Explorers Land Pair of Newcomers

December 3, 2024 - American Association (AA)
Sioux City Explorers News Release

SIOUX CITY, Iowa - The Sioux City Explorers have announced that the team has signed catcher/first baseman Kurtis Byrne and outfielder Emilio Corona for 2025. The pair brings the total of players signed for the 2025 season to seven.

Kurtis Byrne comes to the American Association after spending his true rookie season with Rocky Mountain in the Pioneer League. He played in 22 games, hitting .333 with four home runs and 26 RBI for Rocky Mountain. Prior to making his pro debut, he spent nine games in the Collegiate Prospect League with the O'Fallon Hoots. In nine games Byrne hit a home run and drove in five, hitting .342.

Byrne played parts of five seasons at Texas Christian University and rotated between catcher and first base during his final season in Fort Worth. He would be named to the All-Big-12 Tournament Team for two consecutive years while smashing two home runs and recording four RBI during TCU's loss against Kansas. That performance capped off a strong tournament where the senior collected seven total hits. Byrne went 3-for-5 in a win over Kansas State and finished the season hitting .270 for the Frogs. He would lead the team with eight homers and 42 RBI on the season in 2024 while slashing a line of .270/.357/.461.

In 2023 Byrne started 47 games and played in 50 games with 33 starts as the designated hitter for the Frogs. For the season he hit .385 with 55 hits, including nine doubles and a career-high 10 home runs. Byrne was third on the team in homers while slashing a line of .285/.343/.487, and he added 12 multi-hit games along with 11 multi-RBI contests. Byrne reached base in 42 games and had at least one hit in 38 games. He got off to a slow start, hitting .218 through the first 27 games of the season before going on a tear in his final 23 games, going 33-for-92 and raising his average 67 points to climb to a season-high .359.

In 2022 Byrne was named Honorable Mention All-Big 12 and 1st-team Academic All-Big 12 in his sophomore season. He hit .291 on the season with a .361 on-base percentage and a .447 slugging percentage and would finish second on the team with 15 doubles. For the season Byrne hit five home runs and knocked in 44 runs.

Byrne made six starts as part of 16 games played during the 2021 Covid season. He boasted a .333 batting average, a .471 on-base percentage, a .556 slugging percentage while reaching safely in nine of 15 games. The 2020 season saw Byrne play in five games his freshman year in Fort Worth while making four starts in a shortened season- with all four starts coming behind the plate.

Byrne is a native of St. Louis, Missouri where he earned four varsity letters at Christian Brothers College High School. He was drafted in the 35th round of the 2019 MLB first-year player draft by the St. Louis Cardinals before choosing to go to TCU.

Emilio Corona will make his professional debut after finishing his college career at the University of Arizona. He capped off his collegiate career with 56 games and 53 starts in a Wildcat uniform as a senior and a member of the Pac 12 Conference regular-season and tournament-team champions. Corona hit .262 with 42 runs scored, seven doubles, seven triples, six home runs, and 30 RBI in his final season in Tucson. The native of California led the Wildcats with 15 stolen bases during the 2024 season. Corona was named Pac-12 All-Conference Honorable Mention and was awarded a spot on the Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award watch list. The outfielder led the team and the conference in triples with seven while ranking tied for seventh nationally with three baggers. In the field, Corona played primarily right field and posted an impressive .984 fielding percentage on 62 chances during Pac-12 play.

Corona would play his first season in Arizona in 2023 after transferring from Pima Community College where he played in 2021-2022. He played in 38 games and was in the starting lineup card in 36 games, hitting .336 with 11 home runs and 44 RBI. Corona collected 16 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI performances for Arizona his junior season. He swatted three home runs on April 30 at Oregon State, going 4-for-5 and scoring three runs while driving in eight runs in the game. Corona was the first Wildcat with a three-HR game in 15 years, and his eight RBI in the game were the most by an Arizona player in 21 years. The three home run performance earned him the Golden Spikes Performance of the Week award for the week nationally.

In 2022 Corona hit .346, blasting 13 home runs and driving in 60 runs at Pima Community College. Both totals would lead the team by a wide margin. He finished with seven home runs and 14 RBI ahead of the second spot on the team. Corona would steal 15 bases, only being caught once during the season. He was named All-ACCAC and Second Team All-Region during his only season with Pima College. Corona would spend his first college season at the University of Washington. He would play in 20 games with the Huskies in 2021, hitting .167 with one RBI.

Corona hails from San Luis Obispo, California and was a three-sport star at San Luis Obispo High School. He lettered four years in baseball and football and three years in basketball.

Players signed 2025:

OF Emilio Corona

C/1B Kurtis Byrne

LHP Chase Jessee

OF Henry George

RHP Jeremy Goins

LHP Jaren Jackson

RHP Ben Madison

The Explorers are set to open their 32nd season in the Siouxland on the road Thursday night, May 8, at 6:30 p.m. against the Kane County Cougars. The club will celebrate opening night at Lewis and Clark Park Friday night, May 16 at 7:05 p.m., against the Kansas City Monarchs. Ticket packages for the 2025 season are on-sale now, including Full and Half-Season Tickets as well as 10, 15 and 25-game Flex Packs. More information is available by calling the Explorers front office at 712-277-WINS. Stay tuned to the Explorers social media channels and the club's website xsbaseball.com for off-season news and updates.

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