Dayton Dragons Announce 2025 Coaching Staff; Vince Harrison Jr. Returns to Lead Highly-Experienced Staff

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MWL Dayton Dragons

Dayton Dragons Announce 2025 Coaching Staff; Vince Harrison Jr. Returns to Lead Highly-Experienced Staff

January 23, 2025 - Midwest League (MWL)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Dayton, Ohio - The Dayton Dragons announced their 2025 coaching staff today, as assigned by the Cincinnati Reds.

Vince Harrison Jr.-Manager

Willie Blair-Pitching Coach

Troy Gingrich-Hitting Coach

Peterson Plaz-Coach

Lauren Powers-Athletic Trainer

Dominic Cothern-Strength & Conditioning Coach

Hunter Rickard-Video & Tech Specialist

TBA-Performance Coach

Vince Harrison Jr. will return to the Dragons for his second season and lead the coaching staff. In 2024, Harrison guided the Dragons to a record of 74-58 (.561) as the team won a Second Half division title for the first time since 2011 and qualified for the Midwest League playoffs for the first time since 2017.

Under Harrison's leadership in 2024, the Dragons posted numerous franchise milestones.

The Dragons full-season winning percentage of .561 ranked third best among the 24 years in Dragons franchise history.

The Dragons finished with a winning record in both halves for the second time in franchise history.

The Dragons improved as the season progressed. After going 34-32 in the first half, they went 40-26 in the second half to win the East Division title. Their Second Half winning percentage of .606 ranked third in franchise history for best winning percentage in a half season.

Harrison was instrumental in the development of three players selected to the Midwest League full-season all-star team: Infielders Cam Collier and Sal Stewart and outfielder Ethan O'Donnell.

The 2024 Dragons posted a winning record over the full season for the fourth consecutive year. Only three other Midwest League teams (Lake County, Great Lakes, and Cedar Rapids) have had winning records for each of the past four seasons.

Harrison, 45, has 11 seasons of minor league managing/coaching experience. Prior to serving as the Dragons manager in 2024, he worked as a coach with the Reds Triple-A club, the Louisville Bats, in 2023.

Harrison played at Princeton High School in Cincinnati before starring in both baseball and football at the University of Kentucky. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2001 and spent four years as a player in their farm system, reaching the Double-A level. His best seasons came in 2003 with Charleston (.275 batting average with 19 home runs) and 2004 with Bakersfield and Montgomery (.275, 16 home runs, .838 OPS). Harrison enjoyed a nine-year professional career as a player in the Rays, Mets, and Marlins systems as a third baseman.

After Harrison's playing career ended following the 2011 season, he was hired as a coach by the Pirates. He joined the Diamondbacks organization as a hitting coach in 2014 and spent five years in that role before becoming a manager. He managed for three years in the Diamondbacks system before joining the Reds organization in 2023.

Harrison is part of a big baseball family. His younger brother, Josh Harrison, collected more than 1,000 career base hits in the Major Leagues and was selected to play in the MLB all-star game two times, both while with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Their uncle, John Shelby, spent 11 years in the Major Leagues as a center fielder, mostly with the Orioles and Dodgers, and reached the 20-home run mark two times.

Harrison Jr.'s Coaching History

Year Team League Class Position

2012 West Virginia South Atlantic A Hitting Coach

2014 Missoula Pioneer Rookie Hitting Coach

2015 Kane County Midwest A Hitting Coach

2016 Visalia California A Hitting Coach

2017 Visalia California A Hitting Coach

2018 Jackson Southern AA Hitting Coach

2019 Kane County Midwest A Manager

2021 Hillsboro Northwest High-A Manager

2022 Hillsboro Northwest High-A Manager

2023 Louisville International AAA Coach

2024 Dayton Midwest High-A Manager

Willie Blair, who has spent 30 years in professional baseball as a player or coach, joins the Dragons as pitching coach for 2025. Following a 16-year professional playing career, Blair became a pitching coach in 2010. He worked in the Padres organization for five years beginning in 2011 including three years in the Major Leagues as the Padres bullpen coach. Blair worked in the Tigers organization as a minor league pitching coach from 2016-21. Blair is familiar with the Midwest League. He was the Fort Wayne pitching coach for two seasons (2011-12) and also spent two seasons with West Michigan (2019, '21). Blair has spent the last two years in the Reds organization as the pitching coach at Single-A Daytona.

Blair pitched in the Major Leagues from 1990-2001. His best season came in 1997 with the Detroit Tigers when he went 16-8 with a 4.17 earned run average. Blair pitched in 418 games in the big leagues, making 139 starts. In 1999, he was the Detroit starting pitcher in the final Opening Day game at historic Tiger Stadium. Blair also pitched for the Blue Jays, Indians, Astros, Rockies, Padres, Diamondbacks, and Mets. Blair was originally signed as an 11th round draft pick by Toronto in 1986 out of Morehead State University. He played high school baseball at Johnson Central in Paintsville, Kentucky.

Troy Gingrich joins the Dragons as one of the most experienced hitting coaches in team history. After a playing career at the University of Arizona and four seasons as an outfielder in the Montreal Expos organization, Gingrich began his coaching career in 2004 in the Expos organization as a minor league hitting coach. Gingrich remained with the organization as it relocated to become the Washington Nationals in 2005, gaining experience at virtually every level of their farm system. He served as a Nationals minor league hitting coordinator for 10 seasons from 2014-2023. In total, Gingrich spent 20 years as a hitting coach or coordinator in the Expos/Nationals organization and contributed to their success, including their 2019 World Series championship. Gingrich resides in San Diego.

Peterson Plaz returns to the Dragons as a coach in 2025. Plaz spent four years as a player in the Reds organization from 2016-19 and played briefly for the Dragons during the 2019 season. Plaz began the transition into coaching following his playing career and served as the Dragons performance coach in 2023, assisting in all areas of player development. In 2024, Plaz served as the hitting coach with the Reds Rookie-level club in the Arizona Complex League.

Lauren Powers returns to the Dragons for her second season as the club's athletic trainer. She has spent the last six years in the Reds organization and worked at Single-A Daytona in 2023. She is a graduate of the University of Arizona and earned a master's degree in athletic training at the University of Northern Arizona.

Dominic Cothern joins the Dragons as strength and conditioning coach after serving in the same position with Single-A Daytona for the last two seasons. He is a graduate of Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina and earned a master's degree at Georgia Southern University.

Hunter Rickard returns to the Dragons for his second season as video and tech specialist with the team. In this role, he works closely with players and coaches in analyzing game video. He is a graduate of the University of Miami (Florida) and a native of Lansing, Michigan. He previously worked in a similar video role in the Philadelphia Phillies organization, spending the 2023 season with the Clearwater Phillies.

Dragons All-Time Coaching Staffs

Year Manager Pitching Coach Batting Coach Coach

2000 Freddie Benavides Don Alexander Brian Conley

2001 Donnie Scott Bill Moloney Brian Conley

2002 Donnie Scott Ted Power Brian Conley

2003 Donnie Scott Jaime Garcia Billy White

2004 Alonzo Powell Larry Pierson Max Venable

2005 Alonzo Powell Larry Pierson Chris Sabo

2006 Billy Gardner, Jr. Larry Pierson* Alonzo Powell

2007 Donnie Scott Doug Bair Darren Bragg

2008 Donnie Scott Doug Bair Darren Bragg

2009 Todd Benzinger Tony Fossas Tony Jaramillo

2010 Todd Benzinger Tony Fossas Ken Griffey Sr.*

2011 Delino DeShields Tony Fossas Alex Pelaez

2012 Delino DeShields Tom Browning Alex Pelaez

2013 Jose Nieves Tony Fossas Alex Pelaez

2014 Jose Nieves Tony Fossas Luis Bolivar

2015 Jose Nieves Tom Browning Luis Bolivar Corky Miller

2016 Dick Schofield Derrin Ebert Luis Bolivar Corky Miller

2017 Luis Bolivar Derrin Ebert Daryle Ward Kevin Mahar

2018 Luis Bolivar Seth Etherton Daryle Ward Kevin Mahar

2019 Luis Bolivar Seth Etherton Mike Devereaux Kevin Mahar

2020 Season Cancelled

2021 Jose Moreno Brian Garman Daryle Ward Darren Bragg

2022 Bryan LaHair Brian Garman Daryle Ward Juan Samuel

2023 Bryan LaHair Todd Naskedov Eric Richardson Osmin Melendez

2024 Vince Harrison Jr. Brian Garman José León Jefry Sierra

2025 Vince Harrison Jr. Willie Blair Troy Gingrich Peterson Plaz

*Pete Magre served as pitching coach for a portion of the 2006 season. Jason Baker served as Batting Coach for a portion of the 2010 season.

The Dragons open the 2025 season on April 4 at the West Michigan Whitecaps, with their home opener scheduled for April 8 at 7:05 pm against the Fort Wayne TinCaps at Day Air Ballpark.

Fans may contact the Dragons regarding season ticket plans, group outings at Day Air Ballpark, and hospitality options including Boost Engagement Luxury Suites, Party Decks, and the Kona Big Wave Dragons Lair. The most popular season ticket plans are 8-game and 16-game packages, which are great for families, empty nesters, young adults, and small businesses. Half-season and full-season packages are also available. The packages are loaded with benefits.

Go to this link for more information on season tickets: https://www.milb.com/dayton/tickets/seasontickets

Go to this link for more information on group outings and hospitality options: https://www.milb.com/dayton/tickets/groupoutings

The Cincinnati Reds will conclude their spring training schedule with a game at Day Air Ballpark in Dayton, the 25th Season Celebration Game with the Reds presented by Winsupply, on Tuesday, March 25 at 6:10 pm. The game will feature the Reds against a team consisting of their minor league prospects. The Reds will open their 2025 season two days later, on Thursday, March 27 against the San Francisco Giants at Great American Ball Park at 4:10 pm.

Dragons season ticket holders, suite lease holders, and sponsors will be contacted soon by the Dragons for first buying opportunities to the 25th Season Celebration Game with the Reds, presented by Winsupply. Fans wanting ticket information for the game may click here to be contacted once tickets become available for the general public.

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