Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report
by Dan Krieger
December 9, 2024 - USL Super League (USLSL)
BASEBALL
California Winter League: The CWL developmental showcase league, which is the official winter league of the independent Frontier League and is also scouted by other independent summer baseball leagues, will return in 2025 with two sessions (January 20-February 2 and February 3-February 17). The CWL operated with eight teams last season and plays all games at a baseball complex in Palm Springs.
Major League Baseball Draft League: The developmental MLB Draft League recently announced its 2025 season schedule will feature the same six teams as last season with each team playing a two-part 80-game schedule from June 4 through September 4, 2025. The 34-game first half runs through July 12 and features draft-eligible amateur players ahead of the MLB Amateur Draft, while the 46-game second half starts on July 16 and includes professional players who have lost their amateur status. Earlier this year, the MLB extended its commitment to the Draft League through the 2030 season and that includes the potential to add two expansion teams to the league.
Texas Collegiate League: The summer-collegiate TCL recently announced its 2025 season schedule that will again feature three Louisiana-based teams in the Louisiana Division and three Texas-based teams in a Texas Division. Each team will play a 48-game schedule from June 6 through July 27, 2025.
West Coast League: The summer-collegiate WCL recently announced its 2025 season schedule that will feature 17 teams in Oregon (5), Washington (6), British Columbia (5) and Alberta (1) with teams aligned in an 8-team North Division and a 9-team South Division. The WCL had 16 teams last season but the new Marion Berries team, based in Salem (OR), was added to the South Division. Each team will play a 54-game schedule from May 30 through August 6, 2025.
BASKETBALL
Women's National Basketball Association: The professional WNBA announced its 2025 season schedule will feature 13 teams each playing a 44-game regular-season schedule from May 16 through September 11, 2025, and each team will also participate in the 17-day WNBA Commissioner's Cup tournament (June 1-June 17) during the season. Last season, the WNBA had 12 teams aligned in six-team conferences but the new San Francisco-based Golden State Valkyries expansion team was added to the Western Conference. The WNBA's new Toronto expansion team announced it will be called the Toronto Tempo when it starts playing as the 14th team in the 2026 season. A previously announced 15th team based in Portland (OR) will also be added in 2026 and the league wants to expand to 16 teams by 2028.
Canadian Elite Basketball League: The spring-summer minor professional CEBL announced its 2025 season schedule will feature the same ten teams aligned in five-team Eastern and Western conferences with each team playing a 24-game schedule from May 11 through August 10, 2025, followed by playoffs.
The Basketball League: The men's minor professional TBL announced a new team called the Jersey Shore Breaks (Middletown, NJ) has been added for the upcoming 2025 season.
FOOTBALL
Professional Arena Independent Association: The proposed new PAIA has added the Peach State Cats (Suwanee, GA) for its inaugural season that will start in the spring of 2025. The Peach State Cats were part of the American Arena League 2 for the 2024 season.
National Arena League: The NAL's Harrisburg (PA) Stampede announced the team has ceased operations and is no longer part of the league. The NAL is now down to 10 teams after announcing its 2025 season schedule for 11 teams back in October. The Harrisburg Stampede was relaunched in 2024 as part of the American Indoor Football (AIF) and moved to the NAL after the 2024 season along with some other AIF teams. A previous version of the Harrisburg Stampede played six seasons (2009-14) as part of several other indoor leagues. The NAL's Carolina Cobras (Greensboro, NC) announced the Carolina Predators (Wake Forest, NC) of the American Arena League 2 will serve as the Cobras' official developmental affiliate team for the 2025 season.
Midwest Arena Football League: As the five-team 8-on-8 developmental MAFL completes its inaugural 2024 season, the league announced the Indianapolis Enforcers will be dropped for the next season due to issues with the team's management. The Enforcers were supposed to compete in the 2024 season playoffs but the team decided not to travel to its first playoff game and has been replaced.
HOCKEY
Federal Prospects Hockey League: The lower minor professional FPHL's Hudson Valley Venom is having financial issues in its first season in the league and appears to have been evicted from its home arena at the Ice Time Sports Complex in Newburgh (NY). The next three home games have been rescheduled to be played at the home of the Venom's opponents in Danbury (CT) and Watertown (NY). The Venom joined the FPHL this season after the sale and relocation of the league's Elmira (NY) River Sharks.
SPHL: As part of a Rebrand Night promotion, the SPHL's Fayetteville (NC) Marksmen played a game as the Fayetteville Fatbacks this weekend.
SOCCER
USL Championship (United Soccer League): The Brooklyn (NY) Football Club (Brooklyn FC), which was supposed to be a 2025 expansion team in the men's Division-II professional USL Championship, announced it will delay its start until the 2026 season. The Brooklyn FC also operates a women's team currently playing in the inaugural season of the Division-I professional USL Super League.
USL League Two (United Soccer League): The men's pre-professional USL League Two recently added several new teams for its 2025 season to include the Bigfoot FC (Maple Valley, WA), Delaware FC (Hockessin), Springfield FC (Illinois), New England Futbol Club (Mendon, MA), City SC (Carlsbad, CA), Sunflower State FC (Overland Park, KS), Santafe Wanderers (Kansas City, KC), Global Football Innovation (GFI) Academy (The Woodlands, TX), McKinney (TX) Chupacabras, Montgomery (AL) United FC and a yet-to-be-named team in Snohomish (WA).
USL Super League (United Soccer League): The Sporting Club Jacksonville (Sporting JAX) expansion team in the women's Division-I professional USL Super League announced it will start playing in the league's second season of 2025-26. The team's interim home will be at Hodges Stadium on the campus of the University of North Florida until a new permanent 15,000-seat stadium is built in the Jacksonville area. The Super League is currently playing its inaugural season 2024-25 season with eight teams. Sporting JAX was also awarded a franchise in the men's Division-II professional USL Championship league and that team is expected to start playing in 2026.
USL W-League (United Soccer League): The women's pre-professional USL W-League recently added several new teams for its 2025 season to include the Toledo Villa FC, Flower City 1872 (Rochester, NY), Annapolis Blues FC (Maryland), Bigfoot FC (Maple Valley, WA), Salmon Bay FC (Ballard, WA), FC Buffalo, and Capistrano FC (San Juan Capistrano, CA). Most of these new W-League teams are affiliated with men's teams in the pre-professional USL League Two.
OTHER
Athletes Unlimited Softball League: The women's Athletes Unlimited announced teams called the Bandits, Blaze, Talons and Volts will be part of the new women's professional AUSL that will launch in the spring of 2025. The league will feature a tour-based schedule in 2025 with teams each playing 30 games in six to eight different cities. The teams will be assigned to individual markets when the league becomes a city-based league for the 2026 season. The existing five-week Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball competition held annually in Rosemont (IL) during July and August will continue to operate after the AUSL season and is to be renamed the AUSL Champions Cup in 2025. Athletes Unlimited operates short-season single-location professional competitions in softball, volleyball, field lacrosse and basketball.
Northwoods League Softball: The women's NWLS summer-collegiate softball league, which had four teams operated by the men's summer-collegiate baseball league called the Northwoods League during its inaugural 2024 season, announced the addition of a new team in Wausau (WI) for the 2025 season. The team will be operated by the owner of the Northwoods League's Wausau Woodchucks baseball team. A name-the-team contest has been announced for the Wausau team.
Dan Krieger is the creator of the Weekly Sports League & Franchise Report, which has been tracking the changes in the sports world's leagues, teams, and nicknames since April 2007.
• Discuss this story on the USL Super League message board...
USL Super League Stories from December 9, 2024
- Five Wins in a Row for Brooklyn - Brooklyn FC
- Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report - OSC Original by Dan Krieger
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
