It’s official: Frontier League adds Kane County, Cleburne
The independent Frontier League, which includes the Washington Wild Things, announced Wednesday afternoon that it is expanding by two teams for 2027, adding the Kane County Cougars and Cleburne Railroaders, both formerly of the American Association.
The addition of Kane County and Cleburne was first reported by the Observer-Reporter in August.
The Cougars, located in Geneva, Ill., and Railroaders, in Cleburne, Texas, are both owned by REV Entertainment, which also owns the Texas Rangers and the Frontier League’s Schaumburg Boomers.
“We are honored to welcome Cleburne and Kane County as our newest members,” Frontier League commissioner Steve Tahsler said in a statement. “Cleburne adds another MLB metropolitan market to our lineup in a location with a tremendous baseball history, and Kane County has been one of the top performing operations in professional baseball for more than 30 years.”
The Frontier League, which will be known as the National Association of Professional Baseball next season, will have 20 teams. The league’s division alignments and schedule for 2027 have not been released.
REV Entertainment also owns the Long Island Ducks, who play in the independent Atlantic League, which saw its membership drop to nine teams when the Gastonia Ghost Peppers announced Tuesday that they have ceased operations.