Two Big Changes in Wyoming Legion Baseball for 2022

A couple of significant adjustments have already occurred in Wyoming American Legion Baseball ahead of the 2022 season.

First, there is a new state chairman, and second, there will be no conferences at the ‘AA’ level.

In mid-September, Cody Beers stepped down after three years as the chairman of Wyoming American Legion Baseball due to personal reasons. WyoPreps obtained a copy of the resignation letter that cited that reasoning.

Jack Sims was selected as the new state chairman. He took over earlier this fall. Sims has served on the American Legion Baseball Board at the state level under Beers for the last three years. To clarify, the legion coaches do not get to select the state chairman. That decision is with the state commander in Cheyenne.

The second big change is that the ‘AA’ level of legion baseball in Wyoming voted this fall to do away with the East and West Conferences. All eight teams will play each other in a doubleheader one time in the season. There is a two-year commitment to the new format with a schedule rotation for all eight programs. From there, teams will be seeded one through eight for the state tournament. The first-round matchups will feature the top seed versus the eighth seed, two against seven, three versus six, and four plays five.

WyoPreps’ David Settle talked with one of the ‘AA’ coaching reps in Jackson manager Jason Huggins about the change at the top and the new conference format.

The 2022 ‘AA’ American Legion Baseball State Tournament will be in Sheridan on July 25-29.

The rotation of the ‘AA’ state tournament was altered to let teams host on the 100th anniversary of their first state championship. After Sheridan in 2022, Jackson will host in 2023, and Evanston in 2024. After that, the rotation goes Casper, Gillette, Laramie, Cheyenne, Rock Springs, and Casper.

The ‘AA’ coaches also agreed upon no re-entry and no courtesy runners during conference and state tournament games. There is also a 10-run rule after 4.5 or 5 innings played.

The winter meetings for Wyoming American Legion Baseball are on Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021, in Casper.

Here is the conference game rotation for 2022. The schedule flips in 2023.

Casper = Home: Gillette, Rock Springs, & Sheridan; Road: Cheyenne, Evanston, Jackson, & Laramie.

Cheyenne = Home: Casper, Gillette, Jackson, & Laramie; Road: Evanston, Rock Springs, & Sheridan.

Evanston = Home: Casper, Cheyenne, Laramie, & Rock Springs; Road: Gillette, Jackson, & Sheridan.

Gillette = Home: Evanston, Laramie, & Rock Springs; Road: Casper, Cheyenne, Jackson, & Sheridan.

Jackson = Home: Casper, Evanston, Gillette, & Sheridan; Road: Cheyenne, Laramie, & Rock Springs.

Laramie = Home: Casper, Jackson, & Sheridan; Road: Cheyenne, Evanston, Gillette, & Rock Springs.

Rock Springs = Home: Cheyenne, Jackson, & Laramie; Road: Casper, Evanston, Gillette, & Sheridan.

Sheridan = Home: Cheyenne, Evanston, Gillette, & Rock Springs; Road: Casper, Jackson, & Laramie.