick Radatz, Jr, two-thirds of the revenue comes from sponsors and the remainder from ticket sales, concessions, and team merchandise. Radatz also noted the importance of having the sponsor revenue before the beginning of the season.[3]
| Division | Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Lakes[4] | ||||
| East | Battle Creek Battle Jacks | 2,193 | ||
| Kalamazoo Growlers | 4,000 | |||
| Kenosha Kingfish | 3,218 | |||
| Kokomo Jackrabbits | 4,000 | |||
| Rockford Rivets | 3,279 | |||
| Royal Oak Leprechauns[5] | 1,000 | |||
| Traverse City Pit Spitters | 4,200 | |||
| West | Fond du Lac Dock Spiders | 2,000 | ||
| Green Bay Rockers | 3,359 | |||
| Lakeshore Chinooks | 3,000 | |||
| Madison Mallards | 7,500 | |||
| Wausau Woodchucks | 3,850 | |||
| Wisconsin Rapids Rafters | 1,560 | |||
| Great Plains | ||||
| East | Duluth Huskies | 4,200 | ||
| Eau Claire Express | 3,800 | |||
| La Crosse Loggers | 3,550 | |||
| Minnesota Mud Puppies | Traveling team | |||
| Rochester Honkers | 2,570 | |||
| Thunder Bay Border Cats | 3,031 | |||
| Waterloo Bucks | 5,000 | |||
| West | Badlands Big Sticks[6] | 1,200 | ||
| Bismarck Larks | 1,900 | |||
| Mankato MoonDogs | 4,000 | |||
| Minot Hot Tots | 1,266 | |||
| St. Cloud Rox | 2,000 | |||
| Willmar Stingers | 1,500 | |||
Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7) id:line value:black id:bg value:white
PlotData= width:20 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:orange from:1994 till:end text:Dubuque Mud Puppies (1994–1996), St. Cloud River Bats (1997-2011), St. Cloud Rox (2012–present)
bar:2 color:orange from:1994 till:1999 text:Kenosha Kroakers (1994–1998)
bar:3 color:orange from:1994 till:1998 text:Manitowoc Skunks (1994–1997)
bar:4 color:orange from:1994 till:end text:Rochester Honkers (1994–present)
bar:5 color:orange from:1994 till:end text:Wausau Woodchucks (1994–1998), Wisconsin Woodchucks (1999–2021), Wausau Woodchucks (2022–present)
bar:6 color:orange from:1995 till:end text:Waterloo Bucks (1995–present)
bar:7 color:orange from:1998 till:2003 text:Brainerd Mighty Gulls (1998–2002)
bar:8 color:orange from:1998 till:2001 text:Grand Forks Channel Cats (1998–2000)
bar:9 color:orange from:1998 till:2001 text:Southern Minny Stars (1998–1999), Minot Greenheads (2000)
bar:10 color:orange from:1999 till:end text:Mankato Mashers (1999–2001), Mankato MoonDogs (2002–present)
bar:11 color:orange from:2001 till:2016 text:Alexandria Beetles (2001-2012), Alexandria Blue Anchors (2013-2015)
bar:12 color:orange from:2001 till:end text:Madison Mallards (2001–present)
bar:13 color:orange from:2003 till:end text:Duluth Huskies (2003–present)
bar:14 color:orange from:2003 till:end text:La Crosse Loggers (2003–present)
bar:15 color:orange from:2003 till:2019 text:Thunder Bay Border Cats (2003–2019, 2023-present) bar:15 color:orange from:2023 till:end
bar:16 color:orange from:2005 till:2012 text:Brainerd Blue Thunder (2005-2008), Brainerd Lakes Area Lunkers (2009-2011)
bar:17 color:orange from:2005 till:end text:Eau Claire Express (2005–present)
bar:18 color:orange from:2007 till:end text:Battle Creek Bombers (2007–2021), Battle Creek Battle Jacks (2022–present)
bar:19 color:orange from:2007 till:end text:Green Bay Bullfrogs (2007–2018), Green Bay Booyah (2019-2021), Green Bay Rockers (2022-present)
bar:20 color:orange from:2010 till:end text:Willmar Stingers (2010–present)
bar:21 color:orange from:2010 till:end text:Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (2010–present)
bar:22 color:orange from:2012 till:end text:Lakeshore Chinooks (2012–present)
bar:23 color:orange from:2014 till:end text:Kalamazoo Growlers (2014–present)
bar:24 color:orange from:2014 till:end text:Kenosha Kingfish (2014–present)
bar:25 color:orange from:2016 till:end text:Rockford Rivets (2016–present)
bar:26 color:orange from:2017 till:end text:Bismarck Larks (2017–present)
bar:27 color:orange from:2017 till:end text:Fond du Lac Dock Spiders (2017–present)
bar:28 color:orange from:2019 till:end text:Kokomo Jackrabbits (2019–present)
bar:29 color:orange from:2019 till:end text:Traverse City Pit Spitters (2019–present)
bar:30 color:orange from:2023 till:end text:Minot Hot Tots (2023-present)
bar:31 color:orange from:2024 till:end text:Badlands Big Sticks (2024-present)
bar:32 color:orange from:2024 till:end text:Royal Oak Leprechauns (2024-present)ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1994
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Crosse Steam | 3,550 | |||
| Madison Night Mares | 7,500 | |||
| Mankato Habaneros | 4,000 | |||
| Minot Honeybees | 1,266 |
Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7) id:line value:black id:bg value:white
PlotData= width:20 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:orange from:2024 till:2024 text:La Crosse Steam (2024–present)
bar:2 color:orange from:2024 till:2024 text:Madison Night Mares (2024–present)
bar:3 color:orange from:2024 till:2024 text:Mankato Habaneros (2024–present)
bar:4 color:orange from:2024 till:2024 text:Minot Honeybees (2024–present)
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:2024
| Season | Champion | Runner-up | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Rochester Honkers | --- | --- |
| 1995 | Kenosha Kroakers | Manitowoc Skunks | 2-0 |
| 1996 | Waterloo Bucks | Rochester Honkers | 2-0 |
| 1997 | Rochester Honkers (2) | Waterloo Bucks | 2-1 |
| 1998 | St. Cloud River Bats | Rochester Honkers | 2-0 |
| 1999 | Rochester Honkers (3) | St. Cloud River Bats | 2-1 |
| 2000 | St. Cloud River Bats (2) | Waterloo Bucks | 2-0 |
| 2001 | Wisconsin Woodchucks | St. Cloud River Bats | 2-1 |
| 2002 | Waterloo Bucks (2) | Brainerd Mighty Gulls | 2-0 |
| 2003 | Wisconsin Woodchucks (2) | St. Cloud River Bats | 2-1 |
| 2004 | Madison Mallards | Duluth Huskies | 2-0 |
| 2005 | Thunder Bay Border Cats | Madison Mallards | 2-1 |
| 2006 | Rochester Honkers (4) | Thunder Bay Border Cats | 2-0 |
| 2007 | St. Cloud River Bats (3) | Eau Claire Express | 2-0 |
| 2008 | Thunder Bay Border Cats (2) | Madison Mallards | 2-1 |
| 2009 | Rochester Honkers (5)[7] | La Crosse Loggers | 2-1 |
| 2010 | Eau Claire Express | Rochester Honkers | 2-1 |
| 2011 | Battle Creek Bombers | Mankato MoonDogs | 2-0 |
| 2012 | La Crosse Loggers | Mankato MoonDogs | 2-0 |
| 2013 | Madison Mallards (2)[8] | Duluth Huskies | 2-0 |
| 2014 | Lakeshore Chinooks[9] | Mankato MoonDogs | 2-0 |
| 2015 | Kenosha Kingfish[10] | St. Cloud Rox | 2-0 |
| 2016 | Wisconsin Rapids Rafters | Eau Claire Express | 2-0 |
| 2017 | St. Cloud Rox (4) | Battle Creek Bombers | 2-1 |
| 2018 | Fond du Lac Dock Spiders | Duluth Huskies | 2-1 |
| 2019 | Traverse City Pit Spitters | Eau Claire Express | 3-2 |
| 2020 | No official league champion as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic | --- | --- |
| 2021 | Traverse City Pit Spitters (2) | St. Cloud Rox | 9-3 |
| 2022 | Kalamazoo Growlers | Duluth Huskies | 8-3 |
| 2023 | Green Bay Rockers | St. Cloud Rox | 4-3 |
| 2024 | Kalamazoo Growlers (2) | La Crosse Loggers | 8-7 (14) |
2020 Pod Champions[11]
| Pod | Champion | Result(Record) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenosha | Kenosha Kingfish | 17-9 | |
| Michigan North | Traverse City Pit Spitters | 33-8 | |
| Michigan South | Kalamazoo Growlers | 40-25 | |
| Minnesota-Iowa | Waterloo Bucks | 28-13 | |
| North Dakota | Bismarck Larks | 33-15 | |
| Wisconsin-Illinois (East) | Fond du Lac Dock Spiders | 31-17 | |
| Wisconsin-Illinois (West) | Wisconsin Rapids Rafters | 35-11 |
The Northwoods League, in addition tobeing a developmental league for playersand coaches, is also a developmental league for umpires. The concentrated game schedule, travel, and Minor League-like game conditions give NWL umpires a pre-professional experience. Since the League's inaugural season in 1994, 44 of its former umpires have furthered their careers in affiliated professional baseball.
The League recruits its umpires from the two umpire schools whose curricula have been approved by the Professional Baseball Umpire Corps. (PBUC): The Minor League Umpire training Academy and Harry Wendelstedt School for Umpires. The umpires ultimately chosen are usually among the top school graduates who were then selected to the pre-season, PBUC sponsored Umpire Evaluation Course.
The NWL contracts with eleven three-man crews during the regular season, a six-man crew during the mid-season All-Star game, and six umpires for both the divisional playoffs and championship series.