Rockers Announce Assistant Coaches for 2025
January 31, 2025 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Green Bay Rockers News Release
Ashwaubenon, Wis. - The Green Bay Rockers are pleased to announce the coaches that will join new field manager Josh Merrill in the dugout this summer. Pitching coach Kevin Cave (Desert Hills), bench coach Chris Dawson (McPherson College), and hitting and first base coach John 'JR' McElroy (Arkansas) are set to guide the Rockers on the field this summer.
Kevin Cave enters his second season with the Rockers, first as pitching coach. Last summer Cave's duties included working with hitters, throwing batting practice, producing Trackman reports, and first base coach. Cave's broad experience in the game and attention to detail will allow him to excel working with the pitching staff in this role for 2025. He played four years collegiately at Gonzaga University, where he was part of a West Coast Conference Division championship team. During college, Cave played summer baseball for the Bend Elks of the West Coast League. After graduating, he has worked as a head high school baseball coach, teacher, lawyer, and athletic director. Currently, he heads up the baseball program at Desert Hills High School in St. George, Utah, where he has lived since 2020 with his wife Katie and daughters Kinsley and Dagny. A graduate of the University of Oregon School of Law, he is a member of the bar in both Oregon and Utah.
Chris Dawson joins the coaching staff as bench coach and will oversee the development of infielders and hitters. Dawson currently serves as the Head Baseball Coach at McPherson College in Kansas, where he has led the program since 2023. During Dawson's five years at McPherson, the team has been ranked in the NAIA top 25 multiple times with a program high ranking of 13th coming in the spring of 2022. Prior to his arrival in McPherson, Dawson was the head coach at Southwestern College and has also had coaching stints at Central Christian College, Hawaii Pacific University, and Hesston College. Dawson is no stranger to the summer collegiate baseball scene after spending last summer leading the Kansas Curve in the Kansas Collegiate League, where his team finished with an appearance in the league championship game. Dawson has also spent time as the head coach of the Joplin Outlaws in the MINK League, where his team set the single season stolen base record in the summer of 2021. Dawson is a native of Wichita, Kansas and currently resides in Newton, Kansas with his wife Whitney and their son, Kannon. He is a graduate of Central Christian College with a Bachelor of Science and East Central University with a Master of Education in Sports Administration.
John 'JR' McElroy will serve as the Rockers hitting and first base coach in his first season with the team. A 2019 graduate of Bentonville West High School in Centerton, Arkansas, where he played baseball, McElroy has been on staff with the University of Arkansas baseball program for six years. He is currently a graduate assistant focusing on offensive player development and analytics for the program. In the summer of 2024, McElroy was the hitting coach for the Johnstown Mill Rats of the Prospect League, where he was a member of current Rockers field manager Josh Merrill's coaching staff. McElroy graduated in May of 2023 from Arkansas with an undergraduate degree in physical education and expected to graduate with his masters degree in sports management in May of 2025.
Season ticket packages, group tickets and the Pep's Drafthaus Flex Packs are available now. Visit www.greenbayrockers.com or call the ticket office at 920-497-7225 to reserve your seats today. The Rockers front office at Capital Credit Union Park is located at 2231 Holmgren Way in Ashwaubenon. Office hours are Monday-Friday 8:30am-5pm.
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Northwoods League Stories from January 31, 2025
- Rockers Announce Assistant Coaches for 2025 - Green Bay Rockers
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