Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report
by Dan Krieger
May 5, 2025 - Pecos League (Pecos)
BASEBALL
Carolina League: The Fayetteville (NC) Woodpeckers of the Single-A Carolina League played two games this weekend as the Eighty Deuces in a tribute to the United States Army's 82nd Airborne Division stationed at nearby Fort Bragg.
Pecos League: The independent Pecos League announced some scheduling changes for the upcoming 2025 season. The expansion Kansas City (MO) Hormigas have moved their headquarters about 100 miles southwest to Iola (KS). The team will now play all weekday home games in Iola and only the Sunday home games at Satchel Paige Stadium in Kansas City. After recently announcing the relocation of the Vallejo (CA) Seaweed to Santa Rosa (CA) to become the Santa Rosa Scuba Divers for the 2025 season, the Pecos League has come to an agreement for the Scuba Divers to play 9 home games this season in Vallejo as the Vallejo Seaweed and play the remaining 20 home games and all road games as the Santa Rosa Scuba Divers. Mexico's Charros de Jalisco team, which plays in both the spring-summer Liga Mexicana de Beisbol (Mexican Baseball League) and the fall-winter Liga Mexicana del Pacífico (Mexican Pacific League), will be affiliated with the Pecos League's Monterey (CA) Amberjacks and place seven prospects on the Amberjacks in 2025. The Charros will field a full team of prospects in the Pecos League's 2026 season. That team will be based in Bakersfield (CA) and play under the Charros name.
Northwoods League: Since losing the Kokomo (IN) Jackrabbits of the summer-collegiate Northwoods League after the 2024 season, the city of Kokomo is soliciting proposals from potential professional, summer-collegiate or amateur teams to bring a baseball team back to the city's Municipal Stadium.
South Atlantic League: The Asheville (NC) Tourists of the High-A SAL will become the Asheville Snot Otters for a game next month as a tribute to the nickname given to the hellbender species of salamander that resides in the state.
Western Association of Professional Baseball: Not much has been heard about the independent Western Association's proposed 2025 season. After failing to get off the ground in 2020, 2021 and 2022, the league announced a relaunch in December 2024 with plans to have 12 teams representing markets in Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas and Utah starting play on June 5, 2025. Back in 2022, the league had only one named team called the Henderson (NV) Hoo.
Women's Pro Baseball League: The proposed new WPBL will be holding tryouts in July and August as the league plans to start with six teams in the summer of 2026.
BASKETBALL
Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional-Femenil: Mexico's LNBP-Femenil (Mexican Women's National Professional Basketball League), which is also known as the Liga Caliente.mx LNBP-Femenil and is affiliated with the top men's LNBP, started its 2025 season this weekend with eight teams aligned in a single-table format. Each team will play 16 games through June 7, 2025. The league had nine teams last season but the Santas del Potosi (San Luis Potosi) and Halcones de Xalapa (Veracruz) did not return and the league added the new El Calor de Cancun (Quintana Roo) for the 2025 season.
Women's American Basketball Association: The semi-pro WABA announced new teams called the Maryland Monarchs (Prince George's County), Augusta (GA) Hurricanes and the Mississippi Queens (Biloxi) have been added for the 2025 season. The WABA now lists 21 teams for the 2025 season.
FOOTBALL
Liga de Futbol Americano Profesional: Mexico's top professional American-style outdoor football league known as the LFA started its 2025 season this weekend with eight teams each playing an eight-game schedule through June 21, 2025, followed by playoffs. The LFA had nine teams last season but the Galgos de Tijuana and Jefes de Ciudad Juarez are sitting out the 2025 season. The league added an expansion team called the Arcangeles de Puebla for the 2025 season. Also, the Fundidores de Monterrey team was renamed the Osos de Monterrey in the off-season.
National Football League: With the future move of the NFL's Washington Commanders to a new home at the site of RFK Stadium, which was home to the team when it was the Washington Redskins, the team's owner stated it will not be changing back to the Redskins name and it will remain the Commanders.
Indoor Football League: The new ownership of the IFL's Duke City Gladiators team, which is sitting out the 2025 season, confirmed this week the team plans to return to the IFL for the 2026 season. Previously, the ownership indicated a rebranding of the team was being considered.
HOCKEY
ECHL: The minor professional ECHL announced a new team in New Mexico will be added for the 2026-27 season and based in the Albuquerque suburb of Rio Rancho (NM). The team, which is currently known as the New Mexico Pro Hockey Club, will be holding a name-the-team contest. New Mexico will become the ECHL's 31st team as the league's 30th team called the Greensboro (NC) Gargoyles starts playing in the 2025-26 season. The Albuquerque/Rio Rancho market was previously home to a minor professional hockey team called the New Mexico Scorpions that started in 1996 as part of the former Western Professional Hockey League and last played in the 2008-09 season of the former Central Hockey League.
Federal Prospects Hockey League: After three seasons in the league, the minor professional FPHL's Biloxi-based Mississippi Sea Wolves team recently came under new ownership that announced a rebranding of the team is underway. Fans can submit potential team names through May 11 and five finalists will be announced for fan voting from May 19 through June 1 with the name announced on June 2.
Professional Women's Hockey League: The PWHL announced an expansion team in Seattle will be added as the league's eighth team for the 2025-26 season. The league played its first two seasons with six teams and last week announced Vancouver (British Columbia) as the location of the seventh team for next season. Seattle hosted a well-attended PWHL neutral-site game during the 2024-25 season.
SOCCER
League1 Alberta: Canada's Division-3 pro-am League1 Alberta soccer league, which operated with seven-team men's and women's divisions in its inaugural 2024 season, recently started its 2025 season with nine-team men's and women's divisions. The Calgary Villains FC and Calgary Rangers SC were added to the men's division, while the Calgary Villains FC and the Calgary Wild FC U-21, which is a developmental team for the Calgary Wild FC in the new women's professional Northern Super League, were added to the women's division. Each League1 Alberta team will play 16 games through August 8, 2025.
Ligue1 Quebec: Canada's Division-3 pro-am Ligue1 Quebec soccer league started its 2025 season last month and has expanded both its men's and women's divisions that will begin implementing a system of promotion and relegation between levels. The men's top Senior Lique 1 has 10 teams; the Senior Lique 2 has 24 teams; and the Senior Lique 3 has 16 teams. The women's top Senior Lique 1 has 11 teams and the Senior Lique 2 has 19 teams. The league's seasons run through July and August.
USL Championship (United Soccer League): The new Division-II USL Championship team to be based in Garland (TX) announced the team will be called the Atlético Dallas when it starts playing in 2027. The league's Loudoun United FC (Leesburg, VA) and the developmental youth-based Virginia Revolution Soccer Club (Leesburg) announced a merger to create a fully integrated soccer club in which the Virginia Revolution will now manage the USL Championship team. The new partnership was originally to be called the Revolution United. Although a rebranding was considered, both clubs will retain their names for now and a name change could happen in the future. The new ownership that took over the league's dormant Oklahoma City Energy club is moving forward with a new 12,300-seat stadium that could be ready for the 2027 season. The team will be rebranded and five names were put up for voting in March. These included the OKC Bison FC, OKC Lightning FC, OKC Thunderbird FC, OKC United, and OKC Wind FC.
USL League One (United Soccer League): The Fort Lauderdale United FC of the women's Division-I professional USL Super League announced the club will start a men's professional team in the Division-III USL League One starting next season. The club is also starting pre-professional teams this season in the men's USL League Two and the women's USL W-League.
OTHER
Major League Quadball: The MLQ, formerly known as Major League Quidditch, has posted its 2025 season schedule that will again 15 teams from the United States and Canada aligned in five-team East, North and South divisions. Teams will play 12 matches from June 7 through August 9, 2025. One change for 2025 involved the League City (TX) Legends relocating to Houston where the team was renamed the Houston Legends. Quadball is a competitive, full-contact, mixed-gender sport played around the world and was adapted from the quidditch game played in the Harry Potter series of books and movies.
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.
Pecos League Stories from May 5, 2025
- 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.
