When the Brazos Valley Bombers make road trips to Louisiana during the 2011 season, they can expect to stay longer than before. That’s because the Texas Collegiate League has announced the addition of a new team for next season, the Acadiana Cane Cutters. The Cane Cutters, based in Lafayette, are the second Louisiana team to join the league in the past two seasons. The Alexandria Aces made their debut during the 2010 season.

The Cane Cutters will play their home games at Fabacher Field, a park owned by the City of Lafayette. With the addition of Acadiana, the TCL has now added at least one expansion franchise for five consecutive seasons. In 2010, the league added the Texas Tomcats, based in Weimar, as well as the Aces.

Former major league catcher Paul Bako will help Acadiana tap into the local baseball heritage. A Lafayette native and former star at University of Louisiana-Lafayette, Bako spent 12 seasons in the big leagues with 11 different teams. He will serve as an advisor to the new team, helping attract and develop the squad’s talent.

Also this week, Baseball America released the top prospects in the Texas Collegiate League and named Bombers pitcher Nick Fleece as the 3rd best prospect. Fleece, a senior at Texas A&M was very impressive in four appearances last season for the Bombers, as he did not allow an earned run in 14.2 innings of work and struck out 19.