The Coastal Plain League (CPL) is a wood-bat
collegiate summer 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 operat ...
league, featuring
college players recruited from throughout the nation. The league takes its name from the
Class D level
Coastal League which operated in the area from 1937 to 1952.
History
The modern Coastal Plain League was formed with six teams in 1997. The league has expanded over the years with teams across
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...
,
South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
, and
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, with the 2023 addition of the Boone Bigfoots being the most recent expansion, bringing the league to 14 teams.
Founding
The league was founded in 1997 by Pete Bock. Bock conceived the idea in the early 1990s while traveling long distances to the
Valley Baseball League in
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
to see his son, Jeff, play
summer baseball. Bock, an experienced sports executive, wanted a collegiate summer league closer to his home. He acted on it and the Coastal Plain league began play for the 1997 season.
Past champions
Petitt Cup years
''Playoff seedings based on overall record, so division champions listed are based on overall record.''
Pre-Petitt Cup
Teams
Former teams
*
Raleigh RedWolves (1997, moved to
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...
)
*Rocky Mount Rockfish (1997–98)
*Durham Braves (1997–2000, renamed Durham Americans)
*Durham Americans (2001–03, formerly Durham Braves)
*Spartanburg Stingers (2003–07, moved to
Forest City, renamed Owls)
*New Bern River Rats (2005–07, moved to
Morehead City, renamed Marlins in 2010)
*
Outer Banks Daredevils (1997, 1999-2011, changed leagues)
*
Petersburg Generals
The Petersburg Generals were an amateur baseball team in the Coastal Plain League, a collegiate summer baseball league. The team played its home games at the Petersburg Sports Complex in Petersburg, Virginia. The Generals first started particip ...
(2000–2016)
*
Edenton Steamers (1998–2019, changed leagues)
*
Fayetteville SwampDogs (2001–2019)
*
Gastonia Grizzlies (2002–2020, moved to
Spartanburg, renamed Spartanburgers)
*
Spartanburgers (2021, suspended operations)
*
Savannah Bananas
The Savannah Bananas are an exhibition baseball team based in Savannah, Georgia. The team was founded in 2016 and has played at Grayson Stadium since its inaugural season. Until 2022, the Bananas competed as a collegiate summer baseball team in ...
(2016–2022, left league to concentrate on its professional exhibition operation)
References
External links
Official site
Summer baseball leagues
College baseball leagues in the United States
Baseball leagues in North Carolina
Baseball leagues in South Carolina
Baseball leagues in Virginia
Sports leagues established in 1997
1997 establishments in the United States
{{Virginia-sport-stub