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Champaign East Little League

Baseball Divisions

Weekly schedule for Junior, Suited, Farm and Peanut divisions
Games are played two nights per week Monday-Thursday from 5:45-7:45 p.m. (Some games will end earlier or later depending on darkness.) Game days will vary each week, but there will be two game nights per week. There will also be one practice each weekend on either Saturday or Sunday afternoon, depending on our volunteer coach’s schedule. We occasionally schedule games on Friday nights due to weather-related postponements, but this is rare.

Once we organize and form teams, your child's volunteer coach will pick a practice time on the weekend that will remain the same throughout the season. Teams will be formed about one week after sign-ups close. Farm and Suited will start practices and games the first week of April. Peanut will start practices and games during the second week of April.

Weekly Schedule for T-Ball
There will be one practice per week from 5:30-6:15 p.m. on one of the weekdays (Monday-Thursday). Games will be played on Saturdays. Teams will be formed about one week after sign-ups close. Practices will start the last or second-to-last week of April depending on the weather and will run through mid-June.

Junior League
The Junior League is open to boys and girls Little League Age 13-15.  Basepaths are 80 feet and the pitching distance is 54 feet.  This division is new to Champaign East Little League in the 2022 season after a successful Intermediate division in the 2021 season.  This is an opportunity for kids to continue playing ball past the traditional 12 year old "age out" year. 

Suited League
The Suited league (also known as Major Division) is open to boys and girls Little League Age 10-12. The diamond has 60-foot basepaths and the pitching distance is 46 feet.

Note: Any aged player not previously drafted must be evaluated for their skills. 11- and 10-year old players may still not be drafted by a Major division team. In that case, they will be returned to their previous Farm (Minor division) team, or drafted in that pool.

Teams in the Suited division regular season have rosters up to 13 players (usually 11-12 players). Each team will be scheduled to play two games per week against teams in any of the four local leagues in C-U Little League. CULL is comprised of teams from Champaign East, Champaign West, Urbana and First String. At the end of the regular season, all Suited teams are seeded into the Twin-City tournament, which affords all players in the CULL Suited league an opportunity to experience the fun and competition of a postseason tournament environment.

Each year our league creates a District Tournament Team of players age 12 years old that participate in the Little League tournament. Players are nominated by their coaches to participate on this team. If selected, players will need to confirm that they will be available for practices and games. These games usually begin at the end of June and could go into July. If these tournament teams win, they can advance to the Little League World Series in late August, held in Williamsport, Penn.

- Little League Age 10-12.
- Must attend an evaluation to be eligible to participate at the Suited Level.
- Two games per week; minimum of one practice per week).
- Regular Season culminates with Twin-City Tournament (typically the 3rd and 4th week of June).

Farm League
The Farm league (also known as the Minor Division) is open to boys and girls Little League Age 8-11. The diamond has 60-foot basepaths and the pitching distance is 46 feet. This division allows the players to pitch from the mound.

Note: 8-year-old players should have at least two years of Peanut League experience and will be evaluated for their skill level. They may not be drafted onto a Farm team and might be recommended to play Peanut League.
Any player not previously drafted must be evaluated for their skill level.

Teams in the Farm Division Regular Season have rosters up to 13 players (usually 10-12 players). Each team will be scheduled to play 2 games per week against teams in any of the 4 local leagues in C-U. CULL is comprised of teams from Champaign East, Champaign West, Urbana, and First String.
Near the end of each season, players in the Farm Division can get "called up" to play on a Suited (Major) team, to help avoid forfeits as families start their summer vacations.

At the end of the Regular season, a local Farm League City-Wide Tournament is held on one weekend, typically in late June. Our league will typically form 2 teams to play. Players are nominated by their coaches to be on these teams and teams rosters of these local All-Star Teams are selected. This affords an opportunity for players to experience a higher-degree of skill and competition, while still having fun.

Additionally, Each year our League enters Tournament Teams ("All-Star" Teams) of players ages 11, and 10. We may opt to request entry for a team of 9 yr olds as well. These teams participate in the District tournaments. Players are nominated by their coaches to participate on this team. If selected, players will need to confirm that they will be available for practices and games. These games usually begin early July and could go until the end of the month. Three rounds of play are possible: District, Sub-state, and State.

- Little League Age 8-11
- Kid-Pitch division
- Two games per week (minimum of one practice per week)

Peanut League
The Peanut league (another part of the Minor Division) is open to boys and girls Little League Age 6 - 8. Six-yr old players must have at least one year of experience at the T-Ball level to play Peanut.
The diamond has 60-foot base paths and the pitching distance is 46-feet. A pitching machine is used for this level, which is a spring-loaded arm that gently tosses the ball over home plate, in the same portion of the strike zone. This helps players transition to hitting a thrown ball.
The Peanut Division uses a Flexi-Ball which is softer than the traditional hard ball used at Farm and Suited.

Teams in the Peanut division have rosters up to 13 players (usually 11-12 players). Each team will be scheduled to play 2 games per week against teams in any of the 4 local leagues in C-U. CULL is comprised of teams from Champaign East, Champaign West, Urbana, and First String.

At the end of the Regular season, a local Peanut League City-Wide Tournament is held on one weekend, typically in late June. Our league will typically form 2 teams to play. Players are nominated by their coaches to be on these teams and teams rosters of these local All-Star Teams are selected. This affords an opportunity for players to experience a higher-degree of skill and competition, while still having fun.

- Little League Age 6, 7, or 8
- Machine-Pitch division
- Two games per week (minimum of one practice per week)

T-Ball League
The T-Ball league is open to boys and girls Little League Age 4-6. The T-Ball Division uses a Flexi-Ball which is softer than the traditional hard ball used at Farm and Suited. Players use a batting tee for hitting. Four-yr old players are required to have a parent present and participate in games and practices.

Teams in the T-Ball division have rosters up to 10 players. Each team will meet twice a week for 45-minute practice/scrimmage sessions. Each week the practice time decreases and the scrimmage time increases. Parents are highly encouraged to assist coaches as needed.

The T-Ball league meets at Noel Park at the small grass field located to the north.

- Little League Age 4-6.
- Introduction to baseball.
- Two 45-minute sessions per week. One on a weekday each week and one on Saturday.

Contact Us

Champaign East Little League

President: Kyle Emkes 
Champaign, Illinois  

Email Us: [email protected]
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