The Old North State Baseball League (ONSL) announces the sale of one of its original teams to an Investment group.
The Hendersonville Honeycrisps, based in Hendersonville, NC, has been purchased by Third Street Sports, LLC, an ownership group made up of Kyle Aldridge, Doug Roper III, and Brad Morrison who are all childhood friends.
Kyle and Doug are former High School teammates and College baseball players while Doug continued his career in the Toronto Blue Jays organization. Kyle Aldridge is a CPA, Doug Roper is a banker and the current Mayor of Vidalia, Georgia, and Brad Morrison owns multiple technology businesses.
“We’re excited to partner with the Hendersonville community in bringing high quality baseball and family entertainment back to historic Berkeley Park next summer. We can’t wait to showcase the tremendous baseball talent in the area and build on last year’s successful inaugural season. General Manager Mark Emery and Head Coach Will Lindsey have laid the groundwork for a winning team for years to come” said new owner, Kyle Aldridge.
Returning Honeycrips General Manager, Mark Emery stated, “With the Honeycrisps success in their Inaugural Season, year two looks to be more successful. Will Lindsey and the whole Coaching Staff will return but the most exciting part is the new ownership group. The Third Street Sports owners played Baseball at the collegiate level and are bringing their expertise to the Mountains. We are looking forward to getting the community involved and having a fun filled summer of competitive baseball.”
The Hendersonville Honeycrisps joined the Old North State League in 2022. The season runs through June and July. The Crips play at historic Berkeley Mills Park that has been dubbed, “The Orchard” by the fans.
President and CEO of the Old North State League, Alec Allred, explained the transactions, “We believe very strongly that the ultimate success of the league is dependent on the private ownership of every team in the league. This will lead to bigger crowd sizes, more community support, and bigger media content deals. It has long been our goal to be a league free to all players and I believe this helps us get there in the future!”
The Old North State League operates with fourteen collegiate baseball teams in locations from the Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic Coast.
Jesse Grant at The Sports Advisory Group, the nation’s leading sports M&A advisory firm, assisted with the transactions.