The Northwoods League

The league draws some of the top up-and-coming coaching talent from across the country who are looking to develop themselves, just like the players, into the future stars of the college and professional coaching ranks.

The Northwoods League has become a hotbed for excellent coaching.

Many of the league’s coaches were once MLB and Minor League Baseball players and coaches including Twins star Al Newman, Donnie Scott, Duffy Dyer and former skipper for the New York Mets, Terry Collins.

Cody Piechoki – Field Manager

2025 will be Piechocki’s tenth season as Growlers manager and 13th season as a coach in the Northwoods League.

Piechocki received his start in the Northwoods League in 2013 with the Battle Creek Bombers as an assistant coach before joining Kalamazoo for its inaugural season in 2014.

Piechocki claimed his first Northwoods League title in 2022 and became one of just three coaches in Northwoods League history to win multiple titles after capturing his second in 2024.

Piechocki took over as the Growlers’ manager during the 2016 season and has only seen growth ever since.

Piechocki stands fifth in the Northwoods League in career wins, holding a regular and postseason record of 319-300 (.515).

In his tenure, Piechocki has brought the Growlers to the postseason each of the last three seasons and five of the past six.

In the last two seasons, Piechocki has helped the Growlers achieve its best two regular season records in franchise history.

In his nine seasons as manager, Piechocki has tutored the likes of 59 players who have either been drafted or signed by a major league team including seven who have made their major league debuts.

Along with his time with the Growlers, Piechocki coached 12 seasons at Kalamazoo Valley Community College including nine as the head coach.

Other stops include assistant coaching jobs at Mattawan High School and Kalamazoo College.

The Kalamazoo native, Piechocki is a graduate of both Mattawan High School and Western Michigan University.

For player placement questions and requests, please fill out the online form here.

GREG WRIGHT – PITCHING COACH

Coach Greg Wright is a National Pitching Association (NPA), associate coach based out of the Great Lakes area in Kalamazoo. He has been an NPA coach since 2006. He is also a

Certified Arm Care Specialist, Certified Functional Strength Coach, Resistance

Band Training Certified, and has his Masters in Physical Education.

Greg played baseball at Lake Michigan College and Iowa State University as a

catcher. He was also the varsity baseball coach at Mattawan from 1991-2004.

EAMON HORWEDEL – ASSISTANT COACH

Eamon Horwedel was born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and graduated from Skyline High School in 2018 after being a four-year varsity baseball member. He was also named to the MHSBCA All-Star game during his senior year. After high school, he attended Ohio University for four years (2018–2022), where he pitched for the Bobcats while earning a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. With two years of eligibility remaining, he graduate-transferred to the University of Michigan, where he pitched for another two years (2022–2024) while earning a master’s degree in social work with a focus on management and leadership.

In between college seasons, Eamon played in the Northwoods League for the Kalamazoo Growlers for five seasons, spanning from 2019 to 2024. During his time in Kalamazoo, he was a three-time captain, two-time All-Star, two-time postseason All-Star, and two-time Northwoods League champion. He currently holds several records, including the Northwoods League all-time wins record. In August 2024, he became the second player to be inducted into the Kalamazoo Growlers Hall of Fame. By the end of his playing career, he had totaled over 350 collegiate innings pitched across more than 130 games.

Eamon is extremely passionate about the game of baseball. When he was playing, all he ever wanted to do was compete. Now that he is retired from playing, his greatest desire is to instill the same passion and love for the game into others through coaching.

Eamon’s passions outside of baseball include golfing, rock climbing, birding, photography, watching movies, and doing trivia.

For player placement questions and requests, please click to fill out the online form below.