The Grand Junction Jackalopes are done in the Western Slope. The PBL announced GJ will be relocating ahead of the 2026 season, though the new destination was not part of the announcement.

“I know it’s very disappointing for the team’s many fans in the Grand Valley, but after making sincere efforts to keep the team in Grand Junction, it unfortunately didn’t work out as hoped,” league president Mike Shapiro said in a news release. “The PBL will announce shortly where the team will relocate for the 2026 season.”

Wherever that team goes next will continue the journey that started in 1978 with the Butte Copper Kings. The franchise moved to Casper, Wyoming, in 2001, and to Grand Junction, Colorado, in 2011, playing at Suplizio Field on the campus of Colorado Mesa University, which has also been the longtime home of the JUCO World Series.

Grand Junction finished 10th in attendance this season, drawing an average of 1,245 fans per game as the Jackalopes played to a 41-55 record. Its independence-era high (2021-present) was 1,655 fans per game. The team won the league championship in 2022.

Though it seems GJ has already lined up a new place to play, it will be a summer of change for the Pioneer League after it grew to its largest roster in history with 12 teams over the last two seasons. It’s unknown what happens next for the former Provo/Orem/Northern Colorado franchise; the Owlz folded during the season and the PBL had to take over operations, moving the players to Colorado Springs to successfully finish the league’s schedule.

The PBL has made no announcements, but news out of Southern California has Long Beach lined up to launch a team for the 2026 season, soliciting potential team names (via CBS News) and adding 20th-century rapper Warren G (real name: Warren Griffin III) to the ownership group (via Long Beach Watchdog).

Long Beach would be yet another geographical outlier. Two years ago when Oakland joined the PBL, the league lined up a geographical partner with Yolo (Davis, California), who then moved to the Yuba City area. It remains to be seen if there’s any similar partner for Long Beach.

Some in the independent baseball sphere have also floated the idea of keeping professional baseball in Modesto — 2 hours south of the Yuba-Sutter High Wheelers, and 1 1/2 hours east of Oakland. The Modesto Nuts just played their final game; the single-A affiliate is moving to San Bernardino next year.

TEAM LEADERS

With the Raptors gearing up for the playoffs, beginning Thursday in Oakland, here’s a look at Ogden’s team leaders.

Batting average: Chris Sargent .384, Damian Stone .382, Carmine Lane .354

RBIs: Sargent 130, Connor Bagnieski 110, Lane 88

Home runs: Sargent 35, Bagnieski 23, Cole Jordan 12

Triples: Jordan 3, Stone 2, Kenny Oyama 2

Doubles: True Fontenot 36, Lane 30, Stone 24

Stolen bases: Oyama 20, Jordan 20, Dylan Wilkinson 18

ERA: Nik Cardinal 5.04, Cole Stasio 5.29, Nico Saltaformaggio 5.94

Wins: Chase Chatman 8, Saltaformaggio 8, Stasio 7

Strikeouts: Chatman 75, Saltaformaggio 72, Stasio 65

Saves: Cardinal 12, Ryan Velazquez 2

LEAGUE LEADERS

Of note, Ogden catcher Chris Sargent, who signed with the San Diego Padres organization two weeks ago, tied with Boise slugger Max Jung-Goldberg for the league lead with 130 RBIs. Sargent played 80 games, Jung-Goldberg played 94. Those two now sit tied atop the PBL’s all-time list for single-season RBIs.

Batting average: Ben Rosengard (IF) .463, Taylor Darden (Boise) .429, Sam Linscott (RMV) .395

RBIs: Chris Sargent (Ogden) 130, Max Jung-Goldberg (Boise) 130, Roberto Pena (MIS) 129

Home runs: Pena (MIS) 46, Sargent (Ogden) 35, Adam Fogel (MIS) 34

Triples: Marcelo (Boise) 9, Darden (Boise) 8, four tied with 6

Doubles: Trevor Rogers (IF) 37, True Fontenot (Ogden) 36, Jake Hjelle (Boise) 35

Stolen bases: Noah Marcelo (Boise) 64, Zeb Roos (GJ) 52, Bobby Lada (YS) 39

ERA: Reese Miller (GJ) 1.33, Jacob Hasty (Glacier) 1.45, Noah Millikan (OAK) 2.12

Wins: Matthew Sox (MIS) 12, Gary Grosjean (IF) 11, four tied with 9

Strikeouts: Ty Bothwell (Glacier) 130, Ryan Wentz (MIS) 121, Grant Taylor (Glacier) 117

Saves: Connor Sullivan (OAK) 19, Miller (GJ) 16, Nik Cardinal (Ogden) 12

LEAGUE ATTENDANCE

Teams listed by total fan attendance, with per-game average in parentheses.

Ogden — 160,192 (3,338)

Boise — 155,523 (3,241)

Rocky Mountain — 111,678 (2,377)

Oakland — 110,502 (2,303)

Billings — 109,610 (2,284)

Glacier — 104,285 (2,173)

Idaho Falls — 95,812 (2,039)

Missoula — 79,159 (1,650)

Great Falls — 62,240 (1,297)

Grand Junction — 59,716 (1,245)

Yuba-Sutter — 53,985 (1,000)

C Springs/NoCo — Not counted

RECORD VS. OPPONENTS

The Ogden Raptors finished 52-43 in the 2025 regular season. Here’s how they fared against each opponent

Colo Springs: 14-4

Boise: 10-8

Idaho Falls: 9-8

Great Falls: 4-2

G Junction: 4-2

Missoula: 3-3

Rocky Mtn: 3-3

Oakland: 3-6

Yuba-Sutter: 2-4

Billings: 0-3