Louisville Bats Announce Coaching Staff for 2026 Season

The Louisville Bats, the Cincinnati Reds' minor league Triple-A affiliate, announced their coaching staff for the 2026 season.

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

• Manager: Pat Kelly (7th season with Bats)
• Hitting Coach: Daryle Ward (2nd season with Bats)
• Pitching Coach: Reid Cornelius (2nd season with Bats)
• Pitching Coach: Carson Phillips (1st season with Bats)
• Coach: Vince Harrison (2nd season with Bats)
• Coach: Peterson Plaz (1st season with Bats)
• Athletic Trainer: Wade Hebrink (2nd season with Bats)
• Athletic Trainer: Lauren Powers (1st season with Bats)
• Strength & Conditioning Coach: Kyle Laughlin (3rd season with Bats)
• Video & Technology Specialist: Nick Mundy (3rd season with Bats)

Kelly is back for his seventh season with Louisville. Last year, Kelly was the recipient of the 17th annual Mike Coolbaugh Award.

"The Mike Coolbaugh Award is presented annually to an individual who has shown outstanding baseball work ethic, knowledge of the game and skill in mentoring young players on the field,"MLB.com wrote on their website."The award was created by Minor League Baseball in 2008 to honor the late Coolbaugh, a 17-year Minor League player who was in his first year as a coach at the time of his passing."

On July 11, 2024, Kelly earned his 2,000th win in his 35th season as a manager in the minor leagues. He is just the seventh manager to reach 2,000 wins in the minors.

The Bats finished the 2025 season with a 71-79 record. They open the 2026 season on March 27th against the Omaha Storm Chasers at Louisville Slugger Field.

You can read more about the coaching staff here.