After two years of competing in the Mid-America League, the Abilene Flying Bison have made an affiliation change for the 2026 season – joining the Texas Collegiate League (TCL).
“I’m incredibly pleased to announce this move to the Texas Collegiate League for the 2026 season. When we brought the Flying Bison to Abilene it was with the promise of baseball in the Key City for generations to come,” said Flying Bison President and General Manager, John Stark. This league, with its strong ownership groups and commitment to Summer Collegiate League baseball – and its players – is more aligned with our goals and vision for the Flying Bison in the present and future seasons to come.”
The TCL is headquartered in Coppell (TX), played its inaugural season in 2004, and had six teams during the recently completed 2025 summer season. Making the league change will shorten the season for the Flying Bison, from 64 games to 48, a move that will allow for more stability on the roster as players only have to commit to seven weeks of action in the TCL.
As a six-team league in 2025, the TCL schedule saw teams play three series of two games each in a manner that followed the Minor League Baseball format of games on Tuesday through Sunday – with Monday being a league-wide off day.
Current teams in the TCL include:
- Acadiana Cane Cutters (Lafayette, LA)
- Brazos Valley Bombers (Bryan-College Station, TX)
- Baton Rouge Rougarou (Baton Rouge, LA)
- Victoria Generals (Victoria, TX)
- Seguin River Monsters (Seguin, TX)
- Lake Charles Gumbeaux Gators (Lake Charles, LA)
Brazos Valley has won a TCL-high seven championships — all coming in an eight-year span from 2013-2020. Over the past six seasons, the TCL has had six different franchises win a championship, with Lake Charles being the lone exception. The Gumbeaux Gators joined the TCL for the 2023 season.
A familiar face will be joining the Flying Bison as the Sherman Shadowcats will also be making the leap to begin play in 2026.
The Texas Collegiate League has had more than 300 alumni drafted by Major League Baseball teams with nearly two dozen making it to The Show. Those players include: Jake Arrieta, Clay Bucholz, Matt Carpenter, Paul Goldschmidt, Corey Kluber, Hunter Pence, Taylor Hearn and A.J. Minter.