Best Summer Collegiate Baseball Leagues Of All Time

Cape Cod Baseball League is one of the premier collegiate summer leagues located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It was founded in 1885 and has a good history of producing major league baseball talents. 

More than a thousand former players from the league have gone on to play in the major leagues. CCBL completed a reorganization in 1963 and received NCAA recognition.

Cape Cod teams are divided into The East Division and West Division. Each division has five teams, and each team plays 44 regular-season games, including 6 games against each club in its own division and 4 games against each team in the opposing division.

In 1946, a team of Cape League all-stars competed in the first CCBL All-Star Game against a group of Boston Red Sox tryout players.

Some of the notable alumni of the Cape Cod Baseball League are:

• Chris Sale
• Mark Teixeira
• Jason Varitek
• Evan Longoria

NECBL is a competitive summer league founded in the U.S. in 1993. It is a 13-team college summer baseball wooden bat league. 

Part of the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball, it is considered one of the top summer leagues in the country. Each NECBL team plays an eight-week, 44-game regular.

The NECBL is a showcase for outstanding collegiate players, much like the CCBL and other amateur leagues, offering professional baseball scouts an opportunity to observe up-and-coming professionals competing against one another.  

New England Collegiate Baseball League was ranked second in the list of best summer baseball leagues in 2019, just after the Cap Cod League.

Whilst competing in all six New England states., this league was split into two seven-team divisions for the 2021 season: the North Division and the South Division. In 2022, the NECBL changed to three divisions, with only one set of matches against each team outside their division.

Some of the notable alumni of the New England Collegiate Baseball League are:

• Joe Nathan
• Mike Smith
• Scott Chiasson
• Matt White

Valley Baseball League is a collegiate summer baseball league in the Shenandoah Valley. It has been approved by the MLB and NCAA.

The league was founded in 1923 and received NCAA recognition in 1961. The teams faced all intra-division opponents five to six times over the 2019 season in addition to three games against opponents from other divisions. 

Currently, the league is divided into two teams Northern and Southern Division with each team participating in a 44-game schedule.

The Fauquier Gators were one of the new teams that joined the VBL in 2007. A second team was supposed to join the league in Lexington, Virginia, however, problems with the lighting system delayed in the team's addition.

Also, Valley Baseball League is known for its high level of competition which draws top collegiate players from all around the country.

It offers the players chance to improve their abilities, meet professional scouts, and experience the challenges of a hard summer season. 

Some of the notable alumni of the Valley Baseball League are:

• Daniel Murphy 
• Chris Devenski 
• Jon Rauch
• Luke Scott

Coastal Plain League was formed with six teams in the U.S. by Pete Bock in 1997. Savannah Bananas is the defending champion of the league.

CPL has grown over the years to include clubs from North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Georgia. The most recent expansion, which increased the number of clubs in the league to 14 in 2023, involved the Boone Bigfoots.

The league's schedule consists of a regular season of 56 games, followed by playoffs to choose a champion. Savannah Bananas, the 2021 and 2022 champions recently left the league to focus on its professional exhibition operation.

Some of the notable alumni of the Coastal Plain League are:

• Justin Verlander
• Ryan Zimmerman
• Mark Reynolds
• Chris Taylor

Cal Ripken is a member of the National Alliance of the College Summer Baseball. CRCBL was founded in 2005 in Washington DC. 

The Bethesda Big Train, the College Park Bombers, the Maryland Redbirds, the Rockville Express, and Youse's Maryland Orioles were the league's founding teams.

After the season of 2016, a group of players from the Ripken League visited Cuba. The team competed against three of Cuba's premier teams in the week leading up to the start of the Cuban National Series in some of the country's historic ballparks.

The Mid-Atlantic Classic was a game played on July 15, 2009, in Waldorf, Maryland, between all-star teams from the Cal Ripken Collegiate League and the Valley Baseball League, a collegiate wooden-bat league based in Virginia.

The Israel national team participated in a three-game exhibition series against Ripken League opposition in July 2021 as part of its training for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Some of the notable alumni of the Cal Ripken Collegiate League are:

• Brett Cecil 
• Joe Smith
• Zach Clark 
• Chris Taylor

CCL is regarded among the top 10 Collegiate Baseball Summer Leagues in the country. It was founded in 1993, based in Moorpark, California.

California Collegiate League is associated with the National Baseball Congress and the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball.

CCL hosts a 40-game summer season that includes a north-versus-south All-Star Game that is broadcast nationwide by Bally Sports West. 

California Collegiate League has had significant growth and development since 2014 and now leases teams from Placerville to Orange County. 

The highest a CCL alumnus has ever been drafted was Dillon Tate, who was chosen by the Texas Rangers as the fourth overall choice in the 2015 MLB Draft.

In 2017 the California Collegiate League expanded to include Rockville Rock Hounds, the Long Beach Legends, the Auburn Wildcats and the Arroyo Seco Saints. 

Some of the notable alumni of the California Collegiate League are:

• Khris Davis
• Dillion Tate
• Ryon Healy
• Tyler Walker

Alaska Baseball League has produced quality collegiate baseball teams since its establishment in 1974. Its headquarter is located in Palmer Alaska.

ABL has previously sent its top teams to compete at the NBC World Series, where league representatives have won numerous championships.

The top four clubs in the league advance to the playoffs after a 30-game regular season schedule. The playoffs usually take place in the middle of August, while the season typically lasts from early June to early August. 

Some of the notable alumni of the Alaska Baseball League are:

• Barry Bonds
• Jed Lowrie
• Aaron Judge
• Rady Johnson

Florida Collegiate Summer League is one of the 12 leagues in the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball. It is founded in 1993 fall.

The league started to play in the summer of 2004 and 360 players have been drafted in the first 13 seasons including 33 in the 2016 MLB Draft. 

The FCSL also holds numerous spring break competitions in March in an effort to build relationships with baseball players of all skill levels.

All games are played at Sanford, Florida's Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium. Teams from all around the United States participate in these tournaments, which are referred to as the Florida High School Invitational. 

Some of the notable alumni of the Florida Collegiate Summer League are:

• Mike McClendon
• Corey Brown
• Jonathan Lucroy
• Dee Gordon

South Florida Collegiate League has grown to become one of the premier summer leagues in the state. SFCBL was established in 2010.

A team's 40-game regular season schedule runs from the first week of June to the last week of July. The majority of weekend doubleheaders are scheduled, with all games lasting nine innings.

SFCBL works within the local community as a 501c3 nonprofit organization to assist youngsters in achieving their educational and employment aspirations.

South Florida Collegiate League maintains the game's formal rules and regulations, guaranteeing a professional and level playing field.

Northwoods League is a collegiate summer baseball league established in 1994. Kalamazoo Growlers are the defending league champions.

Many of the teams in the league play at ballparks that were originally used by professional teams from the Midwest League, Prairie League, Northern League, and Frontier League.

Senior pitchers who have graduated are also allowed to compete in the Northwoods League. To play in the league, a player must still be eligible to play for the NCAA.

The season is split into two halves, with the winners of each half competing to become the sub-divisional champion in a best-of-three series. 

The league championship series was a best-of-three contest between the two division champions from 1994 to 2018. The league's 2019 expansion concluded in a one-game playoff for the championship.

Some of the notable alumni of the Northwoods League are:

• Jeremy Accardo
• Scott Alexander
• Pete Alonso
• Cody Asche