| Most recent season or competition: 2024 Little League World Series qualification | |
| Formerly | Central Region (1957–2000) |
|---|---|
| Sport | Baseball |
| Founded | 2000; 24 years ago (2000) |
| No. of teams | 5 |
| Country |  United States |
| Most recent champion(s) |  Hinsdale Little League, Hinsdale, Illinois |
| Most titles |  Kentucky (8)
|
| Official website | Little League Baseball & Softball Central Region Headquarters |
The Great Lakes Region is one of ten United States regions that currently sends teams to the Little League World Series, the largest youth baseball competition in the world. The region's participation in the LLWS dates back to 1957, when it was known as the Central Region. However, when the LLWS was expanded in 2001 from eight teams (four U.S. teams and four "International" teams from the rest of the world) to 16 teams (eight U.S. and eight International), the Central Region was split into the Great Lakes and Midwest Regions.
The Great Lakes Region has a unique definition that does not correspond with the normally understood definition of the "Great Lakes" area, even when the context is restricted to the U.S. Although eight U.S. states (and the Canadian province of Ontario) border on the Great Lakes, only four of them are in Little League's Great Lakes Region:
One state that does not border any of the Great Lakes, and in fact has no territory within the Great Lakes watershed, is included in this region:
Two states that border on the Great Lakes, New York and Pennsylvania are in other regions; Pennsylvania plays in the Mid-Atlantic region, while New York plays in the Metro region. The remaining U.S. state that borders on the Great Lakes, Minnesota, is in the Midwest region. (The Canadian provinces that border the Great Lakes have their Little League champions participate in a nationwide tournament, with the winner representing Canada in the International bracket at the LLWS.)
Following the 2021 LLWS, Wisconsin has been moved to the Midwest Region. This move coincides with a planned expansion of the LLWS from 16 to 20 teams. This expansion was originally scheduled to occur for 2021, but was delayed to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Regional championship
The year's winner is indicated in green.
2001–2021
| Year | Illinois
|
 Indiana
|
Kentucky
|
 Michigan
|
 Ohio
|
 Wisconsin
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Lansing East LL Lansing |
Brownsburg LL Brownsburg |
Owensboro Southern LL Owensboro |
Roosevelt Park LL Roosevelt Park |
Fairborn American LL Fairborn |
Appleton Kiwanis LL Appleton |
| 2002 | Bradley-Bourbonnais American LL Bourbonnais |
Brownsburg LL Brownsburg |
Valley Sports American LL Louisville |
Grosse Pointe Farms-City LL Grosse Pointe Farms |
West Side American LL Hamilton |
Merrill LL Merrill |
| 2003 | Moline National LL Moline |
Brooklyn LL Anderson |
Owensboro Southern LL Owensboro |
Midland Northeast LL Midland |
Tallmadge LL Tallmadge |
Wausau Western LL Wausau |
| 2004 | Mundelein National LL Mundelein |
Highland LL Highland |
Owensboro Southern LL Owensboro |
Western LL Grand Rapids |
West Side National LL Hamilton |
Appleton Einstein LL Appleton |
| 2005 | Limestone LL Kankakee |
Seymour LL Seymour |
Owensboro Southern LL Owensboro |
Western LL Grand Rapids |
Boardman Community East LL Boardman |
Lakeland National LL Bristol |
| 2006 | Lemont LL Lemont |
New Castle LL New Castle |
Owensboro Southern LL Owensboro |
Union Township Kids LL Mount Pleasant |
West Side LL Hamilton |
Einstein LL Appleton |
| 2007 | Western Springs LL Western Springs |
New Albany LL New Albany |
Warren County Southern LL Bowling Green |
Taylor Northwest LL Taylor |
West Side LL Hamilton |
Wausau Northern LL Wausau |
| 2008 | Jackie Robinson LL Chicago |
Jeff/GRC American LL Jeffersonville |
Bowling Green Eastern LL Bowling Green |
Bay City Southwest LL Bay City |
Mount Vernon LL Mount Vernon |
Appleton Einstein LL Appleton |
| 2009 | Jackie Robinson West LL Chicago |
Bartholomew County National LL Columbus |
Logan County/Russellville LL Russellville |
Grosse Pointe Farms-City LL Grosse Pointe Farms |
West Side LL Hamilton |
West Madison American LL Madison |
| 2010 | Moline National LL Moline |
Terre Haute North LL Terre Haute |
Owensboro Southern LL Owensboro |
Richmond LL Richmond |
West Side LL Hamilton |
Burlington LL Burlington |
| 2011 | Rock Falls LL Rock Falls |
Golfmoor LL Evansville |
North Oldham LL La Grange |
Grosse Pointe Park LL Grosse Pointe Park |
West Side LL Hamilton |
Burlington LL Burlington |
| 2012 | Streator LL Streator |
New Castle LL New Castle |
Warren County Southern LL Bowling Green |
North Saginaw Township LL Saginaw |
West Side LL Hamilton |
Eau Claire National LL Eau Claire |
| 2013 | Jackie Robinson West LL Chicago |
Hagerstown LL Hagerstown |
Knox County LL Barbourville |
Grosse Pointe Woods-Shores LL Grosse Pointe Woods |
West Side LL Hamilton |
Burlington LL Burlington |
| 2014 | Jackie Robinson West LL Chicago |
New Albany LL New Albany |
Warren County Southern LL Bowling Green |
Midland Northeast LL Midland |
Canfield LL Canfield |
Burlington LL Burlington |
| 2015 | Olney LL Olney |
New Albany LL New Albany |
Bowling Green Eastern LL Bowling Green |
Bay City Southwest LL Bay City |
West Side LL Hamilton |
Burlington LL Burlington |
| 2016 | Streator LL Streator |
Terre Haute North LL Terre Haute |
Bowling Green Eastern LL Bowling Green |
Essexville-Hampton LL Essexville |
West Side LL Hamilton |
Little Leaguers of Kenosha American LL Kenosha |
| 2017 | Hinsdale LL Hinsdale |
New Albany LL New Albany |
Lexington Eastern LL Lexington |
Grosse Pointe Woods-Shores LL Grosse Pointe Woods |
West Side LL Hamilton |
Wausau National LL Wausau |
| 2018 | Tri-Cities LL West Dundee |
New Albany LL New Albany |
St. Matthews Baseball LL St. Matthews |
Grosse Pointe Woods-Shores LL Grosse Pointe Woods |
New Albany LL New Albany |
Wausau National LL Wausau |
| 2019 | River Forest Youth LL River Forest |
Silver Creek LL Sellersburg |
Bowling Green Eastern LL Bowling Green |
Bay City Northwest LL Bay City |
West Side LL Hamilton |
Glendale LL Glendale |
| 2020 | Not held due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||||
| 2021 | Hinsdale LL Hinsdale |
Brownsburg LL Brownsburg |
Warren County South LL Bowling Green |
Taylor North LL Taylor |
West Side LL Hamilton |
Elmbrook National LL Elm Grove/Brookfield |
2022–present
| Year | Illinois
|
Indiana
|
Kentucky
|
Michigan
|
Ohio
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Hinsdale LL Hinsdale |
Hagerstown LL Hagerstown |
North Laurel LL London |
Grosse Pointe Farms-City LL Grosse Pointe Farms |
West Side LL Hamilton |
| 2023 | Elmhurst Youth Baseball LL Elmhurst |
Bedford LL Bedford |
Lexington Eastern LL Lexington |
Midland Northeast LL Midland |
New Albany LL New Albany |
| 2024 | Hinsdale LL Hinsdale |
Jasper Youth Baseball LL Jasper |
Bowling Green East LL Bowling Green |
Tecumseh Area LL Tecumseh |
West Side LL Hamilton |
LLWS results
As of the 2024 Little League World Series.
| Year | Champion | City | LLWS | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Brownsburg LL | Brownsburg |
US Semifinal | 3–1 |
| 2002 | Valley Sports American LL | Louisville |
Champions | 6–0 |
| 2003 | Tallmadge LL | Tallmadge |
Group Stage | 1–2 |
| 2004 | Southern LL | Owensboro |
Group Stage | 1–2 |
| 2005 | Southern LL | Owensboro |
Group Stage | 0–3 |
| 2006 | Lemont LL | Lemont |
US Semifinal | 2–2 |
| 2007 | West Side LL | Hamilton |
Group Stage | 1–2 |
| 2008 | Jefferson/GRC American LL | Jeffersonville |
Group Stage | 0–3 |
| 2009 | Logan County/Russellville LL | Russellville |
Group Stage | 0–3 |
| 2010 | West Side LL | Hamilton |
Group Stage | 1–2 |
| 2011 | North Oldham LL | La Grange |
Round 2 | 1–2 |
| 2012 | New Castle LL | New Castle |
Round 2 | 1–2 |
| 2013 | Grosse Pointe Woods-Shores LL | Grosse Pointe Woods |
Round 1 | 0–3 |
| 2014 | New Albany LL | New Albany |
– | – |
| 2015 | Bowling Green Eastern LL | Bowling Green |
Round 3 | 2–2 |
| 2016 | Bowling Green Eastern LL | Bowling Green |
US Semifinal | 2–2 |
| 2017 | Grosse Pointe Woods-Shores LL | Grosse Pointe Woods |
Round 1 | 1–2 |
| 2018 | Grosse Pointe Woods-Shores LL | Grosse Pointe Woods |
Round 3 | 2–2 |
| 2019 | Bowling Green Eastern LL | Bowling Green |
Round 1 | 1–2 |
| 2020 | LLWS not held due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||
| 2021 | Taylor North LL | Taylor |
Champions | 5–1 |
| West Side LL | Hamilton |
Runner-up | 5–2 | |
| 2022 | Hagerstown LL | Hagerstown |
Round 3 | 1–2 |
| 2023 | New Albany LL | New Albany |
Round 1 | 0–2 |
| 2024 | Hinsdale LL | Hinsdale |
Round 2 | 0–2 |
- New Albany Little League of New Albany, Indiana was retroactively given the Great Lakes Region title when Jackie Robinson West Little League from Chicago was found to have fielded ineligible players.
- Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Little League International did not invite teams from outside the U.S. to the LLWS in 2021. Instead, the top two teams in each U.S. region qualified.
Results by state
As of the 2024 Little League World Series. Italics denote the state is no longer a member of the Great Lakes Region.
| State | Great Lakes Championships |
Record in LLWS |
PCT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky
|
8 | 12–16 | .429 |
| Indiana
|
5 | 5–8 | .385 |
| Michigan
|
4 | 8–8 | .500 |
| Ohio
|
4 | 8–10 | .444 |
| Illinois
|
2 | 2–4 | .333 |
| Wisconsin
|
0 | 0–0 | – |
| Total | 23 | 35–46 | .432 |
External links
References
- "Little League Baseball and Little League Softball World Series to Expand in 2021". Little League Baseball. Little League International. August 24, 2019. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
- The Jackie Robinson LL was forced to forfeit all its wins in the tournament (as well as in the 2014 Little League World Series) due to fielding ineligible players.
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