Expanded 2009 Schedule Announced

The West Coast League's 2009 schedule is in place. The 48-game regular season begins Friday, June 5 and concludes Sunday, August 9. The schedule is unbalanced and features six more games than 2008. The Divisional Series start Tuesday, August 11 and the best-of-three Championship Series gets underway Saturday, August 15. Click here for more info.

Name Changes And Schedule Expands

West Coast League(WCL)is the new name for the West's top college summer league. The name West Coast Collegiate Baseball League (WCCBL) served the league through its first four seasons. The WCL is also expanding its regular season schedule from 42 to 48 games. Click here for more info.

Ex-Kelowna Falcons Star Moving Up In Cardinals Organization

Pitcher Jess Todd is the St.Louis Cardinals 2008 Minor League Pitcher of the Year. The 22-year-old University of Arkansas product pitched in the WCL in 2005 with the Falcons, going 3-2 with a 2.31 ERA. Todd was drafted by the Cards in the 2nd round of the 2007 draft. He began the 2008 season at Palm Beach (A), moved up to Springfield (AA) and completed the season making four starts for AAA Memphis.

WCL To Make Splash At San Diego ABCA Convention

West Coast League owners and coaches will be in San Diego January 2-4, 2009 meeting college coaches and discussing the many advantages for players in the WCL. The American Baseball Coaches Association event will see the WCL have a significant presence on the convention floor. The WCL directors Winter Meeting will also be held January 3-4.

Growth Continues In Summer College Ranks

The Central Illinois Collegiate League (CICL) is expanding and changing its name to the Prospect League. Hannibal, Missouri is renovating a downtown stadium and joining the league, along with five teams in Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Three of the new markets are former professional Frontier League cities. Chris Hanners, a Frontier League founder, is the force behind the Prospect League, moving his Chillicothe (Ohio) Paints from the Frontier League to the new circuit. Hanners says he's excited about the college summer business model and operating the Prospect League clubs like professional minor league teams. He expects the league to expand quickly, noting the appeal to potential owners. The Prospect League is mirroring the West Coast League operational model.

RiverHawks Name New Assistant General Manager

Washington State University product Charles Smith is the new Assistant General Manager of the Spokane RiverHawks. Smith, who joins the RiverHawks from the Double A Jacksonville Suns, will focus on sponsorship and ticket sales. "We are lucky to have someone with Charles' skills and experiences join our team," said RiverHawks' owner Irv Zakheim. Smith grew up in Colville, Washington and received his Bachelor's in Sports Management from Washington State and his Master's in Sports Management from the University of Illinois.

New GM Leading Bells To Greater Heights

Derrel Ebert is the new General Manager of the Bellingham Bells. Ebert has worked seven years for Brett Sports, most recently as GM of the Class A California League High Desert Mavericks. A graduate of Cal State-San Bernardino, Ebert said, "I am excited about the rich baseball tradition in Bellingham and about providing great fun and affordable entertainment to Bells fans." The Brett ownership group is entering season two building the Bells into a premiere West Coast League club.

Expansion A Hot Topic

WCL expansion for 2010 remains a real possibility. Expanding to Longview/Kelso, Washington and Klamath Falls, Oregon in 2010 was a major topic of interest at the league's Kelowna, British Columbia meetings. League owners reinforced their desire to provide more opportunities for top college players to participate at the highest level of collegiate summer baseball. "We have the premiere college summer league in the West," noted WCL President Ken Wilson. "And, it's time to look beyond the Pacific Northwest." League owners discussed expanding the WCL into California. According to Wilson, "The league mandate is to provide summer college baseball and the exciting and affordable family entertainment that goes with it to the entire Western Region. And, it only makes sense that we'd try to add teams to provide a greater opportunity for players." Other markets under consideration for membership in the WCL include Walla Walla, Olympia, Grays Harbor and Vancouver, all in Washington.

Keller Becomes Top Man At Moses Lake

Last season's Moses Lake assistant Steve Keller is now the Pirates new Head Coach. Keller is an assistant at Wenatchee Valley College and played college ball at Western Oregon University. "I'm very excited to have this opportunity," said Keller. "The WCL has great talent and we're looking forward to having an exciting team in Moses Lake." The Boise, Idaho product coached for seven years at Boise High School and spent five years as a "bird dog" scout for the Colorado Rockies.

Perfect Game Crosschecker Top 25 Prospects Selected

Pitchers dominated the West Coast League's Top 25 prospects, as selected by Perfect Game Crosschecker. Click here to check out both the PGC and Baseball America top WCL prospects lists.

New Attendance Records In 2008

West Coast League attendance grew by 30% compared to last season. Bend and Wenatchee led the way, with the Elks averaging 1,365 per game and the AppleSox drawing an average of 1,134 per contest.