This article is about a mainland Chinese baseball league. For other mainland Chinese leagues, see China Baseball League. For and, see China National Baseball League. For the Taiwanese league, see Chinese Professional Baseball League.
Chinese Professional Baseball
Current season2026 Chinese Professional Baseball season
SportBaseball
Founded2025
Inaugural2026
OrganizerCoolBang Sports
Teams5
CountryChina
Streaming
Websitewww.cpbofficial.com

Chinese Professional Baseball (CPB; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in China. The league was formed in 2025 and began play on January 1, 2026, co-existing with the state-run China Baseball League as the main professional league in the nation.[1] It is organized by Shanghai-based CoolBang Sports.[2][3]

History

The formation of the league was announced on September 28, 2025. The CPB's first draft was held on November 26, 2025, during which the five founding teams selected 57 players from Greater China and overseas.[4] Prominent Taiwanese and international baseball figures were announced to have joined the league, including Lu Wen-sheng, Dae-sung Koo, and Ray Chang, who were selected as managers for the Fuzhou Sea Knights, Shanghai Dragons, and Shenzhen Bluesox respectively.[5]

The league held its first overseas scout tryouts in Miryang, South Korea in May 2026, with roughly ten players entering into contract negotiations with CPB teams.[6]

Format

Inaugural season

The inaugural CPB season opened with the first game of the Spring League () on January 1, 2026. Four founding teams played a total of 30 regular-season games during the Spring League followed by a best-of-three championship series.[7] A Summer League () will be held in August and September, during which Changsha Want Want Happy and an unidentified sixth team will begin play.[7][8] Games are primarily played at Zhongshan Baseball Park in Shenzhen, with some games played at the Zhongshan International Baseball and Softball Center ("Baseball City") in Zhongshan.[9]

Later seasons

According to the World Baseball Softball Confederation, the 2027 CPB season will largely follow the format of the 2026 season. The league is anticipated to move to a home-and-away schedule for the 2028 season and will retain the Spring League as a preseason spring training series,[4][10] by which point the league hopes to have achieved "fully professional" state following more investment in player development.[5]

Teams

TeamChinese nameSponsorLocationJoined
Changsha Want Want Happy长沙旺旺黑皮Want Want GroupChangsha, Hunan2025
Fuzhou Sea Knights福州海侠Han Yuan InvestmentFuzhou, Fujian2025
Shanghai Dragons上海正大龙CP GroupShanghai2025
Shenzhen Bluesox深圳蓝袜Shenzhen Bluesox Culture & TourismShenzhen, Guangdong2025
Xiamen Dolphins厦门海豚Xiamen Sports PropertiesXiamen, Fujian2025

Culture

The league assembled the eight-member CPB Girls cheerleading squad, consisting of famous cheerleaders from Taiwan and others selected from a draft in December 2025.[4] The squad was later expanded to twelve members.[11]

The league debuted a theme song titled "Arrogance", written by Taiwanese singer-songwriter AJ Chang, during a live performance at a Spring League championship series game on January 30, 2026.[12] In addition, each team also has its own fight song.[11]

References

  1. ^ Zixiang, Lin (5 November 2025). "CPB中國棒球聯賽是什麼？上海兄弟隊名惹議　「1規定」讓球迷氣炸" [What is the CPB China Baseball League? The controversial name of the Shanghai team sparks controversy; one regulation infuriates fans.] (in zh-TW). NOWnews. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  2. ^ "中國棒球城市聯賽 承辦者上海酷棒公司辦公室" (in Chinese). Yahoo! News. 2025-11-07. Retrieved 2026-02-06.
  3. ^ Scott, Mathew (2026-02-06). "A Private League Tests a New Pro Baseball Playbook in China". Sixth Tone. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
  4. ^ "Historical inaugural draft of Chinese Professional Baseball held in Shenzhen, Guangdong". World Baseball Softball Confederation. Retrieved 2026-01-21.
  5. ^ Pan, Jason (2025-11-30). "Chinese baseball league announces Taiwanese picks". Taipei Times. Retrieved 2026-01-21.
  6. ^ Wang, Yang (2026-05-27). "中国棒球城市联赛韩国海选强援" [Chinese Professional Baseball holds tryouts in South Korea to recruit top talent] (in Chinese). Sohu. Beijing Daily. Retrieved 2026-05-27.
  7. ^ "Shenzhen Bluesox claim historical victory on Chinese Professional Baseball opening night". World Baseball Softball Confederation. Retrieved 2026-01-21.
  8. ^ Zhang, Ziyi (2026-05-28). "2026中国棒球城市联赛夏至联赛8月启幕" [The 2026 Chinese Professional Baseball Summer League will kick off in August]. China News Service. Retrieved 2026-05-28.
  9. ^ Zhou, Fangping (2026-01-20). "CPB立春联赛移师全运球场，精彩赛事点燃“棒球之城”" (in zh-cn). Yangcheng Evening News. Retrieved 2026-01-21.
  10. ^ Zhou, Fangping (2025-09-28). "CPB中国棒球城市联赛成立，明年1月将在中山举行立春联赛" (in zh-cn). Yangcheng Evening News. Retrieved 2026-01-21.
  11. ^ Shen, Tingting (2026-02-01). "中国棒球嘉年华开启，2026立春联赛热力开球" (in zh-Hans-CN). MSN. Yangcheng School. Retrieved 2026-02-01.
  12. ^ "AJ张杰创作棒球联赛主题曲". Sina News. 2026-01-31. Retrieved 2026-02-01.