The Valley League was founded on May 15, 1897, in Edinburg, Virginia, and included charter members Winchester, Woodstock, Strasburg, Front Royal, and Edinburg.
It evolved in the early years from a Class D minor league to an NCAA-sanctioned league in 1961, operating under NCAA rules. The league adopted wooden bats in 1993. Each team plays a 42-game schedule June through early August, concluding with a top-eight-team playoff to determine the Lineweaver Cup Championship.
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The VBL is funded in part by a grant from Major League Baseball and is a member of the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball (NACSB), a national affiliation of 13 collegiate summer leagues. The Valley League has produced well over 1,000 professional baseball players, included a league record 79 former players drafted in the 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. In 2021, 25 Valley League alumni were playing in the Major Leagues, and 21 were selected in the 20-round MLB draft.
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In 2011, the VBL transitioned to not-for-profit status. All teams as well as the overall League are now not-for-profit organizations supported by numerous volunteers and sponsors. The Valley League name is derived from the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, which is nestled between the Blue Ridge Mountains to the East and the Alleghany Mountains to the West.
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In 2023, the league will consist of 12 teams playing a one division format. Current franchises include teams in Charlottesville, Covington, Culpeper, Front Royal, Harrisonburg, New Market, Purcellville, Staunton, Strasburg, Waynesboro, Winchester, and Woodstock.
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Each team will play a 44-game schedule beginning June 1, with playoffs slated to begin the last week in July and extending into early August. The last possible date for play is August 9.
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History (1994-2021)
What follows is the list of top teams, MVPs, Pitchers of the Year, Managers of the Year, batting champions, and ERA champs for each Valley League season from 1994 to 2021. This information is as complete as possible; some years the league did not name a Pitcher of the Year, and other seasons no Manager or Coach of the Year was named. The batting and ERA champ are listed only if the league officially recognized them.
2021
Playoff Champion- Strasburg (Defeated Waynesboro two games to zero)
Regular Season Title- Charlottesville (30-10)
MVP- Austin Bulman, Winchester
Pitcher of the Year- Reed Mascolo, New Market
Manager of the Year- Kory Koehler, Charlottesville
2019
Playoff Champion- Charlottesville (Defeated Strasburg two games to zero)
Regular Season Title- Waynesboro (31-11)
MVP- Aidan Nagle, Woodstock
Pitcher of the Year- Tristen Bayless, Woodstock
Manager of the Year- Zac Cole, Waynesboro
2018
Playoff Champion- New Market (Defeated Charlottesville two games to zero)
Regular Season Title- Covington (26-16)
MVP- Andrew Eyster, New Market
Pitcher of the Year- Jared Wetherbee, Charlottesville
Manager of the Year- Alex Kotheimer, Covington
2017
Playoff Champion- Charlottesville (Defeated Strasburg two games to one)
Regular Season Title- Charlottesville (32-10)
MVP- Michael Wielansky, Charlottesville
Pitcher of the Year- Thomas Sutera, Purcellville
Manager of the Year- Corey Hunt, Charlottesville
2016
Playoff Champion- Strasburg (Defeated Waynesboro two games to zero)
Regular Season Title- Strasburg and Waynesboro (30-12)
MVP- Zach Sterry, Waynesboro
Pitcher of the Year- Erne Valdes, Front Royal
2015
Playoff Champion- Strasburg (Defeated Staunton two games to one)
Regular Season Title- Staunton and Harrisonburg (29-13) (Staunton won one game playoff for overall top seed)
MVP- Shane Billings, Harrisonburg
Pitcher of the Year- Hayden McCutcheon, Charlottesville
2014
Playoff Champion- Waynesboro (Defeated Charles Town two games to one)
Regular Season Title- Harrisonburg (29-13)
MVP- Gunnar McNeill, Staunton
Pitcher of the Year- Jake Harper, Front Royal
2013
Playoff Champion- Waynesboro (Defeated Strasburg two games to one)
Regular Season Title- Harrisonburg (32-12)
MVP- Jordan Tarsovich, Strasburg
Pitcher of the Year- Justin Camp, Harrisonburg
Manager of the Year- Phil Betterly, Woodstock
2012
Playoff Champion- Harrisonburg (Defeated Winchester three games to one)
Regular Season Title- Winchester and Waynesboro (31-13)
MVP- Julian Ridings, Waynesboro
2011
Playoff Champion- Covington (Defeated Rockbridge two games to one)
Regular Season Title- Harrisonburg (32-12)
MVP- Brad Zebedis. Strasburg
2010
Playoff Champion- Luray (Defeated Front Royal two games to zero)
Regular Season Title- Haymarket (30-14)
MVP- Cory Spangenberg, Winchester
2009
Playoff Champion- Haymarket (Defeated Covington three games to one)
Regular Season Title- Front Royal (29-15)
MVP- Greg Hopkins, Haymarket
2008
Playoff Champion- Luray (Defeated Covington three games to zero)
Regular Season Title- Luray and Waynesboro (30-14)
MVP- Tyler Townsend, Winchester
Coach of the Year- Lawrence Nesselrodt, Waynesboro
2007
Playoff Champion- Waynesboro (Defeated Luray four games to one)
Regular Season Title- Waynesboro (30-14-1)
MVP- Luke Greinke, Winchester
2006
Playoff Champion- Luray (Defeated Staunton three games to two)
Regular Season Title- New Market (32-10)
MVP- Tyler Kuhn, Luray
2005
Playoff Champion- Covington (Defeated New Market two games to one)
Regular Season Title- Luray (30-14)
MVP- Daniel Murphy, Luray
2004
Playoff Champion- Winchester (Defeated Staunton two games to zero)
Regular Season Title- Harrisonburg (30-14)
MVP- Jon Love, Front Royal, and Jeremy Terni, Winchester
Batting Champion- Joe Kemp, Harrisonburg
ERA Champion- Mike Wagner, Winchester
2003
Playoff Champion- Winchester (Defeated New Market three games to two)
Regular Season Title- Winchester (38-12)
MVP- Jeff Van Houten, Harrisonburg
Batting Champion- Jeff Van Houten, Harrisonburg
ERA Champion- Phil Bartleski, New Market
Manager of the Year- Jason Johnson, Winchester
2002
Playoff Champion- New Market (Defeated Covington three games to one)
Regular Season Title- Covington (26-14)
MVP- Jon Honce, Covington
Batting Champion- Justin Morgan, Luray
ERA Champion- Taylor Cobb, Staunton
Coach of the Year- Bob Wease, Harrisonburg
2001
Playoff Champion- Winchester (Defeated Covington three games to two)
Regular Season Title- Winchester (28-12)
MVP- Wes Timmons, Winchester
Hitting Award- Wes Timmons, Winchester
Pitching Award- Chris Kees, Winchester
Coach of the Year- Joe McNamee, Covington
2000
Playoff Champion- Harrisonburg (Defeated Staunton three games to one)
Regular Season Title- Staunton (28-12)
MVP- Joe Hastings, Staunton
Hitting Award- Chris Durbin, Harrisonburg
Pitching Award- BJ Benik, Front Royal
1999
Playoff Champion- Staunton (Defeated Winchester three games to zero)
Regular Season Title- Staunton (27-13)
MVP- Ernie Durazo, Harrisonburg
Hitting Award- Kevin Olkowski, Waynesboro
Pitching Award- Carl Rowland, Winchester
1998
Playoff Champion- Waynesboro (Defeated Staunton three games to zero)
Regular Season Title- Staunton (24-16)
MVP- Jon Rauch, Harrisonburg
Hitting Award- Nate Rewers, Front Royal
Pitching Award- Jon Rauch, Harrisonburg
1997
Playoff Champion- Winchester (Defeated Front Royal- forfeit)
Regular Season Title- Staunton (26-14)
MVP- Nate Rewers, Front Royal
1996
Playoff Champion- Staunton (Defeated Harrisonburg three games to one)
Regular Season Title- Waynesboro (28-12)
MVP- Bill Eaton, Waynesboro
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1995
Playoff Champion- Staunton (Defeated Waynesboro three games to zero)
Regular Season Title- Staunton (29-11)
MVP- Jason Michaels, Staunton
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1994
Playoff Champion- New Market (Defeated Harrisonburg three games to two)
Regular Season Title- Staunton (26-14)
MVP- Darren Hayes, New Market
Thanks to Jim Phillips and Bruce Alger for much of the information; Chaz Weaver’s The Valley Baseball League was also consulted.