2026 Baseball Season Preview
Published on April 24, 2026 under Frontier League (FL)
Windy City ThunderBolts News Release
With spring training now underway and Opening Day less than two weeks away, Ozinga Field is abuzz with the sounds of baseball. First-year field manager Tom Carcione has officially announced his coaching staff for this season as well as his initial roster. Here is the first look at the new coaches and all 31 players who have been brought to camp.
Coaches
Hitting Coach Brian White comes to the ThunderBolts after spending last season on the staff of the Tri-City ValleyCats. Between college and the pros, White is in year number 13 as a coach, including two years as a Frontier League manager with the Florence Y'alls. He had a 96-94 record with Florence and made one playoff appearance. Prior to his managerial stint, White served as Florence's pitching coach for four years, during which the Y'alls played in two championship series. At the collegiate level, he has worked at Clarendon College, Eastfield College and his alma mater, Texas Wesleyan.
Pitching Coach Tino Novis joins the ThunderBolts' coaching staff after serving as the analytics coordinator for the Ottawa Titans last year. He also spent time on the active roster, pitching seven innings over three relief appearances. Novis previously gained experience as both a coach and an administrator when he served as league coordinator for the Palm Springs Collegiate League in 2019 and 2020. At the same time, he spent two years as an assistant coach at his alma mater, the College of the Desert.
The Roster
Pitchers
Matthew Bohnert comes to the ThunderBolts to begin his professional career after spending the last two springs at Indiana University. He also pitched two seasons at Lipscomb University, where he struck out 83 hitters over 59.2 innings in 39 career games.
Zach Cameron followed manager Tom Carcione to Crestwood after a successful rookie season with the Ottawa Titans. He pitched in 36 games with Ottawa out of Niagara University, where he went a career 16-4 with 25 saves. He graduated as the Purple Eagles' all-time leader in saves while finishing top five in wins and ERA.
AJ Campbell is a rookie acquired in a preseason trade with the Milwaukee Milkmen. He was a two-year player at Barton College, going 9-6 with a 3.99 career ERA. He also played both ways for three years at Frostburg State. He was 3-3 on the mound with a 5.70 ERA and a.270 hitter with 11 homers at the plate.
Avery Cook returns to the ThunderBolts after beginning his professional career with the team last year. He pitched seven games out of the bullpen last season following a four-year college career at Purdue. With 72 career appearances, he ranks sixth in Boilermakers history. As a senior last year, he saved nine games.
Tyler Davis starts his first full pro season after starting his career with three games for Glacier of the Pioneer League last year. He pitched for three colleges over four years, most notably SIU-Edwardsville, for whom he saved seven games as a senior.
Carter Delaney is a rookie who spent three years at UC Davis. He had a 3.98 ERA over 59 career games and kept it under 3.00 in both of his last two years. He also went 8-2 as a starter in his one year at Folsom Lake College.
Ian Delleman joined the Bolts out of the Frontier League Draft. A former Joliet Slammer, he struck out 49 batters over 33.2 innings in his 30 career games there. He pitched for three years at the University of Illinois-Springfield, going 4-2 with a 3.00 career ERA.
Aaron Evers returns to the ThunderBolts after a solid 2025 season. He posted a 4.14 ERA over 11 starts and won a Frontier League Pitcher of the Week award. A product of Oakland University, Evers posted a 4.18 ERA as a college senior and went on to pitch one year in the United Shore League.
Kevin Figueredo is a rookie out of Ave Maria University in Florida. He went 13-9 in 53 career games (44 starts) for the Gyrenes and finished his college career ranking in the school's all-time top ten in wins, innings and strikeouts.
Cade Flaherty was signed by the Bolts out of the California Winter League. He pitched last season in the Pioneer League to get his career started. In six years of college at Fort Hays State, he won nine career games and was a one-time All-MIAA selection.
CJ Jensik is a local product who played collegiately at both North Central College and Benedictine University. He also spent time as a tight end on North Central's Division III national championship football team in 2022.
Justin Lovell is a rookie out of Palm Beach Atlantic University, where he played for four years. He finished with six wins and six saves over 52 career games (15 starts) for the Sailfish.
Dante Maietta joined the ThunderBolts in June of 2025 and pitched in 15 games (ten starts) as a rookie. Before joining the Bolts, he was a two-time all-conference performer at Clarke University and also pitched at Waubonsie Community College.
Noah Manning began his pro career last year in the Seattle Mariners' organization, pitching 16 games of Rookie ball. He attended Troy University and saved 13 games, going 9-3 with a 3.81 ERA over two years.
Carsen Plumadore is back for year two with the Bolts after spending his rookie campaign in Crestwood, appearing in 25 games out of the bullpen. He attended Georgia Southwestern State University and ranks fourth in school history with 67 appearances. He ranks second in saves with ten of them.
Mitchel Sampson was selected in the 2026 Frontier League Draft after completing his college career at the United States Sports University in Alabama. The Galesburg, Illinois native also spent time in college at Western Illinois University and Heartland Community College.
Ethan Smith was acquired in an offseason trade after spending 2025 as a mainstay in the Lake Erie Crushers' rotation. In college, Smith pitched one year each at Lipscomb and Tennessee. He started his college career at Vanderbilt, going 8-0 with a 2.78 ERA over three years. In 2019, he won the College World Series as one of the team's top relief arms.
Tyler Wehrle had a 3.20 ERA in seven games (six starts) with the 2025 ThunderBolts after coming over in a trade with Washington. He previously pitched for three years in the Milwaukee Brewers' system. Wehrle attended Tiffin University and went a combined 23-10 with a 3.76 ERA there.
Catchers
Robbie Ayers is a rookie out of Loyola Marymount. He was a .291 hitter with a .407 on-base percentage in his career as a Lion and was named First Team All-WCC as a senior, when he hit .321 with a .455 on-base percentage.
Victor Cerny is fresh off a Frontier League all-star campaign as an Ottawa Titan in 2025. He hit .309 last year with 53 RBIs in 79 games. In three Frontier League seasons, Cerny has a .291 batting average and .732 OPS. Collegiately, he played three years at Cal State Northridge.
Mike Kowalczyk has worked his way back after a major injury during the 2020 season. He played collegiately at Culver-Stockton College and College of Lake County in 2019 and 2020 respectively. The local product played high school out of Wheaton Warrenville South.
Infielders
Jared Beebe was an All-Big East performer last year when he hit .356 with 55 RBIs over 53 games for St. John's. The rookie put together a career .316 batting average over three years at Barton College and drove in 91 total runs there.
Spence Coffman played his first four pro seasons in the San Diego Padres' system, posting a .260 batting average in 94 career games. Last year, he batted .381 with a 1.006 OPS over 77 games with Grand Junction of the Pioneer League.
James Dunlap joined the ThunderBolts as a rookie out of Catawba College last year and hit .317 over 69 games. He was a .320 hitter in his one year at Catawba and before that, was a two-time All-Summit League performer at North Dakota State.
Daryl Ruiz hit .313 with 40 RBIs in 57 games as a rookie for the Bolts last year. Before beginning his pro career, he rewrote the record books at Cal St. San Bernardino, finishing his college career as the school's all-time leader in hits, home runs, runs and RBIs. He finished his senior season with a 1.270 OPS.
Josue Urdaneta was acquired in an offseason trade with Tri-City. As a rookie with the ValleyCats last year, he hit .262 with 11 stolen bases in 60 games. He played four years of college at Indiana State University where he was a .277 hitter and two-time All-Missouri Valley selection.
Outfielders
Michael Gould came to the ThunderBolts in an offseason trade after an impressive rookie season in Schaumburg. He hit .330 and drove in 48 runs for the Frontier League runners up. In four years at Maryville University, he set program records for hits, doubles and runs scored and had a career .344 batting average.
Carlos Pena returns to the Bolts after playing 15 games down the stretch in 2025. Despite limited playing time, he had three homers and ten RBIs. He was First Team All-Missouri Valley at Indiana State University after hitting .327 with a 1.068 OPS. He also played 52 career games over two years at the University of Missouri.
Khyle Radcliffe is a first-year ThunderBolt and second-year pro after a cup of coffee in the United Shore League last year. The Chicago South Side native hit .316 with nine home runs over two years at Southern University and also spent a year apiece at John A. Logan College and Allen Community College.
Michael Sandle is back with the Bolts after an all-star campaign in 2025. He hit .275 with 16 homers and 19 stolen bases. He previously spent three years in the Houston Astros organization, rising as high as Triple A. Sandle was a career .289 hitter in four years at the University of South Alabama.
Oscar Serratos joined the ThunderBolts prior to the 2025 season and is back for year two. He swiped 25 bags in 80 games last year, his second as a pro. In 2024, he hit .325 for Great Falls in the Pioneer League. Serratos finished his college career at Biola University, where he hit .356 over two years. He also played two years at Georgia Tech.
Joseph Stagowski appeared briefly with Rocky Mountain in the Pioneer League before returning home to the Chicago area with the Bolts this year. He was a .346 hitter in four years at Rockford University and hit 33 homers, including 14 as a senior, when he was a Division III All-American.
Exhibition Schedule
This spring, the ThunderBolts will be playing their busiest exhibition schedule in three years, featuring five games, including two at Ozinga Field. All home exhibition games are open to the public with no admission charge. Concessions will not be open and fans are invited to BYODrinks and Food. Here is the complete schedule.
Monday, April 27 at 1:00 pm at Joliet Slammers
Wednesday, April 29 at 12:00 pm HOME vs. Joliet Slammers
Thursday, April 30 at 12:00 pm HOME vs. Schaumburg Boomers
Saturday, May 2 at 1:00 pm at Schaumburg Boomers
Monday, May 4 at 1:00 pm at Milwaukee Milkman
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