Waterloo, IA – The Bucks open their 2022 campaign on Monday, May 30th against the defending Great Plains Division champion, the St. Cloud Rox. Ryan Gaynor returns to the dugout as Field Manager and will join the team after finishing up other obligations. Returning Coach Tyler Willis will take interim Field Manager responsibilities until Gaynor returns to Waterloo. Additionally, Joey Rosenblum and Jack Donahue round out the 2022 Bucks coaching staff.
This will be Gaynor’s second season with the Bucks. After being announced as Waterloo’s skipper a week before the start of the 2021 season, Gaynor led the ballclub to a 42-25 record, winning both Great Plains East First and Second Half titles and sweeping the Duluth Huskies in the 2021 Great Plains East Subdivisional Series to claim the Great Plains East Championship.
Tyler Willis – Willis returns to the Bucks coaching staff after a 2021 season that saw Waterloo advance to the Great Plains Championship Game. Willis coached Bucks hitters to the top of the Northwoods League in batting average, RBI, and on-base percentage.
Willis currently serves as an assistant coach at Simpson College. He coached the Storm to a .274 team batting average, and an average of six runs and nine hits per game. Previously, Willis was the hitting coach at another American Rivers Conference school at Central College. There, he coached three players to all-conference honors and guided the Dutch to two conference tournament appearances.
As a player, Willis spent four years at nearby Wartburg College, where he played in 100 games, batting a career .277. As an everyday starter in the infield for Wartburg, Willis never posted a fielding percentage under .972 in his four years playing for the Knights.
“I want to build on the momentum and build on the excitement from last season. I get to come into work every day with players and coaches that share the same passion as I do. Trying to bring the same excitement we have to the fans each and every day that we go out and play, just like we did last season,” Willis said.
Joey Rosenblum – Rosenblum joins the 2022 Bucks coaching staff after spending the regular season as the head coach of YULA High School in Los Angeles. Rosenblum just finished his first season as the head coach of YULA after spending the previous year as the assistant coach.
Rosenblum earned a degree in psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara where, as a student, he continued his love of baseball as the president of the UCSB Club Baseball team.
“I’m extremely excited to coach the Bucks this summer! This is my first-time coaching in the Midwest and I’m ready for the journey. The end goal is to win a ring.” Rosenblum said.
Jack Donahue – The most recent addition to the 2022 Bucks staff, Jack Donahue joins after his first season as an assistant at Mineral Area College. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Stout with a degree in applied math and computer science, Donahue is now working towards his master’s degree at Mineral Area College in athletic administration.
As a player, Donahue played two seasons each at Des Moines Area Community College and UW-Stout. As a pitcher with Stout he acquired a career 3.65 ERA going 8-6 over two seasons for the Blue Devils. Donahue will help the pitching staff for the Bucks this season.
Only 15 players have reported to Waterloo so far, but they bring a variety of talent to the roster as more players begin to arrive in the Cedar Valley. Headlining the opening day roster are a pair of returning Bucks from past seasons. Two-way player Aaron Treloar and pitcher Keaton Parker.
Parker is expected to be the starting pitcher on opening day against the Rox after recording a sub-two ERA last summer with Waterloo. Additionally, a few newcomers join the Bucks for opening day including from NCAA Division I schools such as Kansas State, FIU, Northern Colorado, Dayton, Georgia State, and Hawai’i.
The current roster features two outfielders currently in Waterloo in Tai Walton out of the University of Hawai’i and Caleb Hill from Temple College in Texas. The infield currently has a bit more depth with six true infielders including Andrew Rantz (Kansas St.), Kaleb Knox (Nebraska Wesleyan), Mason Dobie (Dayton), Cameron Cromer (Northern Colorado), Will Cheatham (Glendale CC), and native Iowan Brodie Kresser (Des Moines Area CC).
In the bullpen, the Bucks roster features seven primary pitchers including two natives to the state of Iowa, Jalen Martinez (Iowa Central CC), and Monday’s probable starter Keaton Parker (Upper Iowa). Two college teammates Ernie Day and Grant Hubka both bolster the Bucks pitching talent out of Iowa Western Community College. As Daniel Flores (Milwaukee Area Tech), Trent Reddick (Georgia St.), and returnee Aaron Treloar (Glendale CC) round out the Waterloo opening day pitching staff.
As the season progresses, additional players will arrive until the Bucks hit their 35-man roster limit.
The 2021 Great Plains East Champion Bucks open their 2022 season at home on Monday, May 30 versus the St. Cloud Rox at 2:35 pm. Tickets are currently on sale. Cost Cutters Field at Riverfront Stadium, home of the Bucks, welcomed a new state of the art video board in 2016 thanks to a matching grant from the Black Hawk County Gaming Association. Team ownership has invested nearly $400,000 in stadium improvements since the end of the 2014 season including group outing areas, painted bleachers, public Wi-Fi, sound system, kids zone inflatables, wiffle ball field, and concessions equipment. Fans are encouraged to stay in touch with the Bucks by utilizing their website at www.waterloobucks.com or utilizing the Northwoods League Mobile App.
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The Waterloo Bucks 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’ 28th 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 280 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. League games are viewable live at watchnwl.com. For more information, visit www.waterloobucks.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Bucks as your favorite team.