Louisville Bats Unveil Full 2026 Coaching Staff
IL Louisville Bats

Louisville Bats Unveil Full 2026 Coaching Staff

Published on January 29, 2026 under International League (IL)
Louisville Bats News Release


LOUISVILLE, Kentucky - The Louisville Bats, in conjunction with the Cincinnati Reds, today named the coaching staff for the 2026 season, led by the return of Manager Pat Kelly.

The full coaching staff for the 2026 Louisville Bats is below:

Manager: Pat Kelly (7 th season with Bats)

Hitting Coach: Daryle Ward (2 nd season with Bats)

Pitching Coach: Reid Cornelius (2 nd season with Bats)

Pitching Coach: Carson Phillips (1 st season with Bats)

Coach: Vince Harrison (2 nd season with Bats)

Coach: Peterson Plaz (1 st season with Bats)

Athletic Trainer: Wade Hebrink (2 nd season with Bats)

Athletic Trainer: Lauren Powers (1 st season with Bats)

Strength & Conditioning Coach: Kyle Laughlin (3 rd season with Bats)

Video & Technology Specialist: Nick Mundy (3 rd season with Bats)

Kelly returns for his seventh season leading the Bats after taking home one of Minor League Baseball's most prestigious honors. On December 8, 2025, Minor League Baseball announced Kelly was the recipient of the 17 th annual Mike Coolbaugh Award, which is presented annually to an individual who has shown outstanding work ethic, knowledge of the game, and skill in mentoring young players.

The Bats' skipper began his managerial career in 1986 with the Single-A Charleston Rainbows and has since managed 17 different affiliates across every level of Minor League Baseball, as well as two stints as the bench coach at the Major League level for the Reds. With a 3-2 win over St. Paul on July 11, 2024, Kelly became the seventh manager in Minor League Baseball history to win 2,000 games.

With a 332-403 record as the Louisville manager, Kelly is currently second all-time in franchise history in managerial wins, behind only Rick Sweet's 539. Entering 2026, Kelly has a career record of 2,092-2,251. Kelly began his professional baseball career as a 17-year-old rookie ball player in 1973 and went on to play in three Major League games for the 1980 Toronto Blue Jays.

Ward is back for his second season in Louisville after spending the prior two seasons in the same role for Double-A Chattanooga. The 2026 season will be his 11 th as a coach in the Reds' system after joining the organization as the hitting coach for the rookie level AZL Reds in 2016. Since then, he's coached for High-A Dayton, Chattanooga, and Louisville. The son of two-time Major League All-Star Gary Ward, Daryle was a .263 hitter over 11 Major League seasons from 1998-2008 between the Astros, Dodgers, Pirates, Nationals, Cubs, and Braves. His 22-year playing career came to an end after spending the 2015 season in the independent Atlantic League.

Cornelius also returns for his second season in the Reds organization with the Bats after spending the previous three seasons as the Major League bullpen coach for the Colorado Rockies. The 2026 season will mark his 37th season in professional baseball. The native of Thomasville, Alabama pitched in 12 pro seasons, including 45 Major League appearances over parts of three seasons for the Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins, and New York Mets from 1995-2000. He went on to coach in the Marlins' system from 2003-16, spending the final seven years (2010-16) as the Major League bullpen coach. After that, he served as the pitching coach for Triple-A Gwinnett in the Braves' organization from 2017-18 and rejoined the Marlins organization in 2019, working with Single-A Jupiter from 2019-20 and as the rehab pitching coach in 2021 before heading to Colorado from 2022-24.

Phillips is set to make his Reds organizational debut in Louisville in 2026. He spent the past three seasons as a bullpen coach for Double-A Frisco (2025), High-A Vancouver (2024), and Triple-A Buffalo (2023) between the Rangers' and Blue Jays' affiliates. Before he got his first professional coaching role, Phillips served as a graduate assistant for the University of Arizona's baseball program from 2022-23. He pitched collegiately at California Baptist (2019), San Diego Mesa College (2019-20) and Dixie State (2021-22), where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in exercise science.

Harrison is back in Louisville for his second season after spending the 2023 season as a coach on the Bats staff. Harrison spent the last two seasons as the manager for High-A Dayton, leading the Dragons to the playoffs in 2024 and guiding the squad to a franchise-record 15-game winning streak late in the 2025 season. Before joining the Reds system in 2023, he spent the previous nine seasons in the Diamondbacks system, including four as a manager at the Single-A and High-A levels. As a player, Harrison was selected by Tampa Bay in the 13 th round of the 2001 draft and hit .292 over 892 minor league and independent games from 2001-2011. He attended the University of Kentucky, where he played both as an infielder on the baseball team and a wide receiver on the football team. Vince is the older brother of Josh Harrison, a 13-year Major League veteran and two-time All-Star.

In his fourth season in the Reds organization, Plaz will join the Bats for the first time in his career. Last season, Plaz worked as a coach on Harrison's staff in Dayton, his second season with the Dragons. He also served as hitting coach for the ACL Reds in 2024. Plaz began his coaching career with the ACL Cubs in 2022 following his retirement as a player. In 2015, the Venezuelan outfielder was signed by the Reds as an international free agent and spent four seasons in the Reds system, batting .278 in 173 professional games.

Hebrink enters his 10th season in the organization and second with the Bats in 2026. He spent the 2024 season as an Assistant Athletic Trainer at the Major League level for the Reds. He previously worked as a Minor League Minor League athletic trainer for Double-A Chattanooga (2023), High-A Dayton (2022), Single-A Daytona (2021), Rookie-level Arizona (2019), and in the Dominican Summer League (2017-18). In 2021 for Low-A Daytona, Hebrink was awarded the Low-A Southeast Athletic Trainer of the Year Award. He earned his bachelor's degree in athletic training from the University of Northern Iowa in 2014 and his master's degree in exercise science from Syracuse University in 2016.

Powers is in her eighth season in the organization, her first with the Bats, after spending the last two seasons as the athletic trainer for High-A Dayton. She has previously worked in the same role for Single-A Daytona, the ACL Reds, and the Dominican Summer League Reds. She earned her bachelor's degree in physiology with a minor in nutrition from the University of Arizona and her master's degree in athletic training from Northern Arizona University.

Laughlin starts his ninth season in professional baseball, his seventh in the Reds organization and third with Louisville. He spent the 2021 and 2022 campaigns at Single-A Daytona and 2023 at Double-A Chattanooga. A 2017 graduate of Indiana University, Laughlin spent the 2019 season as a strength and conditioning coach for the Rangers' Dominican Summer League affiliate.

Nick Mundy is back for his third season as the Bats' Video & Technology Specialist in his fourth season in the Reds organization. He spent this past winter as Director of Data Analytics for the Perth Heat of the Australian Baseball League.

The Bats open the 2026 season at Louisville Slugger Field on Friday, March 27 at 7:15 p.m. against the Omaha Storm Chasers, Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals.

Check out the Louisville Bats Statistics

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