The Kane County Cougars broke a little glass ceiling this month with the surprise announcement of a new mascot.

At a game on June 18, the Cougars unveiled the newest addition to the franchise family in 2016: Annie T. Cougar, one of the very few female mascots in all of baseball.

A quick and superficial look at mascots in the Major Leagues shows just one distaff mascot out of 35: the Cincinnati Reds’ Rosie Red, a female version of the baseball-headed Mr. Red.

Annie has a backstory, of course.

As the younger sister of Ozzie, Annie spent the early part of her life focusing on receiving her education and traveling the country before recently deciding to join the family business and team up with Ozzie in the mascot world. She will serve alongside Ozzie as the Cougars official ambassador of goodwill and fun. Both Annie and Ozzie will be busy Cougars, appearing at all remaining home games throughout the 2016 season. While the team is away from the ballpark, they will stay active in the community by making appearances at schools, churches and youth sporting events.

Annie will join up with Ozzie for the reading club as well which included more than 400 Chicago area schools in 2016. Students improve their reading skills through their participation in the program and receive complimentary tickets to attend a Cougars game and take part in a pre-game parade.

“The fan reaction to Annie has been tremendous,” added Cougars General Manager and Vice President Curtis Haug. “The sibling dynamic between both Annie and Ozzie is fantastic and will only help us to reach more people throughout the community moving forward.”

The Cougars are in the midst of a seven-game homestand with multiple activities planned including a Superhero and Comic-Con Deck Party, Military Appreciation Night, an All-You-Can-Eat Picnic and four straight nights of fireworks shows. To purchase tickets, call the Cougars box office at 630-232-8811 or visit www.kccougars.com.

About the Kane County Cougars