Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

• Location: Kannapolis, NC
• League: South Atlantic League 2020 (did not play); Low-A East 2021; Carolina League 2022-
• Affiliation: Chicago White Sox 2020-present
• Stadium: Atrium Health Ballpark

Team History

The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, of the Single-A Carolina League, briefly in Low-A East, and formerly of the Class A South Atlantic League, announced new branding to go with their new stadium October 23, 2019. The Chicago White Sox farmhands play their home games at Atrium Health Ballpark.

Originally known in Kannapolis as the Piedmont Phillies (1995) and then Piedmont Boll Weevils (1996-2000), the club took Dale "The Intimidator" Earnhardt's nickname as its own as the Kannapolis Intimidators when the NASCAR legend bought into its ownership in late 1999. The Kannapolis native never saw a game as co-owner before dying in a crash late in the 2000 Daytona 500.

The club changed hands again in 2018. The team's third ownership group since 1999 said using its late co-owner's nickname was problematic because his widow has it trademarked. It was viable while Teresa Earnhardt remained in the ownership group but afterward created a permissions process for anything the team wanted to do.

The change was not without controversy, but the move to the new ballpark put the club within just a few hundred feet of Dale Earnhardt Boulevard.

In January 2020, ownership unveiled a mascot named (of course) Boomer. Staff tell arriving fans to "have a blast" - a phrase that even has signage - and say "hope you had a blast" as they leave.

The city having been named for the Cannon family, who founded it as a company town for its Cannon Mills Company, why is it spelled with a K? To differentiate it from older but nearby Concord.

The Cannon Ballers originally participated in the Copa de la Diversión from 2018 to 2022 as the Rapidos de Kannapolis (Kannapolis Speedsters), a name derived from the team's former nickname and association with race car driver Dale Earnhardt. In 2025, they changed that to Ajolotes de Kannapolis, in honor of the axolotl, an amphibian salamander native to Mexico.

Year-by-Year Record

Year	Record	Finish	Manager	Playoffs	Hitting coach	Pitching coach	Coach
2020	Season cancelled
2021	40-79	12th	Guillermo Quiroz		Charlie Romero	John Ely	Pat Leyland
2022	58-74	9th	Guillermo Quiroz		Cameron Seitzer	John Ely
2023	67-64	4th (t)	Pat Leyland		Charlie Romero	Blake Hickman	Juan Maldonado
2024	70-61	3rd	Pat Leyland	Lost League Finals	Charlie Romero	Blake Hickman	Daniel Millwee, Donovan Clark
2025			Chad Pinder		Charlie Romero	Jacob Dorris	Darius Day