The Midwest League came to
Kane County in 1991 when the
Wausau Timbers relocated to
Geneva, IL. The Wausau (1975–1990) Midwest League franchise was
previously based in Decatur, Illinois (1952–1974). The team has been known as the Cougars since moving to Kane County. They were affiliated with the
Baltimore Orioles in 1991 and 1992, with the
Florida Marlins from 1993 to 2002, the
Oakland Athletics from 2003 until 2010, the
Kansas City Royals for the 2011 and 2012 seasons, and the
Chicago Cubs for the 2013 and 2014 seasons before affiliating with the
Arizona Diamondbacks in 2015. As a Marlins farm team, some key contributors to the
2003 World Series championship team played in Kane County on their way to the big leagues.
Miguel Cabrera has had a notable career and 2003 Series MVP
Josh Beckett played for the Cougars in 2000, while
Dontrelle Willis had the league's best winning percentage and earned run average in 2002. The Cougars play their home games at Northwestern Medicine Field, built in 1991. The franchise attendance record of 523,222 was set in 2001. The Cougars are perennially among the league leaders in attendance. On July 20, 2013, the Cougars became the first Class A team to attract 10 million fans.
Nancy Faust, after 40 years with the
Chicago White Sox, was the
stadium organist for selected Cougar home games until her retirement after the 2015 season. In 2020, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, the Cougars' season was cancelled along with the rest of
Minor League Baseball. Later that year, the team was cut from the Midwest League and affiliated baseball as part of
Major League Baseball's reorganization of the minor leagues. The team considered becoming a member of the
MLB Draft League before joining the American Association, an independent MLB Partner League. The team won their first American Association Miles Wolff Cup Final in 2024, having gone undefeated in the playoffs. Following their 2024 championship, the team was invited to participate in the
2025 Baseball Champions League Americas tournament. In March 2025, the team was sold by Dr. Bob and Cheryl Froehlich to REV Entertainment. In 2025 despite having a record under .500, the Cougars were able to defend their title going back-to-back for the first time in franchise history. By winning the 2025 season, the team was invited to the
2026 Baseball Champions League Americas, which they also won. The team has led the American Association in attendance since joining in 2021, and led all MLB Partner Leagues in 2022.
American Association season-by-season record Playoffs ==Mascots==