Lafayette Aviators

Lafayette Aviators
Information
League	Prospect League (Eastern Conference – Northeast Division)
Location	Lafayette, Indiana
Ballpark	Loeb Stadium
Founded	2015
League championships	1 (2017)
Division championships	2 (2017, 2021)
Former name(s)	Jamestown Jammers (2015)
Former ballparks	Russell Diethrick Park (2015) Loeb Stadium (1940) (2016–2019)
Colors	Navy & Yellow
Ownership	National Sports Services[1]
General Manager	David Krakower
Manager	Jamie Sailors
Website	lafayettebaseball.com

The Lafayette Aviators are a summer collegiate baseball team based in Lafayette, Indiana. They are a member of the Eastern Conference of the summer collegiate Prospect League. The Aviators play at Loeb Stadium in Columbian Park in Lafayette, which opened in May 2021.

The Aviators won their first Prospect League championship in 2017, defeating the Butler BlueSox in a best-of-3 series.^[2]

The Aviators play in the Prospect League's Eastern Conference – Northeast Division along with the Champion City Kings, Chillicothe Paints, and Johnstown Mill Rats.^[3]

History

The Aviators franchise was originally based in Jamestown, New York, where it operated as the Jamestown Jammers during the 2015 season.^[4] The Jammers' owners, Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based MKE Sports & Entertainment, opted to move its Prospect League team to Lafayette and establish a new Jammers team in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League in 2016,^[5] with distance (Jamestown was well outside the Prospect League's Midwestern footprint while the PCPBL's footprint was much closer, in Central New York) being cited as the primary reason for the move.

Prior to the 2018 season, the team was sold to National Sports Services, through its subsidiary, Lafayette Family Entertainment LLC.^[6]

The Aviators were supposed to play their 2020 season at Purdue University's Alexander Field while the original Loeb Stadium was torn down and replaced by a new ballpark;^[7] however, the season was suspended when Purdue closed their athletic facilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[8]

The team was finally able to welcome spectators to their season opener at their new stadium on June 1, 2021.^[9]

Seasons

Season	Manager	Record	Win %	Division	GB	Post-season record	Post-season win %	Post-season result	Notes
2015	Anthony Barone	27–33	.450	4th	11.0	0–0	.000	Did not qualify	as the Jamestown Jammers
2016	Brent McNeil[10]	30–30	.500	3rd	5.0	0–0	.000	Did not qualify
2017	Brent McNeil	36–24	.600	1st	–	4–2	.667	Won West Division Championship (Terre Haute) Won Prospect League Championship (Butler)	Moved to West Division
2018	Will Arnold[11]	22–38	.367	6th	14.0	0–0	.000	Did not qualify
2019	Brent McNeil	34–26	.567	6th	6.0	0–0	.000	Did not qualify
2020	Bailey Montgomery[12]	Season cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic)
2021	Michael Keeran[13]	41–18	.695	1st	–	3–2	.600	Won Wabash River Division Championship (Danville) Won East Conference Championship (Champion City) Lost Prospect League Championship (Cape)
2022	Chris Willsey	25–34	.424	4th	16.0	0–0	.000	Did not qualify
2023	Jamie Sailors	28–29	.491	3rd	12.5	0–0	.000	Did not qualify
2024	Jamie Sailors	0–0	.000			0–0	.000
Totals		243–232	.512			7–4	.636

Roster

Lafayette Aviators roster

• v
• t
• e

Active roster				Coaches/Other
Pitchers -- Ty Bradle -- Gunther Braendel -- Jack Carey -- Michael Castaneda -- Evan Cooke -- Sam Corbett -- Cale Coursey -- Jeremy Crider -- Elijah Griffith -- Tyler Helton -- Ben Mazur -- Owen Norris -- Corbin Payne -- Jonathan Phipps -- Elliott Rossell -- Calvin Shepherd -- Jaden Siemer -- Coley Stevens -- Eric Tenery -- Gannon Wentz -- Caden Wilburn -- Joey Wilmoth -- Zach Wyatt		Catchers -- Karson Kennedy -- Brooks Sailors -- Clay Shelton Infielders -- Nate Bingman -- Jacob Danneman -- Josiah Miller -- Tucker Platt -- Kolton Schaller -- Cal Wipf Outfielders -- Eli Hickman -- Tanner Holland -- Grant Miller -- Frederick Ragsdale III		Manager -- Jamie Sailors Coaches -- Demeris Barlow (assistant) -- Tripp Storrs (assistant) Disabled list ‡ Inactive list § Suspended list  updated February 19, 2024

References

1. Park, Jeong (April 23, 2018). "Lafayette Aviators getting new ownership". Journal & Courier. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
2. "Aviators Win Prospect League Championship". Aviators Baseball. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
3. "2024 Prospect League Standings - Prospect League Baseball". www.prospectleague.com. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
4. "Check out the New Jamestown Jammers logo, uniforms, and ownership for 2015". www.jamestownbaseball.com. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
5. "Jamestown Jammers Join PGCBL". www.pgcbl.com. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
6. "Lafayette Aviators have a new owner". WLFI News. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
7. Baird, Nathan (August 6, 2019). "Lafayette Aviators to play at Purdue's Alexander Field in 2020". Journal & Courier. Lafayette, Indiana. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
8. "Aviators Announce Suspension of 2020 Season". Aviators Baseball (Press release). Lafayette Aviators. May 18, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
9. Bills, Marvin (May 18, 2021). "Lafayette Aviators prepping special events in the run up to opening night". WLFI-TV. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
10. "| Lafayette Aviators Baseball Loeb Stadium Lafayette, Indiana 47904". Aviators Baseball. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
11. "Lafayette Aviators hire Will Arnold as new manager". Journal & Courier. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
12. "Aviators Promote Montgomery to Field Manager". Prospect Collegiate Baseball LLC. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
13. "Coaches". Aviators Baseball. Retrieved June 2, 2021.