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SL Biloxi Shuckers

Ayrault Returns as Manager, Brewers Announce Shuckers Complete 2025 Staff

February 5, 2025 - Southern League (SL)
Biloxi Shuckers News Release


BILOXI, MS - The Milwaukee Brewers have announced the coaching staff for the Biloxi Shuckers' 10th anniversary season in 2025, headlined by the return of Joe Ayrault as the team's manager. Ayrault, entering his second season, will be joined by hitting coach Kevin Martir (1st season with Biloxi), pitching coach Josh Spence (2nd), coach Liu Rodríguez (1st), associate coaches Tyler Thornburg (1st) and Matt Lipka (1st), strength and conditioning specialist Grant Kastelean (4th) and athletic trainer Benny Arroyo (1st). The veteran staff includes over 55 years of playing experience and 50-plus years of coaching experience.

Ayrault, 53, enters his second season with the Shuckers and his 25th in Minor League Baseball. In 2024, Ayrault helped guide the Shuckers to their first playoff appearance since 2019 and returns after stepping away from the team last June due to personal health reasons. Over 17 seasons, Ayrault has won 1,031 games and enters 2025 with over 2,100 games of managerial experience. The former member of the 1996 Atlanta Braves World Series roster has been a member of the Brewers' organization since 2010 when he won the Pioneer League championship with the Helena Brewers. Previous managerial stops in the organization include the High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (2022-23), High-A and Single-A Carolina Mudcats (2017-2021), High-A Brevard County Manatees (2012-2016) and the Rookie-level Helena Brewers (2010-2011). Prior to joining the Brewers organization, Ayrault managed the Sarasota Reds of the Florida State League from 2007-2009 and served as a coach in the Cincinnati Reds and Texas Rangers organizations from 2001-2006.

Martir, 31, enters his seventh season as a coach in Minor League Baseball, his second in Double-A and his first with Biloxi. He previously spent the last five seasons in the New York Yankees organization, serving as the hitting coach with the Double-A Somerset Patriots in 2024, reaching the Eastern League Championship Series. Previous stops in the Yankees organization include the High-A Hudson Valley Renegades (2023) and Single-A Tampa Tarpons (2021-2022). He began his coaching career in 2019 as a development coach for the Rookie-level GCL Phillies East. As a player, Martir appeared in 66 games across three seasons, reaching as high as Short-Season-A in the Houston Astros organization.

Spence, 37, returns to Biloxi as the team's pitching coach after previously serving as the team's bullpen coach for the first half of the 2023 season. He spent the second half of the 2023 season and all of 2024 with High-A Wisconsin as the team's pitching coach, helping the Timber Rattlers make their first Midwest League Championship Series appearance since 2012 in 2024. Prior to joining the Shuckers in 2023, Spence served as the pitching coach for the Rookie-level ACL Brewers Blue in 2022. He also served on the coaching staff for Team Australia in the 2023 World Baseball Classic and the 2024 Premier12 Tournament. He began his coaching career in 2016 as a rehab pitching coach in the San Diego Padres organization. The Australian native played professionally for five seasons and made 188 appearances across MLB, MiLB and independent baseball, including 51 MLB appearances across two seasons with the San Diego Padres between 2011 and 2012.

Rodríguez, 48, enters his 12th season in the Brewers organization and his first season in Biloxi. A former infielder with a playing career that spanned from 1995 until 2013, he enters his 31st year of professional baseball as a player and coach. He previously spent the 2024 season with the Single-A Carolina Mudcats as a coach. Previous stops in the Brewers' organization include the Triple-A Nashville Sounds (2023), High-A Wisconsin (2022, 2015), Single-A Carolina (2021), Rookie-level AZL Brewers Gold (2019), Rookie-advanced Helena Brewers (2016-2018) and the AZL Brewers (2014). Rodríguez has also spent time as a coach in his home country of Venezuela, serving as a coach with Tiburones de La Guaira during the 2015/16, 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons and with Caribes de Anzoátegui during the 2022/23 season. He also served on the staff for Team Venezuela in the 2019 Premier 12, 2021 Americas Olympic Qualifier and 2021 Final Olympic Qualifier. As a player, Rodriguez appeared in over 1,300 games across a 19-year playing career that included stops at every level of Minor League Baseball, independent baseball, Mexico and Italy. He made his MLB debut in 1999 with the Chicago White Sox and appeared in 39 games.

Thornburg, 36, joins the Shuckers for his first season as a coach after a 12-year playing career that included nine seasons in MLB and five with the Milwaukee Brewers. The former third-round pick of the Brewers in 2010 made 144 appearances with Milwaukee across five seasons and set the franchise record for most consecutive batters retired by a reliever during the 2016 season. Other MLB stops included time with the Boston Red Sox (2018-2019), Cincinnati Reds (2020), Atlanta Braves (2022) and Minnesota Twins (2022). The Georgia native began his professional career under Joe Ayrault with the Helena Brewers during the 2010 season.

Lipka, 32, also makes his coaching debut in professional baseball after a 12-year playing career that saw the former outfielder appear in 1,137 games in Minor League Baseball. The former first-round pick in 2010 out of McKinney High School in Texas reached as high as Triple-A in 2017, 2019, 2021-22. He also appeared in 102 games in the Brewers organization with the Nashville Sounds in 2021 and 2022. He returns to the Southern League, where he spent three seasons as a player with the Mississippi Braves from 2014 to 2016.

Kastelan enters his fourth season with Biloxi. He joined the Brewers' staff after spending four years at Appalachian State University working as a strength coach for baseball, women's basketball and women's tennis. He completed a graduate assistant position at Lindenwood University where he worked with multiple sports including baseball. Kastelan has completed internships with the University of Notre Dame football program, the Ohio State University Olympic strength and conditioning, and Pepperdine University.

Arroyo enters his first season with Biloxi after spending the 2024 season as the assistant athletic trainer with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. Arroyo enters his ninth season with the Brewers organization. His time with the Brewers organization has included stops with the Rookie-level DSL Brewers (2017-18) and AZL Brewers (2019-20), Milwaukee Brewers (2021), Single-A Carolina (2022), High-A Wisconsin (2023) and Triple-A Nashville (2024). He also served as the athletic trainer with the Glendale Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League (2022) and Gigantes de Carolina in Puerto Rico (2018). Arroyo is a graduate of Harding University in Arkansas.

Fans can save up to 50% off day-of-game pricing by securing their 2025 Shuck Nation membership today. Shuck Nation memberships, Flex Plans, Mini Plans and group outings are available now by visiting biloxishuckers.com, the ballpark offices and by calling (228) 233-3465. Fans can also receive more information regarding the full promotion schedule and single-game tickets on the Shuckers website.

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