Wikipedia

2024 Prospect League season

The 2024 Prospect League season is the 15th season of collegiate summer baseball in the Prospect League, a collegiate summer baseball league in the Midwestern United States, since its creation in June 2009. There are 18 Prospect League teams, split evenly between Eastern and Western Conferences. These conferences are then split up between the Northeast, Central, Northwest, and South divisions.

2024 Prospect League season
LeagueProspect League
SportBaseball
DurationMay 28 – July 31
(Playoffs: August 1 – August 8)
Number of games60 (540 games in total)
Number of teams18
Northeast Division
League championsChillicothe Paints
Central Division
League championsTerre Haute Rex
Northwest Division
League championsIllinois Valley Pistol Shrimp
South Division
League championsThrillville Thrillbillies
Prospect League Championship
ChampionsIllinois Valley Pistol Shrimp
  Runners-upTerre Haute Rex
Finals MVPJared Herzog
Seasons
← 2023
2025 →

The Chillicothe Paints entered the season as two-time defending champions, having defeated the Quincy Gems, two games to one, in the league's 2023 championship series.[1]

Season schedule

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Despite reaching the Prospect League Championship in 2023, the Quincy Gems announced that they would no longer play at QU Stadium and would not return for the 2024 season. The Gems would seek relocation for any potential future seasons.[2][3]

After the Gems announced they would not play in 2024, the league brought in two new teams for the season, the Dubois County Bombers and the Full Count Rhythm.[4][5] For the Bombers, it would be their second stint in the league with the first one being from 2009 to 2012.

The 18 teams in the league are split evenly between two conferences Eastern and Western. These two conferences are then split up into four divisions, Northeast, Central, Northwest, and South.

The season will be played with a 60-game schedule, which is split between two halves, with the first half ending on June 30 and the second half ending on July 31. The first-half winners in each division will host the second-half winners in a one-game divisional championship round. (If the same team wins both halves, the team with the next-best second-half record makes the playoffs).[6]

Regular season standings

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First half standings

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Eastern Conference

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Northeast Division Regular Season Standings
Pos Team G W L Pct. GB
1 y – Chillicothe Paints 29 19 10 .655 --
2 Lafayette Aviators 27 14 13 .519 4.0
3 x – Johnstown Mill Rats 29 13 16 .448 6.0
4 Champion City Kings 29 7 22 .241 12.0
Central Division Regular Season Standings
Pos Team G W L Pct. GB
1 x – Danville Dans 30 17 13 .567 --
2 x – Terre Haute Rex 28 15 13 .536 1.0
3 Normal CornBelters 29 14 15 .483 2.5
4 Full Count Rhythm 28 12 16 .429 4.0
5 Dubois County Bombers 29 12 17 .414 4.5

Western Conference

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Northwest Division Regular Season Standings
Pos Team G W L Pct. GB
1 x – Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp 26 17 9 .654 --
2 x – Clinton LumberKings 26 15 11 .577 2.0
3 Springfield Lucky Horseshoes 26 8 18 .308 9.0
4 Burlington Bees 29 6 23 .207 12.5
South Division Regular Season Standings
Pos Team G W L Pct. GB
1 x – Thrillville Thrillbillies 27 21 6 .778 --
2 Jackson Rockabillys 27 17 10 .630 4.0
3 O'Fallon Hoots 28 17 11 .607 4.5
4 Alton River Dragons 26 13 13 .500 7.5
5 x – Cape Catfish 29 14 15 .483 8.0

Second half standings

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Eastern Conference

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Northeast Division Regular Season Standings
Pos Team G W L Pct. GB
1 y – Chillicothe Paints 27 17 10 .630 --
2 x – Johnstown Mill Rats 27 13 14 .481 4.0
3 Lafayette Aviators 29 12 17 .414 6.0
4 Champion City Kings 27 11 16 .407 6.0
Central Division Regular Season Standings
Pos Team G W L Pct. GB
1 x – Terre Haute Rex 27 17 10 .630 --
2 Normal CornBelters 26 14 12 .538 2.5
3 x – Danville Dans 26 13 13 .500 3.5
4 Full Count Rhythm 27 13 14 .481 4.0
5 Dubois County Bombers 25 7 18 .280 9.0

Western Conference

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Northwest Division Regular Season Standings
Pos Team G W L Pct. GB
1 x – Clinton LumberKings 29 19 10 .655 --
2 x – Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp 30 18 12 .600 1.5
3 Springfield Lucky Horseshoes 29 16 13 .552 3.0
4 Burlington Bees 27 11 16 .407 7.0
South Division Regular Season Standings
Pos Team G W L Pct. GB
1 x – Cape Catfish 27 17 10 .630 --
2 Jackson Rockabillys 28 16 12 .571 1.5
3 O'Fallon Hoots 28 12 16 .429 5.5
4 Alton River Dragons 27 11 16 .407 6.0
5 x – Thrillville Thrillbillies 28 10 18 .357 7.5

Full season standings

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Eastern Conference

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Northeast Division Regular Season Standings
Pos Team G W L Pct. GB
1 y – Chillicothe Paints 56 36 20 .643 --
2 Lafayette Aviators 56 26 30 .464 10.0
3 x – Johnstown Mill Rats 56 26 30 .464 10.0
4 Champion City Kings 56 18 38 .321 18.0
Central Division Regular Season Standings
Pos Team G W L Pct. GB
1 x – Terre Haute Rex 55 32 23 .582 --
2 x – Danville Dans 56 30 26 .536 2.5
3 Normal CornBelters 55 28 27 .509 4.0
4 Full Count Rhythm 55 25 30 .455 7.0
5 Dubois County Bombers 54 19 35 .352 12.5

Western Conference

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Northwest Division Regular Season Standings
Pos Team G W L Pct. GB
1 x – Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp 56 35 21 .625 --
2 x – Clinton LumberKings 55 34 21 .618 0.5
3 Springfield Lucky Horseshoes 55 24 31 .436 10.5
4 Burlington Bees 56 17 39 .304 18.0
South Division Regular Season Standings
Pos Team G W L Pct. GB
1 Jackson Rockabillys 55 33 22 .600 --
2 x – Thrillville Thrillbillies 55 31 24 .564 2.0
3 x – Cape Catfish 56 31 25 .554 2.5
4 O'Fallon Hoots 56 29 27 .518 4.5
5 Alton River Dragons 53 24 29 .453 8.0
  • y – Clinched division
  • x – Clinched playoff spot

[7]

Statistical leaders

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Hitting

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Stat Player Team Total
HR Gabe Wright, Shane Lewis Terre Haute Rex, Lafayette Aviators 9
AVG Alec Gonzalez Lafayette Aviators .400
RBIs Jaison Andujar Springfield Lucky Horseshoes 51
SB Lane Crowden, Jimmy Koza Cape Catfish, Springfield Lucky Horseshoes 46

Pitching

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Stat Player Team Total
W Joshua Mauney, Trey Watson Springfield Lucky Horseshoes, Jackson Rockabillys 6
ERA Trey Watson Jackson Rockabillys 3.21
SO Gunnar Brown Danville Dans 70
SV Jaxson Lucas Jackson Rockabillys 13

Awards

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All-star selections

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End of year awards

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Award[8] Player Team
Most Valuable Player TBD TBD
Pro Prospect of the Year Eric Colaco Chillicothe Paints
Pitcher of the Year Ean DiPasquale Clinton LumberKings
Relief Pitcher of the Year Jaxson Lucas Jackson Rockabillys
Manager of the Year John Jakiemiec Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp
Social Media of the Year N/A TBD
Broadcaster of the Year TBD TBD
Ballpark Experience of the Year N/A TBD
PLTV Broadcast of the Year N/A TBD
Executive of the Year TBD TBD
Organization of the Year N/A TBD

Playoffs

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Format

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The playoffs will begin with four winner-take-all division championships followed by two winner-take-all conference championships and will conclude with a best-of-three league championship series. The playoffs are tentatively slated to begin on August 1 and conclude on August 8.

Playoff bracket

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Division Championship Round Conference Championship Round Prospect League Championship Series
(best-of-three)
           
Chillicothe Paints 11
Johnstown Mill Rats 10
Chillicothe Paints 2
↑ Northeast / ↓ Central
Terre Haute Rex 4
Danville Dans 3
Terre Haute Rex 10
Terre Haute Rex 8 2 X
↑ Eastern / ↓ Western
Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp 13 4 X
Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp 3
Clinton LumberKings 0
Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp 11
↑ Northwest / ↓ South
Thrillville Thrillbillies 5
Thrillville Thrillbillies 13
Cape Catfish 6

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Prospect League: Chillicothe Paints win 2nd straight title". advantagenews.com. August 14, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  2. ^ "Quincy Gems not returning next season; future beyond 2024 unclear". wgem.com. August 29, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  3. ^ "Owners say Gems won't play in Quincy during 2024 season, plan to move franchise to different city". muddyriversports.com. August 29, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  4. ^ "Dubois County Bombers join nationally renowned Prospect League in 2024". duboiscountyfreepress.com. September 21, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  5. ^ "Full Count Rhythm set to join Prospect League in 2024". mainstreetmediatn.com. September 20, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  6. ^ "Prospect League Announces 2024 Schedule". prospectleague.com. January 4, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  7. ^ "2024 Prospect League Standings". prospectleague.com. January 4, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  8. ^ "Prospect League Announces 2024 Awards". 2024-08-23. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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