Minnesota Mud Puppies

Did You Know?

• The Mud Puppies nickname references the Dubuque Mud Puppies, one of the original five NWL teams from 1994.
• The team uses a color scheme of red, black, gray, and white, similar to the Dubuque Mud Puppies.
• The Mud Puppies' logos feature a cartoon mud puppy in various poses.

History

The Mud Puppies were created for the 2021 season after the Thunder Bay Border Cats could not participate due to Canada–United States border restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic. That first year, the team finished 10-26, the lowest winning percentage in the NWL. The Border Cats were again absent in 2022, and the Mud Puppies posted a 7-29 record. When the Border Cats returned in 2023, the Mud Puppies remained in the league to keep an even number of teams after the expansion Minot Hot Tots joined. They played a restricted schedule and went 12-32, a winning percentage better only than the Hot Tots among all 24 NWL teams. In 2024, with the league expanded to 26 teams, the Mud Puppies finished 5-28. After that season, the Kokomo Jackrabbits ceased operations and the Mud Puppies were deactivated for 2025. In December 2025, the NWL announced the Mud Puppies would return for 2026, and the addition of the Richmond Flying Mummies kept the league at an even 26 teams. The Mud Puppies finished the 2026 season with a 13-22 record.

Player highlights

As of the end of 2025, four former Mud Puppies were part of MLB organizations, all pitchers selected in the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft. Tucker Novotny, drafted by the Oakland Athletics, played for the 2021 team. Connor Wietgrefe (Pittsburgh Pirates), Brandt Thompson (St. Louis Cardinals), and Ryan Lambert (New York Mets) all played for the 2022 squad. Lambert also played for the Mud Puppies in 2023 and was later signed by the Oklahoma Sooners after a social media video showed him throwing 99 MPH.