Rockers Announce Assistant Coaches for 2026
Villanueva, Roper, & Smith will join second-year field manager Josh Merrill in dugout this summer
Ashwaubenon, Wis.- The Green Bay Rockers are pleased to announce the coaches that will join second-year field manager Josh Merrill in the dugout this summer. Pitching coach Richie Villanueva, hitting and first base coach Tyler Roper, and bench coach Griffin Smith are set to guide the Rockers on the field this year.
Richie Villanueva enters his first season with the Rockers as pitching coach. Villanueva is a proven leader and developer of pitching talent with experience spanning across high school, junior college, Division I baseball, and the collegiate summer league levels. Known for building competitive cultures and maximizing player development, Villanueva currently serves as Head Coach at Martinsville High School where he has guided the Pirates to back-to-back playoff appearances (2024–2026), establishing the program as a consistent postseason contender. During the summer of 2025, Villanueva worked in Player Development with the Johnstown Mill Rats alongside Rockers Field Manager Josh Merrill, helping lead the club to a First-Half Championship and securing the first home playoff game in franchise history. At the Division I level, Villanueva served as Assistant Coach and Pitching Coach at Stephen F. Austin State University (2022–2023), where he worked directly with the pitching staff on development, game planning, and competitive preparation. Prior to SFA, Villanueva spent three seasons at Pratt Community College in the highly competitive Jayhawk Conference. As Pitching Coach and Recruiting Assistant, he coached three All-Conference pitchers, helped lead the program to a 2022 playoff appearance, and assisted 10 student-athletes in advancing to four-year programs. Villanueva began his coaching career at Quitman ISD, serving as Pitching and Infield Coach from 2017–2019. As a player, he competed at Riverland Community College on a nationally ranked team before continuing his academic career at Stephen F. Austin State University and earning a master’s degree at Dallas Baptist University. He is married to his wife Katie and has three children Devlin, Rynlee, Keegan.
Tyler Roper is currently an assistant coach at Central Christian College in Kansas. He runs the offense and is the recruiting coordinator. Roper is no stranger to the summer baseball ranks as he spent a summer as assistant coach in the West Coast League, where he coached under the tutelage of the winningest coach in Idaho high school baseball. Following that summer, he was an assistant coach in the Perfect Collegiate Baseball League for three years. In those three summers his teams accumulated 25 plus wins and playoff appearances every year. Before becoming an assistant coach at Central Christian, he was an assistant coach at Lassen Community College. While he was there, he coached two Junior College All-Americans and the base stealing champion in California Community College Baseball Association. He also coached the unanimous Golden Valley Conference Player of the Year. Prior to Lassen, Roper was a part of the Bryan College coaching staff that in two years went to two NAIA Opening Rounds. His time at these places influenced him to maximize the skillsets of the players he coached. Roper is a native of Boise, Idaho. He was a catcher and infielder at Treasure Valley Community College during his playing days where he was a part of two teams that made the North West Athletic Conference Tournament. After TVCC, he transferred to Westmont College and played in two NAIA Opening rounds. He graduated with a History degree and graduated with an MBA Sports Management from Bryan College.
Griffin Smith will serve as the Rockers bench coach in his first season with the team. Smith started his coaching career in 2021 as a student assistant at Central Baptist College, where he ran indoor track and played college baseball. Following his graduation in December of 2022, Smith accepted the recruiting coordinator position at Ecclesia College in Springdale, AR. In 2024, at just 24 years old, he was promoted to Head Baseball Coach at Ecclesia College and immediately elevated the program to national prominence. In his first season, he led the team to a 33–14 record, a Regular Season Conference Championship, a #11 national ranking, while producing 17 All-Conference, four All-Region players, and 4 Gold Glove Recipients. Smith also received the 2025 Conference Coach of the Year and Arkansas Natural State College Coach of the Year awards. The ‘25 team also set a program record in winning percentage while leading the nation in fielding percentage and ranking top five nationally in batting average (.328), triples, on-base percentage, and stolen bases, along with a top-10 national slugging percentage. Currently 47–18 as a head coach, Ecclesia continues to play at an efficient rate, sitting at 14–4 this season while hitting .309 with 124 stolen bases so far. Smith also has six years of Scouting experience with Prep Baseball- Arkansas.
Season ticket packages, group tickets and the Pep’s Drafthaus Flex Packs are available now. Single game tickets go on sale Friday, March 6th. Visit www.greenbayrockers.com or call the ticket office at 920-497-7225 to reserve your seats today. The Rockers front office at Capital Credit Union Park is located at 2231 Holmgren Way in Ashwaubenon. Office hours are Monday-Friday 8:30am-5pm.
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The Green Bay Rockers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 32nd season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in history with 26 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, nearly 2400 NWL alums have been drafted and over 410 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 two-time World Series Champion Max Scherzer (TOR), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford and World Series Champion and Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale (ATL). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2023 World Series Champion, MLB All-Star, MLB Gold Glove, two-time Silver Slugger winner and two-time All-MLB first team shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX).