California Collegiate League
The California Collegiate League, founded in 1993, is a collegiate summer baseball league headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, United States. It is associated with the National Baseball Congress.
The CCL hosts a 40-game summer season including a north-vs.-south All-Star Game. Players use wooden bats and professional-level baseballs to further their development as potential professional ballplayers.
History
The League was formed in 1993 and seen several changes through the years. The only two original members who still exist are the Santa Barbara Foresters and San Luis Obispo Blues. The league is considered one of top 10 collegiate summer leagues in the country. The league is known for the location of its teams and for holding a nationally televised all star game every July.Timeline of recent events:
Four new teams from Northern California joined the CCL in 2014.
Since 2014, the CCL has undergone significant growth and expansion, now chartering teams from Placerville to Orange County. Teams added to the league since the conclusion of 2013 postseason include, the Walnut Creek Crawdads, the Neptune Beach Pearl, the Menlo Park Legends, and the Orange Country Riptide.
In 2015, the Texas Rangers, selected Dillon Tate with the fourth overall pick in the 2015 MLB Draft, marking the highest a CCL alumnus has been drafted.
In 2017, the California Collegiate League will expand to include the Rockville Rock Hounds, the Auburn Wildcats, the Long Beach Legends, and the Arroyo Seco Saints. This will bring the total number of teams from 10 to 14.
2020 League makes major changes:
The California Collegiate League’s 2020 season will have a new look in the upcoming summer as the league will now consist of a three division format: South, Central, and North Divisions.
Four teams will make up the new Northern Division, with the Healdsburg Prune Packers, Lincoln Potters and the Solano Mudcats making the transition from being members of the former Affiliate Division, into becoming full-members of the California Collegiate League in 2020. They will be joined by the fourth team of the new conference, the Walnut Creek Crawdads. The Central Division will have the San Luis Obispo Blues, Santa Barbara Foresters and Conejo Oaks. The Southern Division will have Arroyo Seco Saints, Academy Barons and Orange County Riptide.
Current teams
Former teams
- Ventura Halos
- Long Beach Legends
- Southern California Catch
- Rockville Rockhounds
- Neptune Beach Pearl
- Bakersfield Sound
- Glendale Angelenos
- Los Angeles Brewers
- Monterey Bay Sox
- Menlo Park Legends
- PUF Capitalists
- Team Vegas
- Santa Maria Indians
Champions
Statistical leaders history
Batting
Year | Batting Average | Runs Scored | Runs Batted In | Home Runs | Stolen Bases |
2014 | Jon Torres, Los Angeles | Dylan Moore, Los Angeles | Granger Studdard, Santa Barbara | Nick Maguire/Tristan Gray | Granger Studdard, Santa Barbara |
2015 | Larry Barraza, Academy Barons | Larry Barraza, Academy Barons | Aaron Cisneros, Academy Barons | Aaron Cisneros, Academy Barons | Keyon Allen, Academy Barons |
2016 | Bret Boswell, Santa Barbara | Billy Wilson, Healdsburg | Martin Teague, Academy Barons | Chad Spanberger, Conejo | Billy Wilson, Healdsburg |
2017 | Dayton Provost, Ventura | Bryce Nagata, Healdsburg | Jamey Smart, Healdsburg | Lucas Halstead/James Free II | Bryce Nagata, Healdsburg |
Pitching
Year | Earned Run Average | Wins | Strikeouts | Saves |
2014 | Matt Esparza, Los Angeles | Vance Tatum, San Luis Obispo | Jon Duplantier, Santa Barbara | Andrew Vinson/Evan Rutter/Eddie Muhl |
2015 | Angel Rodriguez, Conejo | Gary Cornish, Santa Barbara | Peter Bayer, Los Angeles | Adam Atkins, San Luis Obispo |
2016 | Kyle Johnston, Santa Barbara | Korey Anderson, San Luis Obispo | Tanner Murphy, Orange County | Reece Buska, Academy Barons |
2017 | Tanner Lawson, Santa Barbara | Ty Weist, Santa Barbara | Ty Weist, Santa Barbara | Justin Smith, Neptune Beach |
Notable alumni of current teams
While all teams in the California Collegiate League have combined for over 100 years of history, not all teams have played in the CCL throughout their history. The notable alumni of the current teams who have played in the CCL or in their respective teams' previous leagues include:Academy Barons
- Khris Davis
- Dillon Tate
Arroyo Seco Saints
- John Holdzkom
- Christian Bergman
Conejo Oaks
- Ryon Healy
- Tyler Heineman
Neptune Beach Pearl
- Lucas Erceg
Santa Barbara Foresters
- Dylan Axelrod
- Morgan Ensberg
- Kevin Frandsen
- Ryan Church
- Cameron Rupp
- James Shields
- Ryan Spilborghs
- Sean Tracey
- Virgil Vasquez
- Tyler Walker
- Delwyn Young
San Luis Obispo Blues
- Doug Bernier
- Casey Candaele
- C. J. Cron
- Chuck Estrada
- Casey Fien
- Brian Fuentes
- Matt Garza
- Marcus Gwyn
- Kyle Hendricks
- Roy Howell
- Jim Lonborg
- Adam Moore
- Brent Morel
- Will Ohman
- Ross Stripling
- Mel Queen
Healdsburg Prune Packers
- Andrew Vaughn
- Jake Scheiner
- Grant Little
- Cooper Casad
- Billy Willson
- Jamey Smart
Orange County Riptide
- Dominic Fletcher
- Beau Phillips
- Caleb Killian