Kane County Cougars
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kane County Cougars | |||||
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| Minor league affiliations | |||||
| Class | Independent (2021–present) | ||||
| Previous classes | Class A (1991–2020) | ||||
| League | American Association of Professional Baseball (2021–present) | ||||
| Division | East Division | ||||
Previous leagues | Midwest League (1991–2020) | ||||
| Major league affiliations | |||||
| Previous teams |
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| Minor league titles | |||||
| League titles (4) |
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| Division titles (7) |
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| Team data | |||||
| Name | Kane County Cougars (1991–present) | ||||
| Colors | Navy, tan, gray, white, bright green, light blue, light peach[1] | ||||
| Ballpark | Northwestern Medicine Field (1991–present) | ||||
Owner/ Operator | REV Entertainment | ||||
| General manager | Curtis Haug | ||||
| Manager | George Tsamis | ||||
| Website | kccougars.com | ||||
The Kane County Cougars are a professional baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois, and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball (MLB).[2] They play their home games at Northwestern Medicine Field. From 1991 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's Midwest League.
American Association season-by-season record
The Midwest League came to Kane County in 1991 when the Wausau Timbers relocated to Geneva, IL. The Wausau (1975–1990) Midwest League franchise was previously based in Decatur, Illinois (1952–1974).[3] The team has been known as the Cougars since moving to Kane County. They were affiliated with the Baltimore Orioles in 1991 and 1992, with the Florida Marlins from 1993 to 2002, the Oakland Athletics from 2003 until 2010, the Kansas City Royals for the 2011 and 2012 seasons, and the Chicago Cubs for the 2013 and 2014 seasons before affiliating with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2015.[4]
As a Marlins farm team, some key contributors to the 2003 World Series championship team played in Kane County on their way to the big leagues. Miguel Cabrera has had a notable career and 2003 Series MVP Josh Beckett played for the Cougars in 2000, while Dontrelle Willis had the league's best winning percentage and earned run average in 2002.
The Cougars play their home games at Northwestern Medicine Field,[5] built in 1991. The franchise attendance record of 523,222 was set in 2001. The Cougars are perennially among the league leaders in attendance. On July 20, 2013, the Cougars became the first Class A team to attract 10 million fans.[6] Nancy Faust, after 40 years with the Chicago White Sox, was the stadium organist for selected Cougar home games until her retirement after the 2015 season.
In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cougars' season was cancelled along with the rest of Minor League Baseball.[7] Later that year, the team was cut from the Midwest League and affiliated baseball as part of Major League Baseball's reorganization of the minor leagues.[8] The team considered becoming a member of the MLB Draft League before joining the American Association, an independent MLB Partner League.[9][10][11]
The team won their first American Association Miles Wolff Cup Final in 2024, having gone undefeated in the playoffs.[12] Following their 2024 championship, the team was invited to participate in the 2025 Baseball Champions League Americas tournament.[13][14]
In March 2025, the team was sold by Dr. Bob and Cheryl Froehlich to REV Entertainment.[15] In 2025 despite having a record under .500, the Cougars were able to defend their title going back-to-back for the first time in franchise history. By winning the 2025 season, the team was invited to the 2026 Baseball Champions League Americas, which they also won.
The team has led the American Association in attendance since joining in 2021,[16][17][18][19][20] and led all MLB Partner Leagues in 2022.[21]
| Kane County Cougars | |||||||
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| Season | League | Division | Overall | Win % | Finish | Manager | Playoffs |
| 2021 | AA | North | 44–55 | .444 | 5th | George Tsamis | Did not qualify |
| 2022 | AA | East | 54–46 | .540 | 2nd | George Tsamis | Lost East Division series (Cleburne) 1–2 |
| 2023 | AA | East | 49–51 | .490 | 3rd | George Tsamis | Lost East Division series (Milwaukee) 1–2 |
| 2024 | AA | East | 55–45 | .550 | 2nd | George Tsamis | Won East Division series (Lake Country) 2–0 Won East Division championship series (Chicago) 2–0 Won Wolff Cup Finals (Winnipeg) 3–0 |
| 2025 | AA | East | 49-51 | .490 | 3rd | George Tsamis | Won East Division series (Milwaukee) 2–1 Won East Division championship series (Chicago) 3–2 Won Wolff Cup Finals (Sioux Falls) 3-2 |
| Totals | 251–248 | .503 | — | — | 9–4 (.692)not including 2025 | ||
Playoffs
| Kane County Cougars of the Midwest League | ||||||||
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| Season | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | |||||
| 1991 | - | L, 2–0, Madison | - | |||||
| 1992 | - | - | - | |||||
| 1993 | - | - | - | |||||
| 1994 | - | - | - | |||||
| 1995 | L, 2–1, West Michigan | - | - | |||||
| 1996 | - | - | - | |||||
| 1997 | W, 2–0, Wisconsin | W, 2–0, Cedar Rapids | L, 3–2, Lansing | |||||
| 1998 | - | - | - | |||||
| 1999 | W, 2–1, Quad Cities | L, 2–0, Burlington | - | |||||
| 2000 | L, 2–1, Wisconsin | - | - | |||||
| 2001 | W, 2–0, Beloit | W, 2–0, Wisconsin | W, 1–0, South Bend | |||||
| 2002 | - | - | - | |||||
| 2003 | L, 2–1, Clinton | - | - | |||||
| 2004 | W, 2–1, Peoria | W, 2–0, Clinton | L, 3–2, West Michigan | |||||
| 2005 | - | - | - | |||||
| 2006 | W, 2–1, Quad Cities | W, 2–0, Beloit | L, 3–1, West Michigan | |||||
| 2007 | - | - | - | |||||
| 2008 | L, 2–0, Burlington | - | - | |||||
| 2009 | L, 2–0, Burlington | - | - | |||||
| 2010 | W, 2–1, Quad Cities | L, 2–1, Clinton | - | |||||
| 2011 | W, 2–1, Burlington | L, 2–0, Quad Cities | - | |||||
| 2012 | L, 2–0, Fort Wayne | - | - | |||||
| 2013 | - | - | - | |||||
| 2014 | W, 2–0, Wisconsin | W, 2–0, Cedar Rapids | W, 3–0, Lake County | |||||
| 2015 | L, 2–0, Peoria | - | - | |||||
| 2016 | - | - | - | |||||
| 2017 | L, 2–0, Cedar Rapids | - | - | |||||
| 2018 | - | - | - | |||||
| 2019 | L, 2–0, Clinton | - | - | |||||
| Kane County Cougars of the American Association of Professional Baseball | ||||||||
| 2021 | - | - | - | |||||
| 2022 | L, 2–1 Cleburne | - | - | |||||
| 2023 | L, 2–1 Milwaukee | - | - | |||||
| 2024 | W, 2–0 Lake Country | W, 2–0 Chicago | W, 3–0 Winnipeg | |||||
| 2025 | W, 2–1 Milwaukee | W, 3–2 Chicago | W, 3–2 Sioux Falls | |||||
Mascots
Roster
| Active Roster | Coaching Staff |
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Pitchers
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
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Manager Coaches
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