Dragons Announce 2026 Coaching Staff; Former Dayton Catcher Julio Morillo to Serve as New Manager

Published on January 22, 2026 under Midwest League (MWL)
Dayton Dragons News Release

Julio Morillo in the 2025 Arizona Fall League
(Dayton Dragons, Credit: Noah Maurer/NM Creative)

Julio Morillo-Manager

Willie Blair-Pitching Coach

Troy Gingrich-Hitting Coach

Eric Richardson-Coach

Gustavo Molina--Coach

Sam Tedtman-Athletic Trainer

Dominic Cothern-Strength & Conditioning Coach

TBA-Performance Coach

Julio Morillo (muh-REE-oh) will lead the coaching staff as the 13th manager in Dragons history. He replaces Vince Harrison Jr., who will serve as a coach with another Reds affiliate in 2026 after serving as Dragons manager for the last two seasons.

In the fall of 2025, Morillo served as a manager in the prestigious Arizona Fall League, leading the Peoria Javelinas, a team consisting of prospects supplied by five different Major League teams, including the Reds. During the summer of 2025, Morillo was a coach for the Reds Triple-A, the Louisville Bats, under veteran manager Pat Kelly. Previously, Morillo was the manager with the Reds Single-A affiliate, the Daytona Tortugas, for two seasons in 2023-24.

Morillo, a former catcher, played for the Dragons in 2014 and '15. He played professionally for six seasons, all in the Reds farm system, beginning in 2010. After concluding his playing career in 2015, Morillo joined the Reds front office as a baseball operations assistant and was part of the Major League team's traveling party, also serving as a Spanish language translator for Reds big league players, frequently seen in television interviews in that role. He remained in that position for four years before moving into coaching in 2020. Morillo has three years of experience as a manager in the Reds organization and has been with the Reds as a player, coach, or front office member for the past 16 years.

Morillo, 33, is a native of Venezuela, where his father was a doctor and his mother was an attorney. He now makes his home in Goodyear, Arizona.

Willie Blair, who has spent 31 years in professional baseball as a player or coach, returns to the Dragons as pitching coach for 2026 after filling the same role in Dayton in 2025. Blair had a long and successful Major League playing career 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.

Following his playing career, Blair became a pitching coach in 2010. Blair worked in the Padres organization for five years beginning in 2011 including three years in the Major Leagues as the Padres bullpen coach. He worked in the Tigers organization as a minor league pitching coach from 2016-21. Blair was the pitching coach in the Reds organization at Single-A Daytona in 2023-24 before joining the Dragons in 2025.

Troy Gingrich returns to the Dragons in 2026 as hitting coach, a role he also held in Dayton in 2025. Gingrich is one of the most experienced hitting coaches in Dragons franchise 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 the 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.

Eric Richardson returns to the Dragons as a coach in 2026. He served as Dragons hitting coach in 2023. Richardson has spent the last four years as a coach in the Reds organization and was the hitting coach for the ACL Reds in Goodyear, Arizona in 2024 and '25. Richardson has 12 years of experience as a coach in professional baseball including stints in the Phillies and White Sox organizations. Richardson played in the White Sox farm system for seven seasons (1991-97).

Gustavo Molina joins the Dragons as a coach in 2026 after serving as the manager with the ACL Reds in Goodyear, Arizona for the previous three seasons. Molina, a former catcher, reached the Major Leagues as a player for four seasons, playing for the White Sox, Orioles, Mets, Red Sox, and Yankees. He played professionally for 18 seasons before retiring in 2019.

Sam Tedtman joins the Dragons as the club's athletic trainer. He has spent the last six years as a trainer in the Reds organization including the last two seasons Single-A Daytona. He is a graduate of Wilmington College, where he played football, and earned a master's degree at Texas A&M-Kingsville.

Dominic Cothern returns to the Dragons for his second season as the team's strength and conditioning coach. He previously served in the same position with Single-A Daytona for the 2023-24 seasons. He is a graduate of Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina and earned a master's degree at Georgia Southern University.

The Dayton Dragons open the 2026 season, their 26th year of operation, on April 2 at Lansing, with their home opener scheduled for April 7 at 7:05 pm against Lake County at Day Air Ballpark.

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

2026 Julio Morillo Willie Blair Troy Gingrich Eric Richardson/Gustavo Molina

*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.

Julio Morillo in the 2025 Arizona Fall League (Noah Maurer/NM Creative)

Midwest League Stories from January 22, 2026

• Dragons Announce 2026 Coaching Staff; Former Dayton Catcher Julio Morillo to Serve as New Manager - Dayton Dragons

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