The Waterloo Bucks announced the hiring of Mike Schultz to serve as pitching coach for the 2009 season. Schultz will be new to Waterloo's staff in '09.

Illinois junior shortstop Brandon Wikoff [pictured left] headlines the list of returning Madison Mallards players for the 2009 season.

Second year manager Andy McKay has named a pair of coaches that will be joining him in the Loggers dugout this summer.

The Battle Creek Bombers recently introduced their new online team store. Bombers fans can now go to www.battlecreekbombers.com to purchase official Bombers team merchandise all year long.

The Thunder Bay Border Cats announced today that Joel Barta will replace Bobby Meier as the team’s field manager for the 2009 season. Meier, who took over from Devin McIntosh in October, was unable to fulfill his commitment after accepting a full time position in Las Vegas, NV.

Outfielder Jordan Comadena, who played for the Madison Mallards from 2005 to 2007 & went undrafted out of Purdue University last spring, was recently signed by the Houston Astros as a free agent heading into the ’09 season thanks to—all kidding aside—his performance during last year’s third-annual Mallards/MLB Alumni Game that saw Comadena blast two run-scoring doubles to pace Maynard’s All-Stars.

Freshmen Boomer Collins and Kash Kalkowski from the University of Nebraska are headed to the La Crosse Loggers.

Last month Baseball America announced pitcher Jordan Zimmermann as the top prospect in the Washington Nationals organization. The right-hander and former Eau Claire Express standout in 2006 was identified as having the top fastball and slider in the Nationals farm system.

The Green Bay Bullfrogs introduced Ronnie Nedset as the franchise's second field manager Thursday night at the team's 3rd Annual Hot Stove event. Nedset, a Wisconsin native has a lengthy baseball resume that includes coaching and instructional experience from the high school level all the way up to the major leagues.

The La Crosse Loggers network of colleges just grew in a big way when the seventh-year franchise announced the signing of a pair of players from the University of North Carolina today. First baseman Greg Holt and southpaw Logan Munson, both sophomores, will join the Lumbermen after their spring seasons in 2009.