DICKINSON, ND – The Badlands Big Sticks announce their 2024 coaching staff highlighted by the return of 2023 Field Manager Jordan Price. The team has also named Cooper Beving as the team’s Pitching Coach and Torrey Roper as the Hitting Coach.
“We are more than excited to have Coach Price back with the organization,” Big Sticks Vice President and CEO Jason Watson said. “Jordan is the best person to lead our program, he is very knowledgeable and formed great relationships with our players last season. He has many connections which has allow us to bring quality players and fine young men to the Dickinson community. Working alongside him are Cooper and Torrey who Jordan has a ton of trust in as coaches that will positively impact the Big Sticks success this summer.”
In 2023, Price’s first season as manager, the Big Sticks finished 32-22 as the pitching staff posted a team ERA of 3.06 in 448 innings, ranking first in the league. Jordan Price was with the Sticks in 2022 serving as the pitching coach when the team finished first in their division with a 31-27 record. Price is currently an assistant coach with Metropolitan State University (Denver, CO), joining their staff in August of 2023. Prior to MSU, he assisted at Valor Christian High School (Highlands Ranch, CO) from 2019-23. The team won a state championship in 2023 and were state runners-up in 2021. Price coached baseball and football at The Brook Hill School (Bullard, TX) from 2018-19 and at Longview High School (Longview, TX) from 2015-17. As a player, he attended LeTourneau University (Longview, TX) where he lettered four times and was named to the all-conference team twice.
Cooper Beving is a former pitcher at the University of Wisconsin-Stout (Menomonie, WI), where he majored in Business Administration and Coaching. Beving played for the Blue Devils for five years (2019-2023) in which he was named a team captain for two of those seasons. Cooper is familiar with the Northwoods League as he got his start with the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters in 2023 where he served as the Clubhouse Manager. Currently, Beving is the Pitching Coach at Ellsworth Community College (Iowa Falls, IA) and is originally from Norwalk, Iowa and graduated from Norwalk High School.
Torrey Roper will start his first season as the hitting coach for the Badlands Big Sticks in 2024. Roper is from Shaker Heights, Ohio where he graduated from Shaker Heights High School in 2018. He was a journeyman throughout college, hitting 4 schools in 5 years. His first full season came in 2021 with Bryant & Stratton College (OH). Torrey helped the Bobcats win a conference championship in the program’s inaugural season. He was awarded OCCAC Player of the Year & 1st Team All-Conference honors that season. Roper finished up his playing career at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (Indiana, PA) as a 2-year starting Outfielder. In 2022, he helped the Crimson Hawks complete the largest turnaround in Division 2 history, with a 25-win improvement from the previous season. In 2023, Torrey contributed to IUP’s deepest conference playoff run in over a decade. Torrey Roper is currently back with Bryant & Stratton as an Assistant Coach and Sports Information Coordinator. He primarily works with the Outfielders and Hitters.
The Big Sticks’ first game is Monday, May 27 at Dakota Community Bank & Trust Ballpark.
