The Chinese Professional Baseball will launch its inaugural season on Jan 1 in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, with five founding clubs. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
With players drafted from home and abroad, a newly-established baseball league is stepping up to the plate to promote the sport's niche profile in China, while expanding career pathways for enthusiasts in the country.
With all of its five founding clubs fully funded by enterprises, the inaugural edition of the Chinese Professional Baseball league, which will swing off its 2026 spring season on Jan 1, is breathing new life into the sport's promotion in China by creating more competition opportunities for both amateurs and pros with an ambition to evolve into a full-fledged, home-and-away professional program in three years.
The CPB league, operated and promoted by Shanghai-based Coolbang Sports, will open the 2026 edition on the New Year's Day with five clubs, namely the Changsha Want Want Happy, Xiamen Dolphins, Shenzhen Bluesox, Fuzhou Sea Knights, and Shanghai Dragons, to play a total of 40 regular-season games through Feb 4, according to a news conference held in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, on Wednesday.
A total of 57 players, out of over 500 participants, were selected by five clubs at the first-ever CPB draft held in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, on Wednesday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
The regular-season top team will directly advance into the best-of-three final series, scheduled from Feb 6-8, with its finals challenger to be decided by an extra playoff between the runner-up and third-placed clubs.
The majority of the spring season will be staged at Shenzhen's Zhongshan Park Baseball Field, with a second international-standard field in Zhongshan, another city in Guangdong province, prepared as a backup hosting venue.
The CPB league also completed the first-ever talent draft of any baseball programs in China on Wednesday, which saw five clubs select 57 players out of over 500 prospects who had signed up with tryouts and tests held in five cities across the country since early October.
The open draft had seen elite athletes, including Chinese national team players, veterans from overseas pro leagues in Japan, South Korea and North America, compete for career-rejuvenating opportunities against college players, expats, and amateur enthusiasts in China, who are expecting to build a serious career in the new league.
"I am really grateful for being able to pick up the bat and compete as a player again, thanks to the establishment of the CPB league," said Liang Xintong, a pitcher selected by Want Want Happy, a club based in Hunan provincial capital Changsha.
"It's really a great opportunity for many baseball players, like me, who'd given up on the sport, due to the lack of competitions in the past, to come back playing and continue developing a career on this league platform," said Liang, who had to retire from baseball after representing Shandong at the 2021 National Games and has become a part-time skiing instructor.
The CPB draft tryouts and tests, held in five different cities over the past month, have attracted former pros and amateurs from both home and abroad to try to join the newly-launched league competition. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
With the new league building on the excitement of the just-concluded 2025 National Games baseball tournament, the sport's governing body stays bullish on lifting baseball's profile to the next level in China.
"The CPB league was born at the right time, benefiting from the National Games momentum and the shared passion of baseball enthusiasts," Xie Bin, a vice-chairman of the Chinese Baseball Association, said during the news conference on Wednesday.
"Building on this advantage, we expect the league to flourish step by step, first promoting participation in the sport as a short-term goal, with a long-term ambition of developing into a professional program, which will help us narrow the gap with international powerhouses and pave a sustainable path for baseball development in China."
