Mavs announce coaching staff for 2025 summer

By JAMES TUBB on October 8, 2024.

jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb

The Medicine Hat Mavericks have tabbed their coaches for next summer’s WCBL season.

On social media Monday, the Mavs’ announced the hiring of a head coach and two assistant coaches for the 2025 season.

The Mavs have hired Jonathan Thornhill of Valley City State University to fill the head coach position. They’ve signed Ryan Reed of Mid-America Christian University and 2024 Mavs’ pitcher Cesar Rodriguez as assistant coaches on the staff.

The hirings were necessary after all three members of the Mavs’ 2024 coaching staff, head coach Kevin Mitchell and assistants Cody Henderson and Tory Nelson, were unavailable due to new year-long commitments.

All three coaches come from National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics programs, a different stream than the NCAA.

“I’m trying to get back to our roots in that, we’ve had a lot of connections through NCAA, NAIA and JUCO, but I’m pleased to have all three of these coaches that come from very reputable programs,” Mavs’ general manager and owner Greg Morrison said. “Cesar is at Ottawa University in Kansas where the Vulcano boys are, and then Ryan was at Mid America Christian, where Brett Stanton is the head coach there. Stanton was my pitching coach in 2012 and 13. That’s how I came about with the Ryan Reed contact.”

Morrison says they received a lot of interest after posting the job opportunity and says they found the right head coach in Thornhill through the application process and word of mouth.

Thornhill is the hitting coach at Valley City State University, the same school Nelson and 2024 catcher Jaden Babiuk played at. Morrison says his new head coach researched the Mavs’ program as much as he looked into Thornhill and he liked what he heard about the coach.

“He was kind of seeing what kind of program we had and (Tory and Jaden) had great things to say about us as a program, when I checked with them, they had great things to say about him,” Morrison said. “He’s had some time as a head coach at the high school level, he’s been the hitting coach at Valley there for a couple years. But really it was the endorsement of a couple guys that I trust and guys who are great baseball people in Babs and Tory, it carried a lot of weight.”

Thornhill shared his sentiments on the hiring in a release.

“Medicine Hat stood out for several reasons but as a baseball fanatic, you love hearing that it’s one of the sunniest cities in Canada,” Thornhill said.

“When you can have beautiful weather, a great fan base and talented players from all over, it makes for a great summer.”

When it came to hiring Reed, Morrison says the young coach brings a knowledge of the game he couldn’t pass up.

“He’s the head coach of their junior varsity team, so he’s got experience,” Morrison said. “He coaches third, he’s got a lot of a lot of knowledge already for only being a returning grad assistant.”

In a release, Reed says he sees a great opportunity to grow in baseball.

“I don’t know too much about the league as a whole but (I) have been told it is competitive and that Medicine Hat is a great organization to be part of.”

Mavs fans were able to see the passion Rodriguez brought on the mound last season coming out of the bullpen. Morrison says he liked the competitiveness he showcased for them last season and they stayed in close contact after the season to make the opportunity happen.

“He’s a great guy, great demeanour, very laid back, he’s going to help those young pitchers out where he needs to,” Morrison said. “He’s the kind of guy that I want on the team to help with that side of it. He’s willing to learn.”

Rodriguez told the Mavs he wants to help the next wave of pitchers while also trying to win in a city he loves.

“I decided to come back to Medicine Hat as a coach because not only do I like the culture that’s been built there, but the community is great and supports the team and finally it feels like my home away from home,” Rodriguez said in a statement.

Getting the coaching staff in place is a continuation of the on-field offseason work for Morrison, who has already started working on putting together the 2025 roster. He told the News that Johnny and Adam Vulcano, Babiuk and pitcher Max Hudlow have already committed to be back in the Mavs’ red and white come next summer.

With his new coaches, Morrison says he will have more reach for recruiting and have more options as they look for the first Mavs’ championship since 2018.

“We’re right on track, we’re always looking to improve,” Morrison said. “Primarily, it’s our pitching staff, every year we’re trying to really bolster that bullpen up.”

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