2025–26 Australian Baseball League season
| 2025–26 Australian Baseball League season | |
|---|---|
| League | Australian Baseball League |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | 13 November 2025 – 25 January 2026 |
| Games | 80 |
| Teams | 4 |
| Regular season | |
| Season MVP | Eric Rataczak |
| Postseason | |
| Venue | Blacktown Baseball Stadium |
| Champions | Adelaide Giants |
| Runners-up | Sydney Blue Sox |
| Finals MVP | Devin Saltiban |
The 2025–26 Australian Baseball League season was the fifteenth season of the Australian Baseball League (ABL), and began on 13 November 2025. The four-team competition is the premier English speaking winter baseball league with players affiliated with Major League Baseball, Nippon Professional Baseball, KBO League, Chinese Professional Baseball League, and various independent baseball leagues.[1]
Teams
This is the second time the league has retracted following a reduction in the 2023–24 Australian Baseball League season. The Canberra Cavalry had their license agreement terminated due to financial uncertainty from owners Paul Kelly and Adrian Dart. In addition, the Melbourne Aces withdrew their participation citing financial and management issues with the League.
| Team | State/Territory | Stadium |
|---|---|---|
| Adelaide Giants | South Australia | Dicolor Australia Stadium[2] |
| Brisbane Bandits | Queensland | Viticon Stadium[3] |
| Perth Heat | Western Australia | Empire Ballpark[4] |
| Sydney Blue Sox | New South Wales | Blue Sox Stadium[5] |
Regular season
The regular season began on 13 November 2025 and is scheduled to end on 18 January 2026.[6] Each team was scheduled to play 39 games across 10 rounds of four-game series, with the exception of series beginning Boxing Day which will was three games.[6]. The final game of the season between Brisbane and Sydney was cancelled due to inclement weather.
Standings
| Secured postseason berth |
| Pos | Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sydney Blue Sox | 24 | 14 | .632 | — |
| 2 | Adelaide Giants | 19 | 20 | .487 | 5.5 |
| 3 | Perth Heat | 18 | 21 | .462 | 6.5 |
| 4 | Brisbane Bandits | 16 | 22 | .421 | 8.0 |
Statistical leaders
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|
Championship Series
The best-of-three Championship Series began 23 January 2026 and finished 25 January 2026, between the top two teams from the regular season. The Sydney Blue Sox finished the regular season 24-14, securing a home Championship Series and their second consecutive minor premiership with six games left in the regular season.
It was the first time a New South Wales team has competed for the Claxton Shield in a final since the 2009 Claxton Shield when the New South Wales Patriots lost to the Perth Heat.[9] New South Wales last won the title in the 2005 Claxton Shield with a lineup that included Major Leaguers Trent Oeltjen, Glenn Williams, Ryan Rowland-Smith, and Chris Oxspring.[10]
The Adelaide Giants secured their spot for a return to the Championship Series after losing in the first round of the playoffs the previous season. They would come away successful with their third championship in four seasons.
In game one, Jack O'Loughlin would pitch seven innings of two hit baseball, one of which being a bloop double down the rightfield line that scored two runners who had reached on walk and hit by pitch. O'Loughlin would retire the next 16 hitters before eventually a walk-off home-run in the 9th inning from catcher Mitch Edwards secured a 3-2 victory for the home team playing in Sydney.
Game two was a dominant Sydney pitching performance from former MLB and now KBO pitcher Alex Wells, who gave up one run over seven innings. Adelaide however, bounced back in game three with a strong start from Perth born lefty Josh Hendrickson and scoreless outings from their bullpen, eventually winning the decider 6-2.
Philadelphia Phillies farmhand and third round pick Devin Saltiban was named the series MVP, with an OPS of .930 across the series including solid defensive play in centerfield.
| 23 January 2026 19:00 (UTC+10:00) Game 1 |
Sydney Blue Sox | 2-3 | Adelaide Giants | Blacktown Baseball Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 1,212 Umpires: HP: Tom West. 1B: Trent Thomas. 2B: Paul Latta. 3B: Ben Nash. |
| WP: Ky Hampton (1-0) | Boxscore | LP: Ben Ferrer (0-1) | ||
| HR: Devin Saltiban (1), Mitch Edwards (1) |
| 24 January 2026 19:00 (UTC+10:00) Game 2 |
Adelaide Giants | 1-6 | Sydney Blue Sox | Blacktown Baseball Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 1,842 Umpires: HP: Trent Thomas 1B: Paul Latta. 2B: Ben Nash. 3B: Tom West |
| LP: Giussepe Velasquez (0-1) | Boxscore | WP: Alex Wells (1-0) |
| 25 January 2026 18:00 (UTC+10:00) Game 3 |
Adelaide Giants | 6-2 | Sydney Blue Sox | Blacktown Baseball Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 1,531 Umpires: HP: Paul Latta. 1B: Ben Nash. 2B: Tom West. 3B: Trent Thomas. |
| WP: Josh Hendrickson (1-0) | Boxscore | LP: Ben Ferrer (0-2) |
References
- ^ "Signing Tracker". The Australian Baseball League. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
- ^ "Dicolor Australia Becomes Stadium Naming Rights Partner at West Beach". Adelaide Giants. 22 November 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
- ^ "The Brisbane Bandits Announce Home Venue to Be Called Viticon Stadium". Brisbane Bandits. 19 October 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
- ^ "Contact Us". Perth Heat. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
- ^ "About Us". Sydney Blue Sox. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
- ^ a b "Australian Baseball League announces 2025–26 schedule". The Australian Baseball League. 4 August 2025. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
- ^ "League Batting Leaders". Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
- ^ "League Pitching Leaders". Australian Baseball League. Retrieved 30 January 2026.
- ^ "Sydney Blue Sox Qualify for First ABL Championship Series Appearance". Sydney Blue Sox. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
- ^ "2005 ASTARRA CLAXTON SHIELD". baseball.com.au. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
External links
- The Australian Baseball League Archived 26 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine – Official ABL Website
- Official Baseball Australia Website