Midland Built an Eight-Team League From Three Players
Midland Sandlot Alumni Association turned three people playing catch into an eight-team league. Its player funnel and cost-based sponsorship model deserve attention.
Three players became an eight-team league
The new West Texas affiliate shows how open play, player pools, shared governance and specific sponsor inventory can turn informal demand into a functioning league.
Midland Sandlot Alumni Association grew from three people playing catch in March to more than 100 players across eight teams by September 2026. Its significance is not merely the growth rate. The new MSBL affiliate assembled a complete operating funnel, combining open play, a midseason player pool, nonprofit governance and sponsor packages tied to real league costs.
MSBL/MABL introduced Midland Sandlot Alumni Association as its newest Texas affiliate on October 4. Founder Jon Conners said the organization began with three participants in March and expanded to more than 100 players competing in an eight-team, 18-and-over wood-bat league.
The league’s first season began September 13 and runs through a November 22 championship. Its eight teams compete across two divisions, according to the MSBL profile.
That is a substantially different startup story from assembling two teams and hoping a league follows. Midland created enough initial density to support separate teams, published rosters, divisional play and a postseason during its first year.
For league founders, the lesson is that “interest” is not a usable operating number.
The useful question is how many interested adults can be converted into available players, complete rosters and teams prepared to play on specific dates.
Growth continued after registration closed
Midland’s public site presents three distinct ways to enter the organization.
Open-play sessions give prospective players an opportunity to participate without immediately committing to a season. Formal registration moves players into league competition. When registration is closed, the player pool continues collecting prospects who can receive association updates and fill team openings.
The league says midseason pool players may substitute for teams and become eligible for permanent placement during the following season. Its rules also permit officials to assign free agents when a team cannot complete its roster.
That creates a continuous acquisition loop:
1. Discover the league.
2. Attend an open-play session.
3. Join the player pool.
4. Fill a temporary roster need.
5. Move onto a permanent team.
6. Return for the next season.
Players receive a lower-friction route back into baseball. Managers gain a source of replacements before a shortage becomes a forfeit. League officers retain demand that would otherwise disappear after registration closes.
Adult baseball platforms commonly treat registration as an annual form with an opening and closing date.
Midland’s model suggests that player acquisition should remain active throughout the year, with each person carrying a visible status and next action.
Governance arrived before growth became a liability
Conners did not remain the league’s only operating point. The organization’s leadership page names a commissioner, deputy commissioner, secretary, treasurer and additional board members, many of whom also manage or play for teams.
Its website identifies the association as a 501(c)(3) organization and describes its mission as enriching the lives of adults in West Texas through baseball.
Formal roles matter because rapid player growth creates administrative work just as quickly. Someone must manage money, schedules, fields, insurance, discipline, rosters, statistics and communications. Sharing those responsibilities also reduces the risk that the entire league depends on one founder’s continued availability.
Software should reinforce that structure with specific permissions.
A treasurer does not need disciplinary authority. A manager should not control another team’s roster. A statistician should be able to enter results without changing sponsor agreements or financial records.
Sponsorship is connected to actual league costs
Midland’s commercial structure is unusually concrete for a first-year adult league.
The league’s homepage names Phoenix Services as its presenting sponsor. Its sponsorship menu prices title sponsorship at $5,000, team sponsorship at $1,500, umpire sponsorship at $1,000 and outfield-wall placement at $500.
More importantly, some packages explain where the money goes. Team sponsorship supports equipment and supplies for a specific club. Umpire sponsorship supports the cost of securing and paying officials. The league’s published rules set umpire compensation at $75 per official, while the sponsor page budgets $150 in umpiring expense per game.
That gives sponsors a recognizable outcome rather than an abstract promise of exposure. A local business can support a team, an umpire crew or general operations, then receive defined placements such as jersey logos, announcements, banners and social posts.
Cost-based sponsorship inventory is more credible and easier to measure than a generic logo package.
It also gives software a useful accounting relationship: the sponsor funds a defined operating category, receives specified benefits and can be shown evidence that those benefits were delivered.
The software opportunity begins before scheduling
Midland currently publishes schedules, rosters, rules, team pages, forms and sponsor information through a collection of public pages. That approach is practical for launching quickly, but the operating model points toward a more integrated product.
An adult-baseball platform should be able to connect:
Prospective-player inquiries and communication consent.
Open-play attendance.
Player-pool availability.
Temporary and permanent roster assignments.
Waivers, age eligibility and MSBL membership.
Team payments and schedule eligibility.
Board roles and administrative permissions.
Sponsor packages, cost centers and fulfillment.
Umpire assignments and payments.
The schedule is downstream from all of them.
A team should not receive games until its payment and roster requirements are satisfied. A manager facing a shortage should see eligible pool players without searching old forms. A sponsor should be able to verify that promised games, announcements and placements occurred.
Midland’s growth demonstrates that adult baseball does not lack latent demand everywhere.
The harder problem is giving that demand a path from “I would play again” to “I am on a roster Sunday.”
What people are asking
How quickly did Midland Sandlot Alumni Association grow?
The league began with three participants in March 2026 and reported more than 100 players across eight teams by the time MSBL profiled it on October 4.
How does Midland recruit players after registration closes?
Midland maintains a player pool for adults who discover the league during the season. Pool players can receive playing opportunities, fill temporary roster needs and become eligible for permanent placement in a later season.
What should adult baseball software learn from Midland?
League software should manage the entire player funnel, from initial interest and open play through player-pool availability, roster placement and retention. It should also connect governance, sponsors, officials and team readiness to the schedule.
Yours from the on-deck circle,
Gouda
