The Kane County Cougars are an independent professional baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball (MLB). They play their home games at Northwestern Medicine Field. From 1991 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's Midwest League.

History

The Midwest League came to Kane County in 1991 when the

Wausau Timbers The Wausau Timbers were a minor league baseball team, located in Wausau, Wisconsin. The Timbers were members of the Class A Midwest League from 1975 to 1990. The franchise was sold in 1991 and moved to Geneva, Illinois, where it became the Kane Co ...

relocated to Geneva, IL. The Wausau (1975–1990) Midwest League franchise was previously based in Decatur, Illinois (1952–74). The team has been known as the Cougars since moving to Kane County. They were affiliated with the Baltimore Orioles in 1991 and 1992, with the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fran ...

from 1993 to 2002, the Oakland Athletics from 2003 until 2010, the Kansas City Royals for the 2011 and 2012 seasons, and the Chicago Cubs for the 2013 and 2014 seasons before affiliating with the

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in 2015. As a Marlins farm team, some key contributors to the

2003 World Series The 2003 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2003 season. The 99th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Florida Marlins and the American Lea ...

championship team played in Kane County on their way to the big leagues.

Miguel Cabrera José Miguel Cabrera Torres (born April 18, 1983), nicknamed "Miggy", is a Venezuelan professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Since his debut in 2003 he has been a two-t ...

has had a notable career and 2003 Series MVP Josh Beckett played for the Cougars in 2000, while

Dontrelle Willis Dontrelle Wayne Willis (born January 12, 1982), nicknamed "The D-Train", is an American former left-handed professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Florida Marlins, Detroit Tigers, Arizona Diamondbacks and Cincinn ...

had the league's best winning percentage and earned run average in 2002. The Cougars play their home games at Northwestern Medicine Field, built in 1991. The franchise attendance record of 523,222 was set in 2001. The Cougars are perennially among the league leaders in attendance. On July 20, 2013 the Cougars became the first Class A team to attract 10 million fans.

Nancy Faust Nancy Faust (born March 11, 1947) is an American former stadium organist for Major League Baseball's Chicago White Sox. Biography Early life Faust grew up in the Chicago area, and began playing the organ at age 4 by learning from her mother, Jac ...

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for selected Cougar home games until her retirement after the 2015 season. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cougars' season was cancelled along with the rest of Minor League Baseball. Later that year, the team was cut from the Midwest League and affiliated baseball as part of Major League Baseball's reorganization of the minor leagues. The team considered becoming a member of the

MLB Draft League The MLB Draft League is a collegiate summer baseball league that began play in 2021. Created by Major League Baseball (MLB) and ''Prep Baseball Report'', the league serves as a showcase for top draft-eligible prospects leading up to each summer' ...

before joining the American Association, an independent MLB Partner League.

Playoffs

Mascots

The team's mascots are Ozzie T. Cougar and his sister Annie T. Cougar.

Roster

Notable alumni

Notable franchise alumni include: * Mitch Nay (2022) * Nick Franklin (2022–present) * Mike Morin (2022) * Steve Lombardozzi Jr. (2022) * Cornelius Randolph (2022–present) * Sherman Johnson (2022–present) * Jack Anderson (2022) * Bryce Brentz (2022) * Nick Lovullo (2021) * Josh Tols (2021) *

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(2021–2022) * Kacy Clemens (2021) *

Jake Cosart Jarred Lynn Cosart (born May 25, 1990) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres. Career Cosart attended Clear Creek High School in Le ...

(2021) * Anfernee Seymour (2021) * Buddy Kennedy (2019) * José Cuas (2019) *

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(2019) * Geraldo Perdomo (2019) * Jhoan Durán (2018) * Matt Peacock (2018) * José Herrera (2017–2019) * Jazz Chisholm (2017–2018) * Riley Smith (2017) * Colin Poche (2017) * Kevin Ginkel (2017) *

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(2017) * Joel Payamps (2016) * Alex Young (2016) * Sergio Alcántara (2015–2016) * Ryan Burr (2015–2016) *

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(2015) *

Zac Curtis Zachary Aaron Curtis (born July 4, 1992), is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies, and Texas Rangers. Career Arizona Di ...

(2015) * Duane Underwood Jr. (2014) * Jen-Ho Tseng (2014) * Jacob Hannemann (2014) * Paul Blackburn (2014) * Víctor Caratini (2014) *

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(2014) *

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(2014) * Kyle Schwarber (2014) MLB All-Star, 2016 World Series Champion * David Bote (2013–2014) * Pierce Johnson (2013–2014) *

Jeimer Candelario Jeimer Candelario ( ; born November 24, 1993) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs and Detroit Tigers. Early life Can ...

(2013–2014) *

Tayler Scott Tayler James Scott (born June 1, 1992) is a South African professional baseball pitcher in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. He has previously played in MLB for the Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres and in Nippon Profess ...

(2013) * Dillon Maples (2013) * Daniel Vogelbach (2013) MLB All-Star * Rob Zastryzny (2013) * Félix Peña (2013) * Willson Contreras (2013) 2x MLB All-Star, 2016 World Series Champion * Albert Almora (2013) 2016 World Series Champion * Marco Hernández (2013) * Andrew McKirahan (2013) * Scott Baker (2013) * Kyle Zimmer (2012) * Brooks Pounders (2012) * Lane Adams (2011–2012) * Jason Adam (2011) * Juan Graterol (2011) * Yordano Ventura (2011) 2015 World Series Champion * Murphy Smith (2009–2010) *

Tyson Ross Tyson William Ross (born April 22, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Detroit Tigers. Ross was drafte ...

(2008) MLB All-Star * Trevor Cahill (2007) MLB All-Star, 2016 World Series Champion * Sean Doolittle (2007) 2x MLB All-Star, 2019 World Series Champion * Andrew Bailey (2007) 2x MLB All-Star, 2009 AL Rookie of the Year * Jeff Gray (2006) * Cliff Pennington (2005) * Ryan Webb (2005) *

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(2004) Perfect game in 2010 *

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(2004) 2x MLB All-Star; 2005 AL Rookie of the Year * John Baker (2003) *

Joe Blanton Joseph Matthew Blanton (born December 11, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Kansas City Royals, Pi ...

(2003) 2008 World Series Champion * Nelson Cruz (2003) 7x MLB All-Star, 2019 All-MLB First Team, 2020 All-MLB Second Team, 2011 ALCS MVP, 2x Silver Slugger, 2x Edgar Martínez Award, 2014 MLB Home Run Leader, 2017 AL RBI Leader, 2020 Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award, 2013 All-World Baseball Classic Team *

Andre Ethier Andre Everett Ethier (; born April 10, 1982) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2006 to 2017 and is second all-time in post-season appearances as a Do ...

(2003) 2x MLB All-Star, 2011 Gold Glove, 2009 Silver Slugger *

(2002) 2x MLB All-Star, 2003 World Series Champion, 2003 NL Rookie of the Year, 2005 NL Wins Leader *

(2001) 11x MLB All-Star, 2003 World Series Champion, 2× AL MVP, 2012 Triple Crown, 7x Silver Slugger, 2× AL Hank Aaron Award, 4× AL Batting Champion, 2× AL Home Run Leader, 2× AL RBI Leader * Adrián González (2001) 5x MLB All-Star, 4x Gold Glove, 2x Silver Slugger, 2014 NL RBI Leader * Josh Willingham (2001) 2012 Silver Slugger * Josh Beckett (2000) 3x MLB All-Star, 2x (2003, 2007) World Series Champion, 2003 World Series MVP, 2007 ALCS MVP, 2007 MLB Wins Leader; 2014 No-Hitter * Josh Wilson (2000) * Nate Robertson (1999–2000) * Claudio Vargas (1999) * A. J. Burnett (1998) MLB All-Star, 2009 World Series Champion, 2008 AL Strikeout Leader, 2001 No-Hitter * Scott Podsednik (1997) MLB All-Star, 2005 World Series Champion, 2004 NL Stolen Base Leader *

Ryan Dempster Ryan Scott Dempster (born May 3, 1977), is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, and Boston Red Sox. Dempster batted and t ...

(1996) 2x MLB All-Star, 2013 World Series Champion * Alex Gonzalez (1996) * Mark Kotsay (1996) * Randy Winn (1996) MLB All-Star * Luis Castillo (1995) 3x MLB All-Star, 2003 World Series Champion, 3x Gold Glove, 2x NL Stolen Base Leader * Ryan Jackson (1995) * Brian Meadows (1995) *

Antonio Alfonseca Antonio Alfonseca (; ; born April 16, 1972) is a Dominican former relief pitcher. He last pitched in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies in . Alfonseca also played for the Florida Marlins (–, ), the Chicago Cubs (–), the Atlan ...

(1994) 1997 World Series Champion, 2000 NL Rolaids Relief Man Award, 2000 NL Saves Leader *

Félix Heredia Félix Heredia Pérez (born June 18, 1975) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. On October 18, 2005, he became the 11th MLB player to be suspended for testing positive for steroids. He is also known as "El Gato Flaco" (Skinny Cat in ...

(1994) 1997 World Series Champion * Kevin Millar (1994) 2004 World Series Champion * Héctor Carrasco (1993) * Charles Johnson (1993) 2x MLB All-Star, 1997 World Series Champion, 4x Gold Glove * Mike Redmond (1993–1994) 2003 World Series Champion *

Édgar Rentería Édgar Enrique Rentería Herazo (; born August 7, 1975), nicknamed "The Barranquilla Baby", is a Colombian former professional baseball shortstop. He threw and batted right-handed. He played for the Florida Marlins, the St. Louis Cardinals, th ...

(1993) 5x MLB All-Star, 2x World Series Champion, 2010 World Series MVP, 2x Gold Glove, 3x Silver Slugger *

Alex Ochoa Alex Ochoa (; born March 29, 1972) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball outfielder in Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball. Career Ochoa played in part of eight seasons for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Milwau ...

(1992) 2002 World Series Champion * Joe Borowski (1991) 2007 AL Saves Leader * Tom Martin (1991) * Brad Pennington (1991) * Gregg Zaun (1991) 1997 World Series Champion

References

External links

*
Statistics from Baseball-Reference
{{Authority control Baseball teams established in 1991 Defunct Midwest League teams Sports in Kane County, Illinois Professional baseball teams in Illinois Geneva, Illinois Arizona Diamondbacks minor league affiliates Chicago Cubs minor league affiliates Kansas City Royals minor league affiliates Oakland Athletics minor league affiliates Miami Marlins minor league affiliates Baltimore Orioles minor league affiliates Baseball teams in Chicago 1991 establishments in Illinois