Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report
by Dan Krieger
Published on September 29, 2025 under California League (CalL)
BASEBALL
California League: With the eight-team Single-A California League's Modesto Nuts leaving the league and the addition of the new Ontario Tower Buzzers team, the league is expected to move the Visalia Oaks from the South Division to the North Division to take Modesto's spot alongside the San Jose Giants, Stockton Ports and Fresno Grizzlies. Visalia was the northernmost team in the South Division, which will now have Ontario and the returning Lake Elsinore Storm, Inland Empire 66ers (San Bernardino) and Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, all close to Los Angeles.
Pecos League: The independent Pecos League now lists the Austin Weirdos as part of the Mountain Division so it looks as though the team will return in 2026 after sitting out the 2025 season. The league announced its pay-to-play winter showcase and prospect exposure league known as The Western League will be held in Houston from December 2 through December 20, 2025.
BASKETBALL
East Coast Basketball League: The men's semi-pro ECBL recently announced the addition of seven teams for the 2026 season. This includes three teams called the Balling Brothers (Dillon, SC), Charlotte Blue Jackets and Sparkle City Renegades (Spartanburg, SC) that are new to the league, and four teams called the NC Coyotes (Durham, NC), Carolina Chosen Lions (Rocky Mount, NC), North Carolina Capitals (Wake Forest) and SC Upstate Redhawks (Greenville & Spartanburg, SC) that had previously played in the league.
Women's National Basketball Association: The WNBA's 2026 expansion team called the Toronto Tempo has added some Montreal-based interests to its ownership group and the team will play two regular-season games in Montreal as part of the 2026 season. The Tempo previously announced the team will also play two regular-season games in Vancouver (British Columbia) in 2026.
FOOTBALL
National Arena League: The NAL announced its 2026 season schedule will feature nine teams aligned in a single-table format with each team playing 10 league games and some non-league games from March 7 through May 30, 2026. The league started last season with nine teams aligned in a five-team American Division and a four-team National Division but it lost five teams and added five other teams for 2026. The Carolina Cobras (Greensboro, NC) dropped out midway through the 2025 season and did not return. The Idaho Horsemen (Nampa) will sit out the 2026 season as the team looks to relocate, possibly to Arizona. The Beaumont (TX) Renegades left to join the Arena Football One (AF1) while the Columbus (GA) Lions and Wheeling (WV) Miners left for a restart of the American Arena League. The NAL added new teams called the Pueblo (CO) Punishers, Dallas Bulls and Amarillo Warbirds, originally announced as the West Texas Warbirds, and the Salina (KS) Liberty and Southwest Kansas Storm (Dodge City) from the AF1.
Arena Football One: The Duluth (MN) Harbor Monsters are moving from The Arena League (TAL) to the AF1 as the renamed Minnesota Monsters (Duluth) under new ownership for the 2026 season. The league's Nashville Kats team will be moving about 50 miles northwest to the F&M Bank Arena in Clarksville (TN) for the 2026 season and the team will retain the Nashville Kats name. The AF1's Billings (MT) Outlaws team is reported to be up for sale. This past June, the Outlaws' owner announced he was considering selling or relocating the team due to a lack of support from the city.
Canadian Football League: As the CFL continues to try to add a tenth team, the league commissioner stated there has been interest for an expansion franchise from various Canadian and international groups but he provided no details where these groups are based and where they would place an expansion team.
European League of Football: Eleven of the 16 teams that participated in the 2025 season of the ELF American-style professional football league and previously organized under the European Football Alliance (EFA) will not participate in the ELF starting in 2026. The new EFA plans to develop a different league that addresses some of the financial and organizational deficiencies of the ELF.
HOCKEY
Federal Prospects Hockey League: After recently coming under new ownership, the FPHL's Carolina Thunderbirds (Winston-Salem, NC) officially announced the team's rebranding as the Twin City Thunderbirds. The "Twin City" name was used for a former Winston-Salem team called the Twin City Cyclones that played two seasons (2007-09) in the Southern Professional Hockey League, now the SPHL.
National Collegiate Development Conference: The junior-level United States Premier Hockey League's Tier-II NCDC recently started its 2025-26 season with 32 teams each playing 54 games through March 28, 2026. The league is aligned in New England, Atlantic and Mountain conferences with the New England Conference further split into three divisions (East, North and Central). The league finished last season with 22 teams but added 10 new teams called the Connecticut Chiefs North (Biddeford, ME), which took over a previously announced expansion team called the Eastern Charlotte Kingfishers (New Brunswick), the Grand Junction (CO) River Hawks, Junior Bruins (Framingham, MA), Lewiston MAINEiacs, Springfield Pics, Presque Isle (ME) Frontiers, St. Stephen County Moose (New Brunswick), which took over a previously announced St. Stephen-based expansion team called the St. Croix Seawolves, Universel Academy (Sherbrooke, Quebec), Universel Quebec (Quebec City) and the Woodstock Slammers (New Brunswick). Last season's Seacoast Spartans (Exeter, NH) were purchased and moved to the Albany area as the New York Dynamo for 2025-26. This week, the NCDC announced the new Presque Isle (ME) Frontiers team has come under new ownership after only three games and was renamed the Northern Maine Pioneers. The owner of the Connecticut Chiefs North has taken control of the new Presque Isle team.
British Columbia Hockey League: The independent Junior-A BCHL started its 2025-26 season last weekend with 20 teams aligned in a Coastal Conference with five-team East and West divisions and an Interior Conference with five-team East and West divisions. Each team will play 54 games through March 28, 2026. The BCHL had 21 teams last season but the owner of the league's Penticton Vees was granted a major-junior Western Hockey League team that became the Penticton Vees in that league. The Penticton owner could not find a new home for the BCHL franchise so it sat idle for the 2025-26 season.
Alberta Junior Hockey League: The Junior-A Canadian Junior Hockey League's AJHL started its 2025-26 season last week with the same 12 teams as last season and again aligned in six-team North and South divisions. Each team will play 54 games through March 15, 2026.
Central Canada Hockey League: The Junior-A Canadian Junior Hockey League's CCHL started its 2025-26 season last weekend with the same 12 teams as last season and again aligned in six-team Yzerman and Robinson divisions. Each team will play a 55-game schedule through March 16, 2026.
Manitoba Junior Hockey League: The Junior-A Canadian Junior Hockey League's MJHL started its 2025-26 season last weekend with 13 teams again aligned in a six-team MGEU East Division and a seven-team MGEU West Division. One change from last season was the Winnipeg Freeze rebranding as the Winnipeg Monarchs. Each team will play 58 games through March 15, 2026.
Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League: The Junior-A Canadian Junior Hockey League's SJHL started its 2025-26 season last weekend with 12 teams aligned in four-team UPL, Nutrien and Viterra divisions. The one change from last season was the relocation of the Wilcox-based Notre Dame Hounds to become the Warman Wolverines. Each team will play 56 games through March 15, 2026.
Superior International Junior Hockey League: The Junior-A Canadian Junior Hockey League's SIJHL started its 2025-26 season last weekend with seven teams aligned in a single-table format. The league started the 2024-25 season with eight teams but the Kenora Devil's Gap Islanders (Ontario) dropped out during the season and did not return. Each team will play 48 games through March 13, 2026.
SOCCER
Canadian Premier League: Canada's top professional CPL announced the addition of a ninth team called the FC Supra du Quebec for the 2026 season. The Greater Montreal Area team will play at the 5,600-seat Staade Boreale, which is located in the Montreal suburb of Laval and home to the Montreal Roses FC of the women's professional Northern Super League. A team called the Montreal Supra FC, or FC Supra de Montreal, played five seasons (1988-92) in the former professional Canadian Soccer League.
Major Arena Soccer League: The MASL announced the addition of a men's MASL team and a women's MASLW team to be based out of a proposed new 7,500-seat arena in Rancho Cordova (CA), near Sacramento, starting with the 2027-28 season.
Major League Indoor Soccer: The men's MLIS announced its 2025-26 season schedule will feature 13 teams aligned in a seven-team North Conference and a six-team South Conference. Each team will play a 12-game schedule from November 15, 2025, through March 15, 2026. Last season, the MLIS had nine teams aligned in a single-table format but lit ost three teams and added seven new teams for 2025-26. The Omaha Kings, Chicago Panathinaikos (Chicago PAO) and Colorado Bucks (Denver) did not return but the Atletico Orlando, Boulder United FC Halo (Denver), Dallas CD La Cuadra, Las Vegas Turf Monsters, Utah Uprising (Salt Lake City), Bridge City FC (Pittsburgh) and Rockford (IL) Thunder were added.
MLS Next Pro (Major League Soccer): The new Division-III MLS Next Pro team to be based in Grand Rapids (MI) announced it will be called the Athletic Club Grand Rapids, or AC Grand Rapids, when it starts playing at a new 8,500-seat stadium in the 2027 season as one of the league's unaffiliated independent teams. The league is currently playing its 2025 season with 27 MLS-affiliated teams and 2 independent teams with additional independent teams planned for the future.
USL League Division-League (United Soccer League): The Louisville City FC of the Division-II USL Championship has filed an application to join the proposed new top-tier professional USL Division One league that is planning to start playing in 2028. The new USL league will be a rival to Major League Soccer, but with promotion and relegation.
USL Championship (United Soccer League): The Miami FC of the Division-II professional USL Championship announced plans to build their own new 15,000-seat soccer stadium in Homestead (FL), about 35 miles south of their current home at Florida International University in Miami. A group in Riverside (CA) called Riverside Pro Soccer has entered into a partnership with the USL with the goal of building a 5,000-seat soccer stadium that is expandable to 15,000 seats for future men's and women's professional USL teams.
OTHER
Canada Super 60 League: The new professional Canada Super 60 cricket league will play its inaugural 2025 season as a tournament with all matches held at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver from October 8 through October 12, followed by playoffs on October 13. Six men's teams called the Vancouver Kings, Toronto Sixers, Mississauga Masters, Brampton Blitz, Montreal Tigers and White Rock Warriors will play a match on all five days, while two women's teams called the Toronto Sixers and the Vancouver Thunderbirds will play a match on three of the five days. The league will play under the T10 format, which is a faster pace involving shorter matches of about 90 minutes.
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.
California League Stories from September 29, 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.
