PULASKI, Va. – With a new baseball season less than a month away, the Pulaski River Turtles are unveiling the on-field staff that will lead the team’s 2024 Appalachian League campaign.
Staff members joining manager Bill Kinneberg include pitching coach Ted Power, hitting coach Carlos Varela and coach Tommy Murphy.
Bill Kinneberg
Bill Kinneberg will captain the River Turtles in 2024 following one season as the manager of the Bristol State Liners in 2023. Regarded as one of the most accomplished head coaches in the history of the University of Utah’s baseball program, Kinneberg amassed 381 wins, two NCAA Tournament appearances, one Mountain West tournament championship and one Pac-12 conference title during his 18-year career (1996, 2005-21). Kinneberg received the Pac-12 Baseball Coach of the Year award in 2016. He retired from full time coaching following Utah’s 2021 season.
Head coaching stints at UTEP (1985) and Wyoming (1986-92) preceded his tenure at Utah. His teams established school records for victories in a season at UTEP in 1985 and Wyoming in 1990, an achievement that earned him WAC Coach of the Year honors.
Other milestones in Kinneberg’s extensive coaching career include three seasons on the staff of the USA National Team, including one season as manager of the program in 2010. He coached for two seasons in the Chicago White Sox Minor League system. He has held assistant coaching positions at UTEP, Arizona State and Arizona, where he played his final two seasons of college baseball as a pitcher in 1978 and 1979.
Ted Power
Longtime Major League pitcher and coach Ted Power returns to Pulaski this summer following two seasons as the pitching coach of the Bristol State Liners. Power served as the bullpen coach for the Cincinnati Reds from 2016-18. He also worked throughout the club’s Minor League system as the pitching coach for the Rookie Advanced League Billings Mustangs (2000-01), High-A Dayton Dragons (2002) and Triple-A Louisville Bats (2006-16).
Over the course of his 13-year MLB playing career Power pitched for eight different teams, posting a 4.00 ERA over 564 appearances with 701 strikeouts and 70 saves. In his first of two stints with the Reds, he led the National League with 78 appearances in 1984, recorded a career-high 27 saves in 1985 and amassed 204.0 innings over 34 starts in 1987. In 1990, Power helped the Pittsburgh Pirates reach the NL Championship Series, starting Game 6 for the Bucs. He also pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians and Seattle Mariners. Power was drafted in the fifth round of the 1976 MLB Draft out of Kansas State.
Carlos Varela
Carlos Varela is the head coach of the defending North Carolina state champion Wake Forest High School Cougars in Wake Forest, N.C. The success of his baseball program has earned Varela three consecutive conference Coach of the Year awards (2022-24). Under Varela’s leadership, the program has produced one first round draft pick player (2022) and the development of 14 Division I players since 2020.
In addition to his head coaching role at Wake Forest, Varela has worked as a USA Baseball scout for the 12-14U National Team, where he spent two years scouting and developing young talent on the national stage. His impact on the sport has extended to the professional ranks, with more than 20 Minor and Major League players benefiting from his guidance and expertise.
Varela played collegiate baseball at Western Nebraska and transitioned to coaching following the conclusion of his playing career.
Tommy Murphy
Tommy Murphy is in his second season as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Mary Washington. During his first season at Mary Washington, the Eagles made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 13 years. In addition to his coaching duties at Mary Washington, Murphy has been serving as the assistant coach for the Ireland National Team since 2020. In the summer of 2023, Murphy served as the Bristol State Liners' hitting coach.
Prior to Mary Washington, Murphy spent two years at Hanover College serving as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. In the spring of 2022, Murphy helped guide the Panthers to their first conference tournament appearance since 2005. In the summer of 2022, Murphy served as the assistant coach for the Amsterdam Mohawks (N.Y.), champions of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League.
Murphy graduated in 2020 from Otterbein University, where he helped lead the Cardinals to back-to-back Ohio Athletic Conference Championships.
