They might have been launched as a creative response to COVID-19 shutdowns, but at least two summer-collegiate single-site leagues are returning for the 2021 season.
The CarShield Collegiate League, run out of CarShield Field by the O’Fallon Hoots (summer collegiate; Prospect League), launches May 26 with a doubleheader. That league will be run in conjunction with the Hoots’ regular-season schedule.
“We’re ready to bring the fun in 2021,” Hoots and CarShield Field General Manager David Schmoll said. “From our first Prospect League game on May 27 to hosting Rick Ankiel and Jim Edmonds in our Home Run Derby to what will hopefully be a week of Prospect League and CarShield Collegiate League Championships in August, this will be the most high-level baseball our facility has seen in a summer.”
Technically, the Hoots will be making a league debut in 2021. The former Hannibal Hoots renovated to the former home of the River City Rascals for the 2020 season, but COVID-19 shut down Prospect League games for the summer.
All general admission tickets for 2021’s Prospect League and CarShield Collegiate League will be $9 prior to game day and $10 on the day of the game. Here’s a look at how the CarShield Collegiate League operated in 2020.
In Normal, the Kernels Collegiate League will also return. Created as a four-team circuit with the Normal CornBelters when the Prospect League shut down for the summer, the Kernels Collegiate League will return as the CornBelters return to the Prospect League.