Guardians Announce Greg DiCenzo Returns to Lead 2026 RubberDucks Field Staff
EL Akron RubberDucks

Guardians Announce Greg DiCenzo Returns to Lead 2026 RubberDucks Field Staff

Published on February 4, 2026 under Eastern League (EL)
Akron RubberDucks News Release


(AKRON, OHIO) - The Cleveland Guardians announced their 2026 Player Development staff assignments, returning four members of the 2025 coaching staff to Akron. Greg DiCenzo returns for his third season as RubberDucks manager.

Returning to the staff alongside DiCenzo from 2025 will be Jordan Becker as a hitting coach, Michael Poole as a pitching coach and Derrik Diaz as athletic trainer. The newcomers to the 2026 staff will be Cole Nieto as a hitting coach, Angus Adams as a pitching coach, Yan Rivera as bench coach, Laura Gutiérrez-Sogel as Assistant Athletic Trainer, Jack Baldwin as Strength and Conditioning Coach and Gustavo Nava as Development Coach.

"We are excited to welcome Greg DiCenzo back to Akron for a third season," RubberDucks President and General Manager Jim Pfander said. "After two exciting seasons of RubberDucks baseball under DiCenzo, it will be great to see some new and familiar faces lead the RubberDucks in 2026. I can't wait to see this staff and the players take the field at 7 17 Credit Union Park on April 2."

Manager Greg DiCenzo enters his sixth season with the Guardians organization. The 2025 season will be DiCenzo's third as RubberDucks manager, and fifth as a manager in Cleveland's organization. He's led the RubberDucks to a 157-118 record in two seasons as Akron's manager including an Eastern League playoff appearance in 2024.

Prior to becoming Triple-A Columbus' bench coach in 2023, DiCenzo spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons as the manager in High-A Lake County. He guided the Captains to a 141-108 record in his two seasons including a Midwest League finals appearance in 2022.

A native of Duxbury, MA, DiCenzo was the head baseball coach at Holy Cross for 12 seasons prior to joining the Cleveland organization. The Crusaders went 137-109 in Patriot League play during his tenure, including a 2017 Patriot League Championship, and posted 20-win seasons in 10 of those 12 years.

Hitting Coach Jordan Becker enters his seventh season with the Guardians organization and third with the RubberDucks. In 2023, Becker served as the hitting coach for Lake County.

Becker joined the Cleveland organization in 2019 after a collegiate coaching career that saw stops at Riverside Community College and New Mexico State University.

Hitting Coach Cole Nieto enters his fifth season in the Guardians organization and first season in Akron. Nieto joins the RubberDucks after serving as the hitting coach for the Lynchburg Hillcats in 2024 and their Carolina League championship season in 2025.

A graduate of St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland, Nieto played four years at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea. While at Baldwin Wallace, he hit .341 with 17 home runs and 109 RBI in 137 career games.

Pitching Coach Michael Poole enters his fourth season in the Guardians organization and third season with the RubberDucks. He returns as the pitching coach for the second straight season after serving as Akron's assistant pitching coach in 2024. Prior to joining the RubberDucks, Poole was the pitching development coach on the Arizona Complex Academy staff.

A native of Akron, Poole played at Cuyahoga Community College and Lake Erie College before starting his coaching career at Inspiration Academy (FL) in 2019. Poole was an assistant coach at LSU-Eunice for the Bengals D2 JUCO World Series Championship season in 2021.

Pitching Coach Angus Adams enters his first season in the Guardians organization and first season in Akron. Prior to joining the RubberDucks, Adams served as a performance coach for Tread Athletics and was a pitching coach at Elmira College.

Bench Coach Yan Rivera enters his fifth season in the Guardians organization and first season in Akron. Prior to coming to Akron, Rivera spent 2025 as the bench coach for Lake County and 2024 as the manager for the ACL Guardians.

Rivera is the son of former Cleveland minor league manager and Toronto Blue Jays coach Luis Rivera.

Athletic Trainer Derrik Diaz enters his ninth season in the Guardians organization and third season with the RubberDucks. Diaz was the Eastern League Athletic Trainer of the Year in 2024. Prior to coming to Akron, Diaz served as the head athletic trainer for the Dominican Republic Complex in 2023.

Assistant Athletic Trainer Laura Gutiérrez-Sogel enters her third season in the Guardians organization and first season in Akron. Prior to coming to the RubberDucks, Gutiérrez-Sogel spent the 2025 season as the Assistant Athletic Trainer in Lake County.

Strength and Conditioning Coach Jack Baldwin enters his third season with the Guardians organization and first season in Akron. Prior to joining the RubberDucks, Baldwin served as the Strength and Conditioning coach for Lynchburg in 2025.

Development Coach Gustavo Nava enters his second season with the Guardians organization and first season with the RubberDucks. Prior to coming to Akron, Nava served as the Development coach for Lynchburg in their 2025 Carolina League championship season.

The Akron RubberDucks are the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. The RubberDucks 2026 season at 7 17 Credit Union Park begins on Thursday, April 2 at 6:35 p.m. against the Reading Fightin Phils. Fans can purchase tickets by calling 330-253-5151 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, or visit akronrubberducks.com/. For more information about the team, please call 330-253-5151, visit the website at akronrubberducks.com, Facebook page facebook.com/AkronRubberDucks, or on Twitter @AkronRubberDuck, and Instagram @akronrubberducks.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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