The Nashville Outlaws were a

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 ...

team of the

Prospect League 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 colleg ...

. They were located in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, and were named for the city's association with

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

, particularly the outlaw country genre which was popular during the late 1960s and 1970s."Frequently Asked Questions."
Nashville Outlaws. Retrieved on January 23, 2010. The team played its home games at

Hawkins Field Hawkins Field is a baseball stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. It is the home field of the Vanderbilt Commodores college baseball team.

in 2010 and Ken Dugan Field at Stephen Lee Marsh Stadium in 2011. The Outlaws were established in 2010 as an

expansion team An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...

of the Prospect League.,Boclair, David
"Baseball Outlaws ride into town this summer."
''Nashville City Paper''. January 21, 2010. Retrieved on January 23, 2010. but ceased operations after the 2011 season.

Team history

The Nashville Outlaws began in 2010 in

, as an

of the

. The franchise was founded by three former

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

executives: Brandon Vonderharr, Jason Bennett, and Chris Snyder. The Outlaws are named for the city's association with

, particularly the outlaw country genre which was popular during the late 1960s and 1970s. The Outlaws played their first game, a 10–3 loss, against the

Terre Haute Rex The Terre Haute REX are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Terre Haute, Indiana. They are a member of the summer collegiate Prospect League. They are managed by Tyler Wampler. The Rex play home games at Bob Warn Field at Sycamore Stadium ...

on the road at Sycamore Stadium in

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

, on June 4, 2010. After three more games on the road, the Outlaws played their first home game at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

Hawkins Field Hawkins Field is a baseball stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. It is the home field of the Vanderbilt Commodores college baseball team.

on June 8. The home team defeated the

Springfield Sliders 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 ...

by a score of 4–2. At the end of the first half of the season, the Outlaws were in third place in the Central Division with a 14–14 record."Summer 2010 - Standings."
Prospect League. Retrieved on 23 December 2010. Three Nashville players were selected to play on the East Team in the 2010 Prospect League All-Star Game:

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

s Matt Fitton and Navery Moore and

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

Doug Joyce. The game was played to a 9-inning 3–3 tie. Going into the next-to-last night of the season and scheduled for a doubleheader against Terre Haute, the Outlaws were tied with that team for first in the division. Nashville won both games and clinched the second-half pennant. The Outlaws finished the second half in first place with a record of 16 wins and 10 losses. They completed the season with an overall record of 30–24 (.556), good for second place in the division and fourth in the league. More importantly, their second-half win earned the team a spot in the league championship playoffs."2010 Prospect League Playoff Schedule."
Prospect League. Retrieved on December 23, 2010. However, Nashville was defeated by the

Danville Dans The Danville Dans are a collegiate summer league baseball team located in Danville, Illinois. The team plays in the Prospect League, which their former league, the NCAA-sanctioned Central Illinois Collegiate League, was absorbed into after the 20 ...

in the first round, 4–2, eliminating them from the playoffs. Four Nashville players were awarded accolades for their performance during the Outlaws' inaugural season.

First baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

Kevin Smith was named to the Prospect League's First Team All-Star Team."2010 Prospect League Season-End All-Star Team Announced ."
Prospect League. August 13, 2010. Retrieved on December 23, 2010.

Third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

Greg Bachman,

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

Sam Dove, and left-handed

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

Matt Fitton were named to the Second Team All-Star Team. For the 2011 season, the Outlaws had a new home,

Lipscomb University Lipscomb University is a private university in Nashville, Tennessee. It is affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The campus is located in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville, between Belmont Boulevard to the west and Granny White Pike on ...

's Ken Dugan Field at Stephen Lee Marsh Stadium, as well as new management in the form of general manager Luke Collier, and three new members of management: Jared Swantner, Charlyn Ursell, and Adam Boone. The team folded after the 2011 season.

Alumni

Shae Simmons Shae Austin Simmons (born September 3, 1990) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves and Seattle Mariners. Career Simmons attended Scott City High School in Scott City, ...

who played for the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

in 2014."Major League Baseball (MLB) Alumni."
Prospect League. Retrieved on May 20, 2016.

Bruce Maxwell Bruce Tyrone Maxwell III (born December 20, 1990) is a German–born American professional baseball catcher for the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics. Maxwell is th ...

played for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

2016-18.

References

{{Prospect League , state=collapsed Prospect League teams Baseball teams established in 2010 Baseball teams disestablished in 2011 Sports in Nashville, Tennessee Amateur baseball teams in Tennessee 2010 establishments in Tennessee 2011 disestablishments in Tennessee Defunct baseball teams in Tennessee