Two franchises in the American Association of Professional Baseball are moving to a different MLB Partner League, while one team in the Atlantic League is closing up shop.
The Cleburne (Texas) Railroaders and the Kane County Cougars are leaving the American Association and joining the Frontier league, and the Gastonia Ghost Peppers of the Atlantic League are folding, the respective leagues announced Wednesday.
"The Kane County Cougars and Cleburne Railroaders will move to a different level within hte MLB Partner League System for the 2027 season and beyond, reflecting a transition that is in the long-term best interests of the clubs, the league, and all parties involved," the American Association said in an Instagram post Wednesday night. "Their departure creates space for the league to pursue clubs in higher-value markets with closely held ownership and enables more efficient operations for our teams."
Based in Cleburne, Texas, the Railroaders were something of a geographical outlier in the American Association, located an eight-hour bus ride from their closest opponent, the Kansas City Monarchs. Playing at 3,127-seat La Moderna Field, the club drew fewer than 1,000 fans to 28 of their 50 home games.
The Kane County Cougars, who won the 2026 Baseball Champions League Americas in Mexico City in March, began their existence in Geneva, Ill., as a Class-A club in the Midwest League, where they played from 1991 to 2020 when affiliated baseball realigned and eliminated 40 teams. The club then joined the American Association, winning league titles in 2024 and 2025 and leading the league in attendance every year and all MLB Partner League clubs in attendance in 2022.
Both clubs are joining the Frontier League, which will change its name to the National Association of Professional Baseball and will expand to 20 teams. Next season, the league will have a geographic footprint stretching from Quebec City to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
In the Atlantic League, the Gastonia Ghost Peppers announced yesterday that the club was folding. The club's ownership, Zawyer Sports & Entertainment, said in a statement, "This was not a decision we made lightly. We are incredibly grateful to the employees, players, partners, and community leaders who have given so much to the Ghost Peppers and helped make this organization part of Gastonia."
The club drew an average of 1,241 fans per game to CaroMont Health Park this season, according to BusinessNC.com, which ranked ninth in the 12-team Atlantic League. Two seasons ago, the club replaced the Gastonia Honey Hunters, who were wracked by debt and entangled in litigation when the league seized the franchise and sold it to Zawyer Sports and Entertainment.
The Atlantic League said it will seek a 12th team for 2027.