TRAVEL BASEBALL

LAKESHORE FEEDER BASEBALL LEAGUE SEASON 2027

 13/14U will start regular season play on or about 4/15.  In 2027, our teams will begin league play by the middle of May. Parents should anticipate 4-6 games in May that overlap, but do not conflict with House season games.  Specific LSFBL regular season schedules will not be known until the Spring

LSFBL PLAYOFFS START FOR ALL TEAMS THE WEEK OF JULY 12, 2027.  CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY IS  7/18/27 (keep Monday, July 19th open in case of rain) .   PLAYERS MUST ATTEND ALL PRACTICES AND GAMES DURING PLAYOFF WEEK THROUGH CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY – OR UNTIL THEIR TEAM IS ELIMINATED EARLIER IN THAT WEEK.


OVERVIEW


Tryouts will be held on October 24th at Level Up Baseball and Softball in Niles. Please see the Tryout Form page for age specific times!


REGISTRATION LINKS

LINK COMING SOON for 2026/2027 season


ELIGIBILITY

For current 3rd graders through 6th graders, the travel team is an additional season of baseball that overlaps the back portion of the house league. 7th and 8th graders, please see separate information below. To be eligible to play travel baseball at any level, a player must: 

  • live in School District 65 and/or be eligible to attend ETHS by living in School District 202. Players who live outside these districts but who have played travel in the previous year remain eligible to compete; 
  • Will be Edited for 2027, but prior policy is:  to not miss more than a week during the travel season, basically from Memorial Day forward.  For example, a week at Camp Echo is acceptable.  But anything more than a week means that a player should not tryout.  If a player misses more than a week (for reasons other than sickness, injury or bereavement), they will be cut from the team and their registration fee(s) will not be returned; 
  • be present for the last week of July during the LSFBL playoffs;  
  • play in the EBSA house league (for third through fifth graders only); 
  • and NOT play in any other travel league. 


Players who do not qualify in any one of the above requirements are not eligible to tryout.

TEAM FORMATION

At the tryouts, players are evaluated in several categories including: hitting; infield fielding; infield and outfield throws; pitching; sprinting speed; as well as performance in the previous travel season, if applicable. Thereafter, as many teams will be formed as the talent and numbers prescribe. At least one team is generally considered the A team and the other(s) the B team(s). These teams will play in different divisions of the Lake Shore Feeder Baseball League. Travel team tryouts for each age group are for the following without exception: 

  • 14U = Current 8th graders 
  • 13U = Current 7th graders  
  • 12U = Current 6th graders  
  • 11U = Current 5th graders  
  • 10U = Current 4th graders    
  •  9U = Current 3rd graders

LAKE SHORE FEEDER BASEBALL LEAGUE

The LSFBL is a league that includes teams from Evanston, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Deerfield, Lake Forest, Glenview, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Buffalo Grove, Libertyville, Mundelien,  Lake Bluff, and more. It is a competitive league where wins and losses are tracked and a playoff tournament occurs the last week of July.

LAKESHORE BASEBALL FEEDER LEAGUE

SEASON

Depending on the age level, the teams will play a 14 to 18 game season starting from mid-May through the third week of July. For 2027 we will seek to cap teams at 3 games a week to ensure ample practice and development time. Please stay tuned for more details coming soon. In addition, EBSA enters the teams in multiple tournaments including over Memorial Day and July 4th weekends. More info coming soon.

13U / 14U TRAVEL SEASON

Players making one of the 13U or 14U travel teams will NOT play in the EBSA house league.  

Weekly practices will start mid-February, immediately after players announced. Teams will begin a 20 game LSFBL season starting in mid-April. The game schedule from LSFBL will be out by mid-March. In addition, teams will play in four weekend tournaments. Please note, LSFBL Championship is likely the 3rd Sunday in July.  If you have any other questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact one of us below:

PRACTICES

Players should be prepared to practice via off-season training, pre-season practices and tournaments, and on most off-days during the travel season.  Practices should not conflict with the house league season. House league takes precedence over any travel activities until the House season is done. Informal practice for early season tournaments may start as early as February, though forma practices at most levels will begin in earnest in early May. 

COST

Travel Baseball fees for the 2027 will be released at the beginning of October. Families should anticipate a cost increase from prior years as we add key training features to our Feeder model to increase development opportunities and to properly align with ETHS development outcomes.


Travel teams play at a high level of competition and require a strong commitment from both player and their family. Your summer through the end of July will consist of many trips to James Park and surrounding suburbs… and a lot of baseball. The games are fun and exciting. 

 Scholarships  and Payment Plans are available for Travel Baseball.  These can cover both league costs and Cooperstown expenses.

Once travel tryouts are concluded, scholarships or payment plans can be established.