Right-handed reliever Jordan Leasure made the Chicago White Sox's Opening Day roster. Leasure, an Elizabethton River Riders ‘21 alum, became the first Appalachian League player to reach the Major Leagues since the league rebranded as a summer collegiate league in 2021. The right-hander recorded a save in his Major League time with the White Sox.
Thirty-eight former Appalachian League players were selected in the 2024 MLB Draft, which took place July 14-16. The Minnesota Twins selected Kaelen Culpepper (BLU '22) with the No. 21 overall pick, the Appy League's highest selection ever. The Greeneville Flyboys led all Appy teams with 10 selections in the 20-round draft.
Japanese high school sensation Rintaro Sasaki blasted a 430-foot home run in his third game with the Greeneville Flyboys. Set to join Stanford in the fall, Sasaki is the all-time high school home run leader in Japan and spent the first part of his summer in the MLB Draft League. Watch >>
With dozens of players drafted or signed out of the Appy League in the last three seasons, the league's alumni are assigned throughout the Minor Leagues, taking aim on their goal of reaching the Majors.
Justin Guiliano pitched five scoreless innings as the Doughboys defeated the Sock Puppets, 4-1, to win the 2023 Appalachian League championship. Caleb Berry and Colby Backus each collected three hits. Box Score >>
The West beat the East, 3-2, in the 2023 Appalachian League All-Star Game in Kingsport. Axmen INF Mike Mancini was named MVP after hitting an RBI triple for the West, while Johnson City's Hayden Cooper closed out the win. Box Score >>
The Appalachian League announced that its charitable outreach totaled more than $3.5 million of gift-in-kind and monetary donations this year. The league and its clubs volunteered more than 10,000 hours of community service.
Appalachian League executives participated in the 29th annual MLK Day of Service, volunteering in communities across North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Tabbed as a “day on, not a day off” to celebrate the life and legacy of the Civil Rights leader, MLK Day is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer to improve their communities.
