# List of Carolina League champions

The Carolina League of Minor League Baseball is a Single-A baseball league in the United States that began play in 1945. A league champion was determined at the end of each season by either postseason playoffs or being declared champion by the league office. As of 2019, the first-half and second-half winners in each division (Northern and Southern) competed in a best-of-five division series. Then, the Northern and Southern division winners played a best-of-five series to determine a league champion.
The 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the league ceased operations before the 2021 season in conjunction with Major League Baseball's (MLB) reorganization of Minor League Baseball. In place of the Carolina League, MLB created the Low-A East, a 12-team circuit divided into three divisions. Prior to the 2022 season, MLB renamed the Low-A Easr as the Carolina League, and it carried on the history of the league prior to reorganization. In 2021, the Low-A East held a best-of-five series between the top two teams in the league, regardless of division standings, to determine a league champion. As of 2022, the winners of each division from both the first and second halves of the season meet in a best-of-three division series, with the winners of the two division series meeting in a best-of-three championship series.

## League champions

    Score and finalist information is only presented when postseason play occurred. The lack of this information indicates a declared league champion.
| Year | Champion | Score | Finalist |
| 1945 | Danville Leafs | 4–1 | Raleigh Capitals |
| 1946 | Raleigh Capitals | 4–2 | Durham Bulls |
| 1947 | Raleigh Capitals | 4–2 | Durham Bulls |
| 1948 | Martinsville Athletics | 4–2 | Burlington Bees |
| 1949 | Burlington Bees | 4–3 | Raleigh Capitals |
| 1950 | Winston-Salem Cardinals | 4–1 | Burlington Bees |
| 1951 | Winston-Salem Cardinals | 4–1 | Reidsville Luckies |
| 1952 | Reidsville Luckies | 4–0 | Durham Bulls |
| 1953 | Danville Leafs | 4–2 | Reidsville Luckies |
| 1954 | Fayetteville Highlanders | 4–1 | Burlington Pirates |
| 1955 | Danville Leafs | 4–2 | High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms |
| 1956 | Fayetteville Highlanders | 4–2 | Danville Leafs |
| 1957 | Durham Bulls | 4–3 | High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms |
| 1958 | Burlington Indians | 2–1 | Greensboro Yankees |
| 1959 | Wilson Tobs | 4–0 | Raleigh Capitals |
| 1960 | Greensboro Yankees | 4–1 | Burlington Indians |
| 1961 | Wilson Tobs | — | — |
| 1962 | Kinston Eagles | 4–3 | Durham Bulls |
| 1963 | Wilson Tobs | 2–1 | Greensboro Yankees |
| 1964 | Winston-Salem Red Sox | 2–0 | Tidewater Tides |
| 1965 | Tidewater Tides | 2–0 | Durham Bulls |
| 1966 | Rocky Mount Leafs | 2–0 | Winston-Salem Red Sox |
| 1967 | Durham Bulls | 2–1 | Tidewater Tides |
| 1968 | High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms | 2–0 | Raleigh-Durham Mets |
| 1969 | Raleigh-Durham Phillies | 2–1 | Burlington Senators |
| 1970 | Winston-Salem Red Sox | 2–0 | Burlington Senators |
| 1971 | Peninsula Phillies | 2–0 | Kinston Eagles |
| 1972 | Salem Pirates | 2–1 | Burlington Rangers |
| 1973 | Salem Pirates | 3–2 | Lynchburg Twins |
| 1974 | Salem Pirates | — | — |
| 1975 | Rocky Mount Phillies | — | — |
| 1976 | Winston-Salem Red Sox | — | — |
| 1977 | Peninsula Pilots | 3–2 | Lynchburg Mets |
| 1978 | Lynchburg Mets | 3–0 | Peninsula Pilots |
| 1979 | Winston-Salem Red Sox | — | — |
| 1980 | Peninsula Pilots | 3–1 | Durham Bulls |
| 1981 | Hagerstown Suns | 3–0 | Peninsula Pilots |
| 1982 | Alexandria Dukes | 3–0 | Durham Bulls |
| 1983 | Lynchburg Mets | 3–0 | Winston-Salem Red Sox |
| 1984 | Lynchburg Mets | 3–1 | Durham Bulls |
| 1985 | Winston-Salem Spirits | 3–1 | Lynchburg Mets |
| 1986 | Winston-Salem Spirits | 3–1 | Hagerstown Suns |
| 1987 | Salem Buccaneers | 3–1 | Kinston Indians |
| 1988 | Kinston Indians | 3–2 | Lynchburg Red Sox |
| 1989 | Prince William Yankees | 3–1 | Durham Bulls |
| 1990 | Frederick Keys | 3–2 | Kinston Indians |
| 1991 | Kinston Indians | 3–0 | Lynchburg Red Sox |
| 1992 | Peninsula Pilots | 3–2 | Lynchburg Red Sox |
| 1993 | Winston-Salem Spirits | 3–1 | Wilmington Blue Rocks |
| 1994 | Wilmington Blue Rocks | 3–0 | Winston-Salem Spirits |
| 1995 | Kinston Indians | 3–0 | Wilmington Blue Rocks |
| 1996 | Wilmington Blue Rocks | 3–1 | Kinston Indians |
| 1997 | Lynchburg Hillcats | 3–1 | Kinston Indians |
| 1998 | Wilmington Blue Rocks | 3–1 | Winston-Salem Warthogs |
| 1999 | Myrtle Beach Pelicans Wilmington Blue Rocks | 2–2 | — |
| 2000 | Myrtle Beach Pelicans | 3–0 | Lynchburg Hillcats |
| 2001 | Salem Avalanche | 3–2 | Wilmington Blue Rocks |
| 2002 | Lynchburg Hillcats | 3–1 | Kinston Indians |
| 2003 | Winston-Salem Warthogs | 3–0 | Lynchburg Hillcats |
| 2004 | Kinston Indians | 3–2 | Wilmington Blue Rocks |
| 2005 | Frederick Keys | 3–2 | Kinston Indians |
| 2006 | Kinston Indians | 3–0 | Frederick Keys |
| 2007 | Frederick Keys | 3–1 | Salem Avalanche |
| 2008 | Potomac Nationals | 3–1 | Myrtle Beach Pelicans |
| 2009 | Lynchburg Hillcats | 3–0 | Salem Red Sox |
| 2010 | Potomac Nationals | 3–1 | Winston-Salem Dash |
| 2011 | Frederick Keys | 3–1 | Kinston Indians |
| 2012 | Lynchburg Hillcats | 3–1 | Winston-Salem Dash |
| 2013 | Salem Red Sox | 3–0 | Potomac Nationals |
| 2014 | Potomac Nationals | 3–1 | Myrtle Beach Pelicans |
| 2015 | Myrtle Beach Pelicans | 3–0 | Wilmington Blue Rocks |
| 2016 | Myrtle Beach Pelicans | 3–1 | Lynchburg Hillcats |
| 2017 | Down East Wood Ducks Lynchburg Hillcats | — | — |
| 2018 | Buies Creek Astros | 1–0 | Potomac Nationals |
| 2019 | Wilmington Blue Rocks | 3–2 | Fayetteville Woodpeckers |
| 2020 | None (season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic) | None (season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic) | None (season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic) |
| 2021 | Charleston RiverDogs | 3–2 | Down East Wood Ducks |
| 2022 | Charleston RiverDogs | 2–0 | Lynchburg Hillcats |
| 2023 | Charleston RiverDogs | 2–0 | Down East Wood Ducks |
| 2024 | Fredericksburg Nationals | 2–1 | Kannapolis Cannon Ballers |

## Championship wins by team

| Wins | Runner-ups | Team | Championship Years | Runner-up Years |
| 11 | 6 | Winston-Salem Dash/Cards/Red Sox/Pirates/Spirits/Warthogs | 1950, 1951, 1964, 1970, 1973, 1976, 1979, 1985, 1986, 1993, 2003 | 1966, 1983, 1994, 1998, 2010, 2012 |
| 8 | 11 | Lynchburg Red Sox/Twins/Mets/Hillcats | 1978, 1983, 1984, 1997, 2002, 2009, 2012, 2017 | 1973, 1977, 1985, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2016, 2022 |
| 6 | 8 | Kinston Eagles/Indians | 1962, 1988, 1991, 1995, 2004, 2006 | 1971, 1987, 1990, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2005, 2011 |
| 5 | 2 | Salem Pirates/Buccaneers/Avalanche/Red Sox | 1972, 1974, 1987, 2001, 2013 | 2007, 2009 |
| 5 | 5 | Wilmington Blue Rocks | 1994, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2019 | 1993, 1995, 2001, 2004, 2015 |
| 4 | 2 | Myrtle Beach Pelicans | 1999, 2000, 2015, 2016 | 2008, 2014 |
| 4 | 2 | Prince William Yankees/Potomac Nationals | 1989, 2008, 2010, 2014 | 2013, 2018 |
| 4 | 2 | Peninsula Phillies/Pilots | 1971, 1977, 1980, 1992 | 1978, 1981 |
| 4 | 1 | Frederick Keys | 1990, 2005, 2007, 2011 | 2006 |
| 3 | 1 | Danville Leafs | 1945, 1953, 1955 | 1956 |
| 3 | 0 | Charleston RiverDogs | 2021, 2022, 2023 | — |
| 3 | 0 | Wilson Tobs | 1959, 1961, 1963 | — |
| 2 | 9 | Durham Bulls | 1957, 1967 | 1946, 1947, 1952, 1962, 1965, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1989 |
| 2 | 7 | Burlington Rangers/Indians/Senators/Pirates/Bees | 1949, 1958 | 1948, 1950, 1954, 1960, 1969, 1970, 1972 |
| 2 | 3 | Raleigh Capitals | 1946, 1947 | 1945, 1949, 1959 |
| 2 | 0 | Rocky Mount Leafs/Phillies | 1966, 1975 | — |
| 2 | 0 | Fayetteville Highlanders | 1954, 1956 | — |
| 1 | 2 | High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms | 1968 | 1955, 1957 |
| 1 | 2 | Tidewater Tides | 1965 | 1964, 1967 |
| 1 | 2 | Greensboro Yankees | 1960 | 1958, 1963 |
| 1 | 2 | Reidsville Luckies | 1952 | 1951, 1953 |
| 1 | 1 | Hagerstown Suns | 1981 | 1986 |
| 1 | 1 | Raleigh-Durham Phillies/Mets | 1969 | 1968 |
| 1 | 0 | Buies Creek Astros | 2018 | — |
| 1 | 1 | Down East Wood Ducks | 2017 | 2021, 2023 |
| 1 | 0 | Alexandria Dukes | 1982 | — |
| 1 | 0 | Martinsville Athletics | 1948 | — |
| 1 | 0 | Fredericksburg Nationals | 2024 | — |
| 0 | 1 | Fayetteville Woodpeckers | — | 2019 |
| 0 | 1 | Kannapolis Cannon Ballers | — | 2024 |