The 2026 Northwoods League season was the 33rd season of baseball and 3rd season of softball in the Northwoods League, a collegiate summer baseball and softball organization. The season concluded in August with the Royal Oak Leprechauns winning the baseball championship and the Madison Night Mares winning the softball championship.
Baseball season overview Background In 2026, there were 26 Northwoods League baseball teams, split evenly between the Great Lakes and Great Plains Divisions. These divisions were then split up between the Great Lakes East, Great Lakes West, Great Plains East, and Great Plains West subdivisions. The Green Bay Rockers entered the season as defending champions, having defeated the Duluth Huskies in the league's 2025 championship game.
It was announced during the offseason that the city of Richmond, Indiana would be awarded a franchise, and the team name was later revealed to be the Flying Mummies. It was also announced that, to provide the league with an even number of teams, the Minnesota Mud Puppies travel team would return to the league. Ahead of the season, the league also announced that the All-Star game would take place at Field of Dreams Ballpark in Dyersville, Iowa on July 8, 2026.
Season The season began on May 25 with an expectation of a 72-game per team schedule, excluding the Mud Puppies, who played a significantly fewer number of games by design. Several games were cancelled or rescheduled due to poor air quality from the 2026 Canadian wildfires, particularly those of the Thunder Bay Border Cats, Duluth Huskies, and Wausau Woodchucks.
The season was split into two halves, with the top two teams in each sub-division--the standings leader from each half--qualifying for the playoffs that began on August 9. In the Great Lakes division, neither of the two teams (the Traverse City Pit Spitters and Wausau Woodchucks) with the best full-season record in their respective sub-division qualified for the playoffs. In the East sub-division, the Kenosha Kingfish had the best first-half record and the Royal Oak Leprechauns had the best second half. In the West, the Madison Mallards had the best first half and the Lakeshore Chinooks had the best second half. In the Great Plains East, the La Crosse Loggers (best first half) and Eau Claire Express (best second) were playoff qualifiers. The West sub-division, the St. Cloud Rox took the first half while the Willmar Stingers took the second.
In the four best-of-three subdivision series, the Leprechauns swept the Kingfish, the Mallards swept the Chinooks, the Express took 2 of 3 against the Loggers, and the Rox took 2 of 3 against the Stingers. In the single-game Great Lakes Division championship, the Leprechauns defeated the Mallards 6-1, and in the Great Plains, the Rox defeated the Express 10-5.
The NWL Championship game was held at Joe Faber Field on 8/13/26. Both Royal Oak and St. Cloud were held scoreless through six innings. The Rox scored one run in the 7th on a home run by Nolan Geislinger. The Leprechauns got on the board in the 8th with a 2-RBI single by Luke Kosko, and added another run when Connor Larkin scored on a 3rd out putout. The Leprechauns defeated the Rox by a score of 3-1.
Individual achievements St. Cloud's Tanner Recchio had an exceptional season on the basepaths. On June 21st, he broke the all-time individual NWL career stolen bases record, which had stood at 90 total for 18 years. Recchio had tallied 34 stolen bases with the Mud Puppies in 2023 and another 34 with the Rox in 2025. He finished the 2026 season with 81, shattering the previous single-season record of 67 and setting a new all-time individual record with 149.
Royal Oak's Luke Kosko was named NWL Most Valuable Player after leading all NWL players in both home runs (17) and RBI (72), posting a .349 batting average (and 1.099 OPS) across 215 regular season at-bats, as well as playing a key role in the Leprechauns' NWL Championship victory.
Madison's Ckyler Tengler was named NWL Pitcher of the Year. Tengler appeared in 10 games for the Mallards and went 6-1 with a 2.41 ERA. In 52.1 innings pitched, he struck out 55 batters while walking only 11. He also pitched 1.0 innings in the NWL All-Star game, allowing no runs on no hits.
In the 2026 Major League Baseball Draft, 97 former NWL players were selected by MLB teams. Vahn Lackey was the highest-selected of these alums, going third overall to the Minnesota Twins. Lackey played for Traverse City in 2024 between seasons at Georgia Tech.
Baseball standings
Great Lakes Division + Great Lakes East Sub-Division Regular Season Standings Pos Team G W L Pct. 1 Traverse City Pit Spitters7245272y – Royal Oak Leprechauns7243293x – Kenosha Kingfish7137344 Kalamazoo Growlers7236365 Rockford Rivets7131406 Richmond Flying Mummies7229437 Battle Creek Battle Jacks712249
+ Great Lakes West Sub-Division Regular Season Standings Pos Team G W L Pct. 1 Wausau Woodchucks6643232y – Lakeshore Chinooks7043273x – Madison Mallards6941284 Green Bay Rockers6939305 Fond du Lac Dock Spiders6930396 Wisconsin Rapids Rafters692049
Great Plains Division + Great Plains East Sub-Division Regular Season Standings Pos Team G W L Pct. 1 y – Eau Claire Express6946232 x – La Crosse Loggers6945243 Rochester Honkers7034344 Waterloo Bucks6930395 Duluth Huskies7029416 Thunder Bay Border Cats6827417 Minnesota Mud Puppies351322 + Great Plains West Sub-Division Regular Season Standings Pos Team G W L Pct. 1x – St. Cloud Rox6942272 y –Willmar Stingers 7037333 Mankato MoonDogs7037334 Bismarck Larks6934355 Badlands Big Sticks7031396 Minot Hot Tots692643
x – First Half Winner, clinched playoff spot y – Second Half Winner, clinched playoff spot
Baseball playoffs
Format First and second half sub-divisional winners were eligible for the playoffs. The two playoff-eligible teams in each sub-division competed in a best-of-three Sub-Divisional Series. The two Sub-Divisional Series winners played a one-game Divisional Championship Game. The two Divisional Championship Game winners played a one-game League Championship.
Playoff bracket
Baseball statistical leaders
For cumulative stats, leaders include all league players. For average stats, leaders include only qualifiers. Qualified hitters must have 2.70 plate appearances per team game. Qualified pitchers must have minimum .80 innings pitched per team game.
Hitting Stat Player Team Total HR Luke Kosko Leprechauns 17 AVG Savion Flowers Loggers .373 RBIs Luke Kosko Leprechauns 72 SB Tanner Recchio Rox 81
Pitching Stat Player Team Total W Kyle Timko Pit Spitters 7 ERA Jackson Sobel Kingfish 2.59 SO Spencer Boynton Leprechauns 76 SV Pierce Anderson, Olivier Martel, Eli Hoyt, Parker Barraza Huskies, Express, Mallards, Stingers 7
Baseball All-Star selections Mid-season All-Star Game The 2026 Northwoods League All-Star Game was held at Field of Dreams Ballpark in Dyersville, Iowa. This game took place on July 8, 2026, with the Great Lakes division all-stars defeating those from the Great Plains division 4-2.
Great Lakes Division +Hitters PositionPlayerTeam C Oliver Service Leprechauns C Brendan Fritch Kingfish 1B Ryan Chase Woodchucks 2B Jack Gold Mallards 3B Jax LeGrand Rafters SS J.R. Nelson Kingfish IF Jake Stedman Battle Jacks UTL David Hogg II Chinooks UTL Jonah Weathers Mallards UTL Brendan Thompson Battle Jacks OF Luke Kosko Leprechauns OF Josh Campbell Growlers OF Eli Selga Rockers OF Dylan Frank Rafters OF Jackson Thomas Flying Mummies
+Pitchers PositionPlayerTeam P Ben Buering Rivets P Kyle Manship Dock Spiders P Jackson Sobel Kingfish P Bryce Suiter Pit Spitters P RJ Anglin Growlers P Holden Harris Rockers P Ethan Bauerschmidt Mallards P Ckyler Tengler Mallards P Kellen English Leprechauns P Charlie Wolf Pit Spitters P Brady Wright Woodchucks P Connor Kelly Pit Spitters P Henry Slaby Growlers
Great Plains Division +Hitters PositionPlayerTeam C Hollon Brock Express C Chayton Fischer Big Sticks 1B Jalen Smith Huskies 2B Cameron Sewell Honkers 3B Jose Lopez Loggers SS Joey Senstock Loggers IF Jalen Evans Big Sticks UTL Colin Coonradt Bucks UTL CJ Varsho Express OF Sam Harry Honkers OF Eli Small Loggers OF Nolan Geislinger Rox OF Jordan Carter Larks OF Owen Bond Mud Puppies OF Kellan Burke Hot Tots
+Pitchers PositionPlayerTeam P Anthony Unga Border Cats P Gavin Parkerson Larks P Olivier Martel Express P Brock Adamson Express P Luke Ballantyne MoonDogs P Hunter Guenther Express P Ethan Felling Rox P Brady Ferguson Rox P Brandon Jaenke Rox P Cristien Banda Loggers P Mason Beltrand Loggers P Jackson Niederwerder Express P Parker Barrazza Stingers
Full-season All-Stars After the season concluded, the league announced its Post-Season All-Stars for the full regular season. This group included players who performed well over the course of the entire season. Several players were selected to both the mid-season All-Star Game and the Post-Season All-Star team.
Great Lakes Division +Hitters PositionPlayerTeam C Oliver Service Leprechauns 1B Ryan Chase Woodchucks 2B David Ballenilla Rockers 3B Mason Barth Leprechauns SS Brendan Thompson Battle Jacks OF Luke Kosko Leprechauns OF Josh Campbell Growlers OF Coleman Lewis Rockers DH Ethan Guerra Pit Spitters
+Pitchers PositionPlayerTeam P Ckyler Tengler Mallards P Jackson Sobel Kingfish P Spencer Boynton Leprechauns P Keith Eusebio Rivets P Kyle Timko Pit Spitters
Great Plains Division +Hitters PositionPlayerTeam C Cooper Kruk Honkers 1B Anthony Martinez Express 2B Caleb Parker Bucks 3B David Estrada Stingers SS George McIntyre Huskies OF Sam Harry Honkers OF Eli Small Loggers OF Savion Flowers Loggers OF Seth Thompson Honkers
+Pitchers PositionPlayerTeam P Brock Adamson Express P Emerson McKnight Rox P Tyler Bribiescas Border Cats P Devin Costa Huskies P Jackson Niederwerder Express
2026 MLB debuts The following is a list of NWL alums who made their Major League Baseball debuts in the 2026 MLB season.
Name MLB debut Debut team Former NWL team(s) Season(s) in NWLJJ Wetherholt3/26CardinalsMallards2022George Klassen4/5AngelsChinooks2022Tyler Schweitzer4/8White SoxChinooks2021Duncan Davitt4/10White SoxBucks2020-21Riley Cornelio4/24NationalsRox2021John Klein5/2TwinsStingers2021-22Brycen Mautz5/24CardinalsBucks2021Tommy Troy5/24DiamondbacksPit Spitters2020Tanner Andrews5/25Blue JaysGrowlers2016Charles McAdoo5/29Blue JaysMoonDogs2022Hayden Juenger5/31Blue JaysMoonDogs2019Mike Paredes5/31TwinsGrowlers2019LuJames Groover6/5DiamondbacksWoodchucks2021Ivan Johnson6/30RedsGrowlers2018Gabriel Hughes7/3RockiesResorters2020Lucas Spence7/17AstrosRivets2024Brian Keller7/25PhilliesLoggers, Chinooks2014, 2015Luke Murphy7/31AngelsBombers2020Andrew Pinckney8/5NationalsRox2020-21Brett Bateman8/7Blue JaysStingers2021-22Ethan Pecko8/19AstrosWoodchucks2023Jack Ralston8/23MarlinsLoggers2015-16Ben Ross9/1TwinsRafters2022Jack Sinclair9/4NationalsRafters2019
Softball season overview Background The 2026 season was the third season of Northwoods League Softball (NWLS). There were 6 softball teams, playing in one single division. The two teams with the best record competed in a playoff series for the NWLS championship. The Madison Night Mares entered the season as defending champions, having defeated the Minot Honeybees in the 2025 championship game.
For 2026, the league expanded to Grand Forks, North Dakota; marking the first Northwoods League Softball team to play in a non-Northwoods League Baseball stadium. On November 11, 2025, the team's name was revealed as the Grand Forks Spitfires.
Team highlights The Night Mares had an exceptional season, winning their first 16 games in a row before finally falling to the Wausau Ignite 13-10 in the first game of June 28 doubleheader. The Night Mares ultimately set an NWLS record for full season wins, finishing at 36-6.