Curacao Neptunus and Oosterhout Twins bring Lucky Day Hoofdklasse into the BCL Europe
The Lucky Day Hoofdklasse, the premier baseball league in the Netherlands, will have the honour of having two teams in the first Baseball Champions League Europe season in 2026. Curacao Neptunus Rotterdam and the Oosterhout Twins will try to leave their mark in the inaugural year.
While the Lucky Day Hoofdklasse has been in existence since 1958, there was already a top baseball league established in the Netherlands from 1922 to 1957 with the so called “Eerste Klasse”. The Dutch baseball champion is determined in the Holland Series.
Record title holders are Curacao Neptunus Rotterdam, who have won 21 league titles in club history with the last coming in 2025.
Currently seven teams are participating in the Hoofdklasse with Curacao Neptunus, Oosterhout Twins, Amsterdam Pirates, HCAW, Kinheim, Worldwide Pharma Logistics Hoofddorp Pioniers and UVV.
During the regular season games in general are scheduled Thursday evenings as a single game and on Saturday afternoons with a doubleheader. Following the regular season the playoffs are played with semifinals and the Holland Series.
Curacao Neptunus, which is also host to one of the two first round groups of the BCL Europe, has had most of its success in the past 26 years. With the baseball division in a multi-sports club being founded in 1943 the club has won 16 of its 21 championships since 2000. After a strong phase with six consecutive titles between 2013 and 2018, they suffered a drought of five years before winning back-to-back Holland Series 2024 and 2025. The club’s logo features a trident with the club nicknamed after the Roman god Neptune.
Meanwhile the Oosterhout Twins were founded in 1969 and are being named the “Twins” since 1976 after a merger of two clubs. They have played in the Hoofdklasse since 2016 after previous stints (1994-1999, 2003-2004). The Twins celebrated their best result last season with a third-place finish after losing in the semifinals to HCAW.
During the 2026 season Curacao Neptunus is well on its way with an undefeated 9-0 record after the first three weeks of competition, cementing their position as favourite for a possible three-peat in the Holland Series. The Amsterdam Pirates (4-2) are currently in second place as the lone other team with a positive record now. Together with HCAW the Pirates look to challenge Rotterdam for the title. The Oosterhout Twins are in sixth place after Week Three with a 3-6 record.
Reminder:
BCL Europe: Accreditation process open for Group Regensburg
BCL Europe: Group Rotterdam accreditation process open