# 2024 Prospect League season

The 2024 Prospect League season is the 15th season of collegiate summer baseball in the Prospect League, a collegiate summer baseball league in the Midwestern United States, since its creation in June 2009. There are 18 Prospect League teams, split evenly between Eastern and Western Conferences. These conferences are then split up between the Northeast, Central, Northwest, and South divisions.
The Chillicothe Paints entered the season as two-time defending champions, having defeated the Quincy Gems, two games to one, in the league's 2023 championship series.

## Season schedule

Despite reaching the Prospect League Championship in 2023, the Quincy Gems announced that they would no longer play at QU Stadium and would not return for the 2024 season. The Gems would seek relocation for any potential future seasons.
After the Gems announced they would not play in 2024, the league brought in two new teams for the season, the Dubois County Bombers and the Full Count Rhythm. For the Bombers, it would be their second stint in the league with the first one being from 2009 to 2012.
The 18 teams in the league are split evenly between two conferences Eastern and Western. These two conferences are then split up into four divisions, Northeast, Central, Northwest, and South.
The season will be played with a 60-game schedule, which is split between two halves, with the first half ending on June 30 and the second half ending on July 31. The first-half winners in each division will host the second-half winners in a one-game divisional championship round. (If the same team wins both halves, the team with the next-best second-half record makes the playoffs).

## Regular season standings
### First half standings
#### Eastern Conference

Northeast Division Regular Season Standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| 1 | y – Chillicothe Paints | 29 | 19 | 10 | .655 | -- |
| 2 | Lafayette Aviators | 27 | 14 | 13 | .519 | 4.0 |
| 3 | x – Johnstown Mill Rats | 29 | 13 | 16 | .448 | 6.0 |
| 4 | Champion City Kings | 29 | 7 | 22 | .241 | 12.0 |
Central Division Regular Season Standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| 1 | x – Danville Dans | 30 | 17 | 13 | .567 | -- |
| 2 | x – Terre Haute Rex | 28 | 15 | 13 | .536 | 1.0 |
| 3 | Normal CornBelters | 29 | 14 | 15 | .483 | 2.5 |
| 4 | Full Count Rhythm | 28 | 12 | 16 | .429 | 4.0 |
| 5 | Dubois County Bombers | 29 | 12 | 17 | .414 | 4.5 |

#### Western Conference

Northwest Division Regular Season Standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| 1 | x – Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp | 26 | 17 | 9 | .654 | -- |
| 2 | x – Clinton LumberKings | 26 | 15 | 11 | .577 | 2.0 |
| 3 | Springfield Lucky Horseshoes | 26 | 8 | 18 | .308 | 9.0 |
| 4 | Burlington Bees | 29 | 6 | 23 | .207 | 12.5 |
South Division Regular Season Standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| 1 | x – Thrillville Thrillbillies | 27 | 21 | 6 | .778 | -- |
| 2 | Jackson Rockabillys | 27 | 17 | 10 | .630 | 4.0 |
| 3 | O'Fallon Hoots | 28 | 17 | 11 | .607 | 4.5 |
| 4 | Alton River Dragons | 26 | 13 | 13 | .500 | 7.5 |
| 5 | x – Cape Catfish | 29 | 14 | 15 | .483 | 8.0 |

### Second half standings
#### Eastern Conference

Northeast Division Regular Season Standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| 1 | y – Chillicothe Paints | 27 | 17 | 10 | .630 | -- |
| 2 | x – Johnstown Mill Rats | 27 | 13 | 14 | .481 | 4.0 |
| 3 | Lafayette Aviators | 29 | 12 | 17 | .414 | 6.0 |
| 4 | Champion City Kings | 27 | 11 | 16 | .407 | 6.0 |
Central Division Regular Season Standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| 1 | x – Terre Haute Rex | 27 | 17 | 10 | .630 | -- |
| 2 | Normal CornBelters | 26 | 14 | 12 | .538 | 2.5 |
| 3 | x – Danville Dans | 26 | 13 | 13 | .500 | 3.5 |
| 4 | Full Count Rhythm | 27 | 13 | 14 | .481 | 4.0 |
| 5 | Dubois County Bombers | 25 | 7 | 18 | .280 | 9.0 |

#### Western Conference

Northwest Division Regular Season Standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| 1 | x – Clinton LumberKings | 29 | 19 | 10 | .655 | -- |
| 2 | x – Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp | 30 | 18 | 12 | .600 | 1.5 |
| 3 | Springfield Lucky Horseshoes | 29 | 16 | 13 | .552 | 3.0 |
| 4 | Burlington Bees | 27 | 11 | 16 | .407 | 7.0 |
South Division Regular Season Standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| 1 | x – Cape Catfish | 27 | 17 | 10 | .630 | -- |
| 2 | Jackson Rockabillys | 28 | 16 | 12 | .571 | 1.5 |
| 3 | O'Fallon Hoots | 28 | 12 | 16 | .429 | 5.5 |
| 4 | Alton River Dragons | 27 | 11 | 16 | .407 | 6.0 |
| 5 | x – Thrillville Thrillbillies | 28 | 10 | 18 | .357 | 7.5 |

### Full season standings
#### Eastern Conference

Northeast Division Regular Season Standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| 1 | y – Chillicothe Paints | 56 | 36 | 20 | .643 | -- |
| 2 | Lafayette Aviators | 56 | 26 | 30 | .464 | 10.0 |
| 3 | x – Johnstown Mill Rats | 56 | 26 | 30 | .464 | 10.0 |
| 4 | Champion City Kings | 56 | 18 | 38 | .321 | 18.0 |
Central Division Regular Season Standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| 1 | x – Terre Haute Rex | 55 | 32 | 23 | .582 | -- |
| 2 | x – Danville Dans | 56 | 30 | 26 | .536 | 2.5 |
| 3 | Normal CornBelters | 55 | 28 | 27 | .509 | 4.0 |
| 4 | Full Count Rhythm | 55 | 25 | 30 | .455 | 7.0 |
| 5 | Dubois County Bombers | 54 | 19 | 35 | .352 | 12.5 |

#### Western Conference

Northwest Division Regular Season Standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| 1 | x – Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp | 56 | 35 | 21 | .625 | -- |
| 2 | x – Clinton LumberKings | 55 | 34 | 21 | .618 | 0.5 |
| 3 | Springfield Lucky Horseshoes | 55 | 24 | 31 | .436 | 10.5 |
| 4 | Burlington Bees | 56 | 17 | 39 | .304 | 18.0 |
South Division Regular Season Standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| 1 | Jackson Rockabillys | 55 | 33 | 22 | .600 | -- |
| 2 | x – Thrillville Thrillbillies | 55 | 31 | 24 | .564 | 2.0 |
| 3 | x – Cape Catfish | 56 | 31 | 25 | .554 | 2.5 |
| 4 | O'Fallon Hoots | 56 | 29 | 27 | .518 | 4.5 |
| 5 | Alton River Dragons | 53 | 24 | 29 | .453 | 8.0 |
* y – Clinched division
* x – Clinched playoff spot

## Statistical leaders
### Hitting

| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| HR | Gabe Wright, Shane Lewis | Terre Haute Rex, Lafayette Aviators | 9 |
| AVG | Alec Gonzalez | Lafayette Aviators | .400 |
| RBIs | Jaison Andujar | Springfield Lucky Horseshoes | 51 |
| SB | Lane Crowden, Jimmy Koza | Cape Catfish, Springfield Lucky Horseshoes | 46 |

### Pitching

| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| W | Joshua Mauney, Trey Watson | Springfield Lucky Horseshoes, Jackson Rockabillys | 6 |
| ERA | Trey Watson | Jackson Rockabillys | 3.21 |
| SO | Gunnar Brown | Danville Dans | 70 |
| SV | Jaxson Lucas | Jackson Rockabillys | 13 |

## Awards
### End of year awards

| Award | Player | Team |
| Most Valuable Player | TBD | TBD |
| Pro Prospect of the Year | Eric Colaco | Chillicothe Paints |
| Pitcher of the Year | Ean DiPasquale | Clinton LumberKings |
| Relief Pitcher of the Year | Jaxson Lucas | Jackson Rockabillys |
| Manager of the Year | John Jakiemiec | Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp |
| Social Media of the Year | N/A | TBD |
| Broadcaster of the Year | TBD | TBD |
| Ballpark Experience of the Year | N/A | TBD |
| PLTV Broadcast of the Year | N/A | TBD |
| Executive of the Year | TBD | TBD |
| Organization of the Year | N/A | TBD |

## Playoffs
### Format

The playoffs will begin with four winner-take-all division championships followed by two winner-take-all conference championships and will conclude with a best-of-three league championship series. The playoffs are tentatively slated to begin on August 1 and conclude on August 8.

### Playoff bracket

| Division Championship Round | Division Championship Round | Division Championship Round | | | Conference Championship Round | Conference Championship Round | Conference Championship Round | Prospect League Championship Series (best-of-three) | Prospect League Championship Series (best-of-three) | Prospect League Championship Series (best-of-three) | Prospect League Championship Series (best-of-three) | Prospect League Championship Series (best-of-three) | |
| Chillicothe Paints | Chillicothe Paints | 11 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Johnstown Mill Rats | Johnstown Mill Rats | 10 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Johnstown Mill Rats | Johnstown Mill Rats | 10 | | | Chillicothe Paints | Chillicothe Paints | 2 | | | | | | |
| ↑ Northeast / ↓ Central | ↑ Northeast / ↓ Central | ↑ Northeast / ↓ Central | | | Chillicothe Paints | Chillicothe Paints | 2 | | | | | | |
| ↑ Northeast / ↓ Central | ↑ Northeast / ↓ Central | ↑ Northeast / ↓ Central | | | Terre Haute Rex | Terre Haute Rex | 4 | | | | | | |
| Danville Dans | Danville Dans | 3 | | | Terre Haute Rex | Terre Haute Rex | 4 | | | | | | |
| Terre Haute Rex | Terre Haute Rex | 10 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Terre Haute Rex | Terre Haute Rex | 10 | | | | | | Terre Haute Rex | Terre Haute Rex | 8 | 2 | X | |
| ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | Terre Haute Rex | Terre Haute Rex | 8 | 2 | X | |
| ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp | Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp | 13 | 4 | X | |
| Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp | Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp | 3 | | | | | | | | | | Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp | Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp | 13 | 4 | X |
| Clinton LumberKings | Clinton LumberKings | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Clinton LumberKings | Clinton LumberKings | 0 | | | Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp | Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp | 11 | | | | | | |
| ↑ Northwest / ↓ South | ↑ Northwest / ↓ South | ↑ Northwest / ↓ South | | | Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp | Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp | 11 | | | | | | |
| ↑ Northwest / ↓ South | ↑ Northwest / ↓ South | ↑ Northwest / ↓ South | | | Thrillville Thrillbillies | Thrillville Thrillbillies | 5 | | | | | | |
| Thrillville Thrillbillies | Thrillville Thrillbillies | 13 | | | Thrillville Thrillbillies | Thrillville Thrillbillies | 5 | | | | | | |
| Cape Catfish | Cape Catfish | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | |