The Northwoods League is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league. All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. The league is amateur, and players are not paid, so as to maintain their college eligibility. Graduated senior pitchers are also eligible to play in the Northwoods League. Each team may have four of these players at a time.

Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operate from early June to early August. In contrast to college baseball, which allow aluminum or other composite baseball bats, players in these leagues use only wooden bats, hence the common nickname of these leagues as "wood-bat leagues". Collegiate summer leagues allow college baseball players the ability to compete using professional rules and equipment, giving them experience and allowing professional scouts the opportunity to observe players under such conditions.