LA CROSSE, WIS. – After leading the La Crosse Loggers to the brink of a Northwoods League championship in 2024, one year after guiding the Lumbermen to the Great Plains Divisional Championship, field manager Josh Frye will be returning for a third season at the helm in 2025, team officials announced today.
Frye, a California native, has amassed a 73-65 record over the past two seasons as the Loggers skipper having taken La Crosse to the postseason in each of those campaigns. This past summer the Loggers captured the first-half Great Plains East Division title with a 22-12 mark that was propelled by a nine-game winning streak between June 20-26. The second half was more challenging as the Lumbermen struggled to an 11-25 mark before getting red-hot when the playoffs started and rattled off three wins in a row over division foes Duluth and St. Cloud to advance to the NWL finale where they dropped a heartbreaker in 14 innings to the Kalamazoo Growlers, 8-7.
“I’m honored to be invited back to La Crosse for the 2025 season, marking my 8th year in the Northwoods League,” exclaimed Frye. “I’m excited to build on last year’s successes and lessons as we continue our journey toward the ultimate goal of bringing a Northwoods League Championship back home to La Crosse.”
Loggers team president is thrilled to have Frye back in the dugout once again. “Josh is a leader and winner. Since his time as a player with us in 2012 to his time now as a manager, he knows how to win through development in the Northwoods League and that is evident in the way that he guides our team and helps our players get better each summer.” Goodell continued, “On top of that, Josh has a genuine love for our La Crosse community and really takes the privilege of being our skipper to heart.”
When Coach Frye returns in 2025, it will mark his eighth season on the Northwoods League circuit. Frye was a key part of the Loggers pitching staff back in 2012 when La Crosse won it’s only NWL title and he returned a year later to lead the NWL in strikeouts while going 6-3 with a 3.31 ERA en route to earning mid-season and postseason all-NWL honors as well as the 2013 Loggers Cy Young Award.
As a collegiate pitcher at Long Beach State, Frye was named a 2014 first team all-Big West pitcher and a 2014 second team all-American after going 8-1 with a 1.94 ERA. In addition to his time with the Loggers, Frye also played summer ball for the Long Beach Legends of the California Collegiate League, where he was their 2012 Pitcher of the Year and was inducted into the Long Beach Legends Hall of Fame in 2015.
Frye also played professionally after college, spending two years in the Los Angeles Angels organization, a year in the Frontier League and finished his final two years in the Western Australia League. He began his coaching career in 2016 as the Assistant Pitching Coach at Long Beach State in 2016, before becoming the pitching coach at Cypress College. The Long Beach, Calif. native had also spent three previous summers as a pitching coach in the NWL, including a stop with the Rochester Honkers during the summer of 2017-18 along with leading the Loggers pitching staff in 2022 before becoming the manager prior to the start of the 2023 season. Frye also currently serves as the pitching coach at Long Beach City Community College.
The 2025 slate of games is set to be released later this fall from the Northwoods League office. Season tickets and ticket packages for the 23rd season of Loggers Baseball will go on sale next month with information at www.lacrosseloggers.com or by calling the Loggers ticket office at 608-796-9553. Fans can also visit the Loggers office at 1225 Caledonia Street, La Crosse between 8:30-5, Monday thru Friday.
####
The La Crosse Loggers 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. Now in its’ 31st season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world 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, 360 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 (TEX), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (STL) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (ATL). 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. League games are viewable live at watchnwl.com and on ESPN+. For more information, visit www.lacrosseloggers.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Loggers as your favorite team.