Prospect League to Add Normal CornBelters in 2019

The Prospect League announced Monday that a new team will be added to the summer collegiate league in 2019. And, some familiar names will be running the ball club.

League officials announced that the Normal CornBelters will begin play in the Prospect League in the summer of 2019. The CornBelters will also be under new ownership. The new ownership group includes Rick DeStefane and Jimmie Louthan, who own the Hannibal Hoots and Quincy Gems, respectively, along with Hoots General Manager Matt Stembridge.

Until last year, the Normal CornBelters were members of the independent professional Frontier League.

The addition of Normal brings the number of teams in the Prospect League to eleven, joining Hannibal, Quincy, Springfield, Danville, Terre Haute, Lafayette, Chillicothe, Champion City, West Virginia and the new Cape Girardeau ball club.

The Kokomo and Butler franchises left the league after the 2017 season.