The Eau Claire Express is a collegiate summer baseball team playing in the Northwoods League. Their home games are played at historic Carson Park in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

As of 2026, 21 former Express players have gone on to appear in Major League Baseball, including Jordan Zimmermann, Kole Calhoun, Alex Call, Griffin Jax and Daulton Varsho.

History In 2005, the Express were added as an expansion team to the Northwoods League (NWL), entering alongside the Brainerd Blue Thunder.

In 2007, the Express qualified for the NWL playoffs for the first time. In the South Division Championship Series, they defeated the Green Bay Bullfrogs, taking two games in a best-of-three series. In the 2007 Northwoods League Championship Series, they faced the North Division Champion St. Cloud River Bats and were swept 2–0. In 2009, the Express won the NWL South Division to qualify for the playoffs. They were eliminated in two games by the La Crosse Loggers in the Northwoods League Divisional round.

In 2010, the Express qualified for the playoffs and defeated the Rochester Honkers to secure their first NWL Championship victory.

The 2016 season saw the Express return to the Northwoods League postseason after winning the season's first half title. This was the first time the team had qualified for the playoffs since the 2010 season. Eau Claire opened the playoffs hosting the Mankato MoonDogs in the first round of the Divisional Playoffs at Carson Park. Despite having only a 1–7 record vs. Mankato in the regular season, Eau Claire was able to defeat the MoonDogs to advance. The next night the team traveled to St. Cloud, Minn. to face the second half champion Rox for a chance to play for the NWL Championship. After blowing a late lead, the Express were able to defeat the Rox in extra innings to win the North Division title. Awaiting the Express in the NWL Championship Series was the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters, the owners of the league's best regular season record. Eau Claire led game one by a run with two outs in the ninth inning before giving up a walk-off, two-run home run to lose. The Express would go on to lose game two the following night at Carson Park to end a successful season and concede the Northwoods League title to the Rafters.

In 2022, The Eau Claire Express won the Great Plains East Division (2nd Half) with a record of 42–26. The Express lost in the first round of the playoffs to the eventual Plains Division champion Duluth Huskies.

In 2023, the Express found themselves back in the playoffs, winning the first half despite an 0–3 start which they were outscored 11–20 and gave up 8 runs in two of those games. They went 20–11 the rest of the first half and clinched it with a 12–1 win on July 3 over the Rochester Honkers. In the first round of the playoffs, they were swept by La Crosse in 2 games.

In the 2025 season, the Express debuted the WNB Financial video board in right center field of Carson Park. The state-of-the-art video was designed by Daktronics.

Season-by-season-records Season GP W L Playoffs 2005 68 28 40 Did not qualify 2006 67 29 38 Did not qualify 2007 68 42 26 Won South Div. Finals 6–3, vs. Green Bay BullfrogsLost Championship 0–2, vs. St. Cloud River Bats 2008 68 33 35 Did not qualify 2009 68 36 32 Lost South Div. Finals 0–2, vs. La Crosse Loggers 2010 70 48 22 Won South Div. Finals 2–1 vs. Wisconsin Woodchucks Won Championship 2–1, vs. Rochester Honkers NORTHWOODS LEAGUE CHAMPIONS 2011 70 36 34 Did not qualify 2012 70 26 44 Did not qualify 2013 70 33 37 Did not qualify 2014 72 36 36 Did not qualify 2015 71 29 42 Did not qualify 2016 72 45 27 Won North Div. Semi-Finals 1–0, vs. Mankato Moondogs Won North Div. Finals 1–0, vs. St. Cloud Rox Lost League Championship 0–2, vs. Wisconsin Rapids Rafters 2017 72 39 33 Lost North Div. Semi-Finals 0–1, vs. Mankato Moondogs 2018 71 28 43 Did not qualify 2019 72 40 32 Won Great Plains East Finals, 2-games-to-0 vs. Waterloo BucksWon Great Plains Finals, 2–0 vs. Willmar Stingers Lost League Championship, 2–3 vs. Traverse City Pit Spitters 2020 0 0 0 Did not play due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2021 68 27 41 Did not qualify 2022 68 42 26 Lost Great Plains East Finals, 0–2 vs. Duluth Huskies 2023 67 36 31 Lost Great Plains East Finals, 0–2 vs. La Crosse Loggers2024 70 35 35 Did not qualify2025 72 3240Did not qualify 2026 69 46 23 Won Great Plains East Championship 2-1, vs. La Crosse Loggers Lost Great Plains Championship 5-10 vs. St. Cloud Rox

Roster The Roster for the 2027 season has not been announced.

Express Players to reach MLB As of the end of the 2025 season, a total of 21 former Express players have appeared in Major League Baseball.

Name Year(s) with Express MLB accolades Nevin Ashley2006Caleb Boushley2016Kole Calhoun2007–09Gold Glove AwardAlex Call2013–14World Series ChampionDietrich Enns2010Eddie Gamboa2007Brad Goldberg2010–11Sam Haggerty2013Louis Head2009Griffin Jax2015A.J. Ladwig2012Irving Lopez2015Mickey McDonald2016Nathan Orf2010Michael Papierski2015Lane Ramsey2017Justin Slaten2018Erich Uelmen2015Daulton Varsho2015–16Gold Glove AwardSteven Wilson2014Jordan Zimmermann2006All-Star (2x), No-hitter

Additionally, former Express players Justin Viele, Mark Hallberg, Harvey Martin, and Trent Blank went on to have MLB coaching positions.

References

External links Northwoods League website