(Elkville, Illinois) -- Prospect League Commissioner Dennis Bastien and Deputy Commissioner Lisa Bastien are stepping down from their roles in the league office, effective December 31, 2022, after six years.
The Chillicothe Paints are members of the Prospect League.
"We have been honored and proud to represent this glorious summer collegiate league for six years," said Commissioner Dennis Bastien. "We feel we have been instrumental in its growth and elevation in status among collegiate summer leagues."
Although they are stepping down from the league office, Dennis and Lisa have already assumed new roles within the league. "We continue our next chapter in a 45-year career in baseball by operating our own team in Jackson, Tenn., - the Jackson Rockabillys," Dennis Bastien added. "We are very proud of the lifelong friendships we have made in the league and throughout the collegiate baseball world and are so proud of what we have been a part of accomplishing,"
At the end of the Bastien's first season at the helm in 2017, the Prospect League was comprised of eight teams. With a mission and directive to grow and expand the league into new markets and great facilities, Bastien set his sights on expansion. Under his helm, the Prospect League expanded first into Cape Girardeau, Mo., then Normal and Alton, Ill. Burlington and Clinton, Iowa, and Johnstown, Pa., followed. He was instrumental in relocating the Hannibal, Mo., team to O'Fallon and the DuPage Co, Ill., team to Illinois Valley/Peru. Most recently, Jackson, Tenn., and Southern Illinois (Marion, Ill.) have been added by Bastien for 2023, bringing the total to 18 teams.
"We are excited for this new leg of our journey with the Prospect League," said Lisa Bastien. "We have had a front-row seat watching the success of our teams and have learned from each one. We are eager to add to our league's success as operators and make Jackson a gem of an operation for the Prospect League."
The Prospect League Board of Directors will soon begin the search process to replace the Bastien's. Individuals interested in a position with the League should email League President Bill Davidson at bdavidson@lafayettebaseball.com.
The Prospect League is a premier Midwestern wood-bat summer league for collegiate players and is made up of 18 member teams across Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The Prospect League provides college players with a professional baseball setting though high-level competition in nightly games using wooden bats in front of large crowds at high-quality facilities. Member teams provide their communities with affordable, high-quality baseball and entertainment that is fun for all ages.