Community has overwhelmingly negative reaction to Kokomo baseball team name

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The City of Kokomo created a clean slate upon which to illustrate the future of baseball for the community. And it drew a bait fish.

In a ceremony held on the field at Kokomo Municipal Stadium on Halloween, the new team name was unveiled for the city’s return to the Prospect League. The team will be known as the Kokomo Creek Chubs.

The creek chub is a bait fish found in streams and creeks, and they are indigenous to the Wildcat Creek, which runs along the north boundary of the stadium.

Mayor Tyler Moore opened the event by welcoming the small crowd in attendance and expressing genuine excitement for what was to come.

“It was great to be here three weeks ago and being welcomed back into the Prospect League,” said Moore of the league announcement earlier in October. “That was one of our hopes and desires, and so we thank the commissioner and the team ownership for welcoming Kokomo back into the Prospect League. But even more exciting now is the final next step to reveal the new team name, the new general manager, and the new head coach.”

Moore took a seat behind one of a pair of tables, set in an arrangement typical of a press conference, as Joe Thatcher of Bullpen Sports stepped to the microphone. He explained the process his organization and the city took to settle on the team name.

“When we set out on the process of choosing a team name, the main thing that was most important was that we have the community,” said Thatcher. “This team is Kokomo’s team. It belongs to the city, to our fans, to everybody that’s involved that lives in Howard County. This is your team.”

Thatcher said that Bullpen and the city reached out to “select” and “influential” people in the community and asked for suggestions for a team name. They received several suggestions and narrowed the list to 20-25 names.

“At that point, we all worked together through that process and kind of eliminated to our top four choices for the team,” said Thatcher.

The group selected four candidates: Tropics, Torque, Steel, and Creek Chubs. Thatcher did not disclose the names that failed to make their internal cut. They then opened the choice to the community, allowing people to vote on their preferred name from the list.

“We felt confident with those four,” said Thatcher. “We all decided that we were going to go with whatever the community wanted.”

Thatcher proudly announced that more than 900 people cast their vote, and of them, 45 percent chose the Creek Chubs.

“I’ll be the first to admit I was a little skeptical of that name when it was first submitted,” said Thatcher. “But the more we talked to people in the community, to creative professionals about the branding opportunities, and just seeing the overall excitement with such a unique and creative team name, the more that I grew to love the name.

“We’re excited for all the upcoming branding opportunities. To me, this unique, fun, creative team name directly reflects and matches the passion that this great sports city has for the game of baseball.”

But how has the name Creek Chubs been accepted by the community? To date, the excitement is far outweighed by the embarrassment and disapproval. As the announcement spread over social media this past weekend, roughly 80 percent of the responses have been either negative or inappropriate.

“Total embarrassment for our city,” wrote Cindy Cox. “Not the way to get community support that is sorely needed.”

“So somehow this town chose a team name for a fish with a creek that is so polluted it’s not safe to fish in?” wrote Amy Henderson.

Others expressed optimism, perhaps more for the return of baseball to Kokomo than for the name itself.

“I think its fitting and I’m glad to have baseball back in town!” wrote Jamie Rodriguez.

“I love it,” said Paul Hillman. “I used to catch creek chubs in my backyard creek. They are everywhere so it makes sense.”

“I would have preferred another name, but I’m going to embrace the Creek Chubs!” said Matthew Turner.

And, in what should have been obvious to anyone involved in the name selection process, even more people are lampooning the name for its obvious sexual connotations. For the sake of common decency, those descriptions will not be repeated.

Whether those reactions are a negative or a positive for the team and the city’s image remains to be seen. But Thatcher made it clear that the ownership group will consider all feedback.

“I promise as a group that we will always value your input, your opinions, your feedback, and yes, your criticisms,” said Thatcher. “That’s the only way this is going to succeed. For us to execute the vision that we have for this team, the only way it works is if this becomes our community team.”

Thatcher then spent extensive time detailing the merchandising opportunities, the anticipation of selling sponsorships and season tickets, the blue, green, and silver color scheme, and the potential for a fish mascot to stroll the aisles and concourse at the stadium.

“It’s exciting,” said Thatcher. “It’s fun, which I think really aligns with the Prospect League, with minor league baseball, with college summer baseball.

“It’s different. We feel like that name and the branding is really on par with other Prospect League teams. We want to be different. We want to be unique. I’m pretty sure we’re probably the only sports franchise in the country with the name.”

Thatcher then introduced the team’s general manager Matthew Howard, and the team’s head coach Jason Taulman. Both men have a long history of leadership in minor league baseball and ties with the city’s previous baseball team, the Jackrabbits.

The Kokomo Creek Chubs will begin play in the Prospect League in 2026. The schedule is expected to be released later this month, and further information about tickets will follow.