Lincoln Potters announce move to newly formed Pacific Empire League

A new era of baseball will begin this summer at McBean Stadium, as the Lincoln Potters announced Friday they will leave the California Collegiate League and join the newly formed Pacific Empire League. The PEL is set to begin play this summer and will feature six teams in its inaugural season. Lincoln won't be the only CCL team making the jump. Tagging along are the three-time reigning CCL-champion Healdsburg Prune Packers and the Solano Mudcats. The Medford Rogues, West Coast Kings and Humboldt Crabs round out the league. "The PEL is dedicated to delivering robust competition and fostering player development with the best in-class coaching and date-driven technology in fan-focused communities," the league said in Friday's press release. Potters General Manager Matt Lundgren cited multiple reasons for leaving the CCL but said the driving force was to be in a league with organizations that prioritize fan experience and reduce travel costs. "These teams run their operations very similar to us and have good fan bases and run game-day promotions. They have a similar-style budget as well. We wanted to find a way to continue what we do and be aligned with like-minded organizations," Lundgren said. "It just wasn't going to be a long-term solution in the CCL with the travel demands and rising costs on everything. It just wasn't gonna fit our budget long term." "The Pacific Empire League checks all the boxes as a top-notch collegiate baseball league, featuring historic teams with devoted fan bases and strong ties to college coaches and scouts," Healdsburg GM Joey Gomes said. Lundgren added the majority of the teams in the CCL focused primarily on baseball, but he wanted to form a league of organizations that are staples in their community and have established fan bases. "We have sponsor obligations, we have season ticket holder obligations," Lundgren said. "There's a precedent that we've set and a bar that we have to reach. We owe it to the community to do that." Fans shouldn't worry about the quality of play. Lundgren said the level of competition is going to be similar, if not a step up. "There are a lot of high-quality baseball teams here," Lundgren said. "The Potters and Prune Packers both have had countless guys drafted. The Crabs have the longest summer collegiate program in the country, and the Medford Rogues have also had a great history. So from a baseball side, we already think that it's probably stronger competition than what the CCL was." Lundgren also said the fan experience will be among the best in collegiate summer ball on most nights and hopes fans will travel to the different ballparks to see their team play, noting most teams have strong, established fan bases. "Pretty much every game one of our teams goes and plays on the road, they're probably playing in front of 1,000 fans or close to it in a good atmosphere," Lundgren said. "The college coaches that we've talked to from big schools that send us players are super excited about this." The league has already locked in several sponsors for the upcoming season, which is rare for a start-up league. Trackman and Synergy Sports have partnered with the PEL to provide advanced statistics and data analysis to help players develop and give fans all of the in-depth information they desire. The league has also landed a sponsorship deal with US Bank and is working on an official hat dealer and baseball provider. The PEL hopes to eventually field eight to 10 teams. "We would love to expand, but we are stressing that it's quality over quantity. Some of the other leagues that we've been a part of are grasping at straws and have had consistent turnover, but we want stability," Lundgren said. "We want the teams that are involved in this to be wanting to be in it for a long time." Lundgren hopes to have another team or two in the league by 2025, but he doesn't want to force it, saying, "We've gotten six really good teams and we're stoked about that." The PEL will play nonleague games for the first month of the season with league games beginning in mid-June. The league schedule ends in late July and will be followed by a three-game championship series between the top two teams. The Potters will still host the West Coast World Series in August. For more information, visit www.lincolnpotters.com.