Lafayette Aviators

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.

Lafayette Aviators
Information
LeagueProspect League (Eastern Conference - Ohio River Valley Division)
LocationLafayette, Indiana
BallparkLoeb Stadium
Year founded2015
League championships1 (2017)
Division championships2 (2017, 2021)
Former name(s)Jamestown Jammers (2015)
Former ballparksRussell Diethrick Park (2015)
Loeb Stadium (1940) (2016–2019)
ColorsNavy & Yellow
OwnershipNational Sports Services[1]
ManagerJamie Sailors
General ManagerDavid Krakower
Websitelafayettebaseball.com

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

History

The Aviators franchise was originally based in Jamestown, New York, where it operated as the Jamestown Jammers during the 2015 season.[3] 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,[4] 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.[5]

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;[6] however, the season was suspended when Purdue closed their athletic facilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]

The team was finally able to welcome spectators to their season opener at their new stadium on June 1, 2021.[8]

Seasons
SeasonManagerRecordWin %DivisionGBPost-season recordPost-season win %Post-season resultNotes
2015Anthony Barone27-33.4504th110-0.000as the Jamestown Jammers
2016Brent McNeil[9]30-30.5003rd50-0.000
2017Brent McNeil36-24.6001st4-2.667West Division Champions
Prospect League Champions		Moved to West Division
2018Will Arnold[10]22-38.3676th14.00-0.000
2019Brent McNeil34-26.5676th6.00-0.000
2020Bailey Montgomery[11] 2020 season suspended
2021Michael Keeran[12]41-18.6951st3-2.600Wabash River Division Champions
East Conference Champions
2022Chris Willsey25-34.4244th16.00-0.000
Totals215-203.5147-4.636

Roster
Lafayette Aviators roster
Active roster Coaches/Other

Pitchers

  • 20 Brayden Childress
  • 37 Richie Cimpric
  • -- Gus Collins
  • 21 Ian Craigie
  •  7 Jackson Dannelley
  • 28 Logan Danzeisen
  • 23 Conner Fries
  • 31 Gyeongju Kim
  • 36 Ryan Mintz
  • 34 Tyler Norris
  • 30 Judson Schaper
  • -- Alex Scherer
  • 22 Mason Sweeney
  • 33 Drew Switzer
  • 19 Bryson Walker
  • 14 Nick Yeager
  • 18 Tyler Yotkewich



  

Catchers

  • 11 Ethan Bedgood
  • 12 Cade Fitzpatrick
  • 16 Jared Harris
  • 15 Trevor Johnson

Infielders

  •  4 Jarrett Bickel
  •  5 Tanner Craig
  • 32 Gunnar Kozlowitz
  •  6 Mike Synder
  • 17 Eli Tencza
  •  2 Nolan Tucker

Outfielders

  •  9 Drew Behling
  • 25 Brandon Daniels
  •  1 Zamaurion Hatcher
  • 26 Mike Koszewski
  • 10 Grant Thoroman
  

Manager

  •    Chris Willsey

Coaches

  •    Tyler Brown (hitting)
  •    Doug Gove (pitching)
  •    James Smith (pitching)

Disabled list
‡ Inactive list
§ Suspended list

Roster updated June 21, 2022

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


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