Wirshing was an Assistant Head Coach with the Waterloo Bucks in 2020 and 2021
Rochester, Minn. – The Minnesota Mud Puppies have named former Waterloo Bucks Assistant Coach Aidan Wirshing as their Field Manager. Wirshing was an Assistant Coach for the Bucks for the 2020 and 2021 seasons in the Northwoods League. Aidan is currently the Director of Player Development at Gardner-Webb University.
“We welcome beck Aidan to the League as he deserved an opportunity to manage a team for next summer,” said Northwoods League, President, Ryan Voz. “The Mud Puppies players will enjoy playing for Aidan and we’re lucky to have him.”
Wirshing served as the Bucks’ First Base Coach in 2020, guiding Waterloo to the Minnesota-Iowa Pod Championship. Under his tutelage, Waterloo’s second baseman Jalen Smith earned the Northwoods League’s Big Stick award and Xane Washington was named a Rawlings Finest in the Field winner in the outfield. Wirshing spent 2020 as a student assistant at UC-Santa Barbara following a two-year playing career at Santa Barbara City College.
“Aidan is familiar with the Northwoods League and came highly recommend from his colleagues and the Waterloo Bucks,” said Voz.
Aidan served as the director of Analytics and assistant coach at Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) during the 2021 season. Prior to SBCC, he held the position of student manager at the University of California at Santa Barbara. He has a bachelor’s degree in English literature.
“I am very excited to return to the Northwoods League with the Minnesota Mud Puppies,” said Wirshing. “I owe a lot to this league, as it is where my coaching journey began back in Waterloo with the Bucks. The opportunity to lead a group of young men for the summer is a true honor. My hope is that these players will foster great friendships and make lasting memories while getting to play baseball all over the Midwest in one of the most competitive summer leagues. We will be road warriors and that calls for a certain kind of toughness but even more so it demands a palpable love for the game—a somewhat crazy love for the game. Those are the players we are looking for–the dedicated baseball lovers–and I can’t wait to begin working with them.”
More information on the coaching staff and roster for the Mud Puppies will be announced soon.
You can follow the Mud Puppies on twitter at @mudpuppiesbball and on the web at northwoodsleague.com/minnesota-mud-puppies/ for more information throughout the season.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 29th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires, and front office staff, over 310 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (NYM), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website at watchnwl.com and on ESPN+. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.