Catfish Sweep Through Playoffs for 2025 Championship!
The Cape Catfish are the 2025 Prospect League Champions!
The Cape Catfish are the 2025 Prospect League Champions!
The Clinton LumberKings, Cape Catfish, REX, and Johnstown Mill Rats claimed playoff spots with first half Division titles.
The Burlington Bees, O'Fallon Hoots, Normal CornBelters, and Lafayette Aviators each claimed a playoff spot in the second half.
The Playoffs began with the Division Championship games on Friday, August 1st. The Conference Championships were decided on Sunday, August 3rd. The Prospect League Championship Series began with game one on Tuesday, August 5th, and finished with game two on Thursday, August 7th.
You can replay every Prospect League Playoff game on the Prospect League Network powered by HTN at prospectleaguenetwork.com.
DIVISIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS | FRIDAY, AUGUST 1
| Central Division | Normal CornBelters 1 REX Baseball 5 | Sycamore Stadium - Terre Haute, IN | 6:35 PM ET | RECAP | BOX SCORE | REPLAY |
| Northeast Division | Lafayette Aviators 4 Johnstown Mill Rats 3 | Sargent's Stadium - Johnstown, PA | 7:00 PM ET | RECAP | BOX SCORE | REPLAY |
| Northwest Division | Burlington Bees 2 Clinton LumberKings 3 | NelsonCorp Field - Clinton, IA | 6:30 PM CT | RECAP | BOX SCORE | REPLAY |
| South Division | O'Fallon Hoots 2 Cape Catfish 7 | Capaha Field - Cape Girardeau, MO | 6:35 PM CT | RECAP | BOX SCORE | REPLAY |
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS | SUNDAY, AUGUST 3
| Eastern Conference | Lafayette Aviators 9 REX Baseball 0 | Sycamore Stadium - Terre Haute, IN | 4:35 PM ET | RECAP | BOX SCORE | REPLAY |
| Western Conference | Clinton LumberKings 1 Cape Catfish 3 | Capaha Field - Cape Girardeau, MO | 6:35 PM CT | RECAP | BOX SCORE | REPLAY |
PROSPECT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES | TUESDAY, AUGUST 5 and THURSDAY, AUGUST 7
| Game 1 - Tuesday, August 5 | Cape Catfish 7 Lafayette Aviators 3 | Loeb Stadium - Lafayette, IN | 7:00 PM ET | RECAP | BOX SCORE | REPLAY |
| Game 2 - Thursday, August 7 | Lafayette Aviators 2 Cape Catfish 6 | Capaha Field - Cape Girardeau, MO | 6:35 PM CT | RECAP | BOX SCORE | REPLAY |
CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES PREVIEW
Lafayette Aviators (37-21) vs Cape Catfish (38-20)
Matchup History: The Catfish and Aviators have never met in the regular season.
Series History: The teams last met in the 2021 Championship Series. The Aviators took game one in Cape, and the Catfish took games two and three in Lafayette.
Aviators Stats: AVG .272 (9th) | ERA 3.76 (1st)
Catfish Stats: AVG .288 (4th) | ERA 4.69 (3rd)
Aviators Key Hitter: Gavin Smith - .293/.373/.454
Catfish Key Hitter: Matthew Cash - .311/.431/.463
Aviators Playoff History: 3rd Appearance | 3rd PLCS Appearances (2017, 2021) | 1 Championship (2017)
Catfish Playoff History: 5th Appearance | 3rd PLCS Appearances (2019, 2021) | 1 Championship (2021)
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND PREVIEW
Eastern Conference Championship - Lafayette Aviators (36-21) at REX Baseball (36-18)
Season Series: REX is 5-1 against the Aviators overall this season and 2-0 in Terre Haute.
REX Stats: AVG .278 (7th) | ERA 4.49 (2nd)
Aviators Stats: AVG .272 (9th) | ERA 3.76 (1st)
REX Playoff History: 7th Appearance | 4th Division Championship | 3 PLCS Appearances (2015, 2018, 2024) | 2 Championships (2015, 2018)
Aviators Playoff History: 3rd Appearance | 3rd Division Championship | 2 PLCS Appearances (2017, 2021) | 1 Championship (2017)
Western Conference Championship - Clinton LumberKings (35-19) at Cape Catfish (37-20)
Season Series: The Catfish and LumberKings did not meet in 2025.
Catfish Stats: AVG .288 (4th) | ERA 4.69 (3rd)
LumberKings Stats: AVG .301 (1st) | ERA 4.98 (5th)
Catfish Playoff History: 5th Appearance | 3rd Division Championship | 2 PLCS Appearances (2019, 2021) | 1 Championship (2021)
LumberKings Playoff History: 4th Appearance | 2nd Division Championship | 0 PLCS Appearances
DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND PREVIEW
Central Division Championship - Normal CornBelters (24-31) at REX Baseball (35-18)
Season Series: REX is 5-2 against the Cornbelters overall this season and 3-0 in Terre Haute.
REX Stats: AVG .278 (7th) | ERA 4.49 (2nd)
CornBelters Stats: AVG .264 (11th) | ERA 6.54 (12th)
REX Playoff History: 7th Appearance | 3 Division Championships (2015, 2018, 2024)
CornBelters Playoff History: 3rd Appearance | 0 Division Championships
Northeast Division Championship - Lafayette Aviators (35-21) at Johnstown Mill Rats (26-29)
Season Series: The Aviators are 5-3 against the Mill Rats overall this season, but the Mill Rats are 3-1 in Johnstown.
Mill Rats Stats: AVG .254 (16th) | ERA 5.23 (7th)
Aviators Stats: AVG .272 (9th) | ERA 3.76 (1st)
Mill Rats Playoff History: 2nd Appearance | 0 Division Championships
Aviators Playoff History: 3rd Appearance | 2 Division Championships (2017, 2021)
Northwest Division Championship - Burlington Bees (33-21) at Clinton LumberKings (34-19)
Season Series: The LumberKings are 8-7 against the Bees overall this season, but the Bees are 4-3 in Clinton.
LumberKings Stats: AVG .301 (1st) | ERA 4.98 (5th)
Bees Stats: AVG .301 (1st) | ERA 6.09 (11th)
LumberKings Playoff History: 4th Appearance | 1 Division Championship (2021)
Bees Playoff History: 1st Appearance | 0 Division Championships
South Division Championship - O'Fallon Hoots (41-15) at Cape Catfish (36-20)
Season Series: The Hoots are 7-2 against the Catfish overall this season and 4-2 in Cape.
Catfish Stats: AVG .288 (4th) | ERA 4.69 (3rd)
Hoots Stats: AVG .289 (3rd) | ERA 4.93 (4th)
Catfish Playoff History: 5th Appearance | 2 Division Championships (2019, 2021)
Hoots Playoff History: 2nd Appearance | 0 Division Championships
PLAYOFF SEEDING & HOSTS
The first round of the Prospect League Playoffs is hosted by the first half Division Champions. The higher seed in each conference, based on overall winning percentage, will host the Conference Championship. In the Prospect League Championship Series, the lower seed will host game one, and the higher seed will host games two and three.
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O’Fallon Hoots - .732 (41-15)
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REX - .660 (35-18)
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Cape Catfish - .643 (36-20)
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Clinton LumberKings - .642 (34-19)
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Lafayette Aviators - .625 (35-21)
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Burlington Bees - .611 (33-21)
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Johnstown Mill Rats - .473 (26-29)
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Normal CornBelters - .436 (24-31)
About the Prospect League
The Prospect League is a premier, Midwestern, wood-bat collegiate summer baseball league with 18 teams spanning Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania. The League provides college players with a professional setting, featuring excellent competition and high-quality facilities. More than 1.2 million fans attended Prospect League games in the past two seasons, achieving record-breaking attendance figures in both 2023 and 2024.
Formerly known as the Central Illinois Collegiate League (1963-2008), the Prospect League boasts over 60 years of tradition as one of the nation's original and most recognizable summer leagues. Its distinguished history includes Hall of Famers, NCAA and World Series Champions, over 200 Major League Baseball alumni, and more than 800 professional players worldwide. For more information, visit prospectleague.com and follow @prospectleague on social media.
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