CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – On Monday, Bluefield announced Drew Dosch will be returning as manager for the 2025 season rounding out the league’s managerial roster. Former Major Leaguers Turner Ward and Dave Anderson will lead coaching staffs this summer, joining eight returning managers from 2024.
“I could not be more proud of our group of 2025 Appy League managers,” Appalachian League Executive Director Brian Graham said. “We have such a great group of returning and new managers, including several former Major League players, Major League All-Stars, Silver Slugger recipients, Major League coaches and World Series champions.”
“More importantly, they are passionate baseball guys who are great leaders and great instructors with tremendous character,” Graham added. “What an exciting group of ten managers to lead our 2025 Appy League teams.”
Full roster:
Bluefield Ridge Runners - Drew Dosch (Second season)
Dosch returns to Bluefield for his second season as the manager of the Ridge Runners. Dosch was a seventh round draft pick by the Baltimore Orioles in 2013. His five-year Minor League career included three All-Star selections. In 2016, Dosch was named the Orioles Elrod Hendricks Community Service Award Winner. Dosch was a three-year standout at Youngstown State and was twice an Academic All-American. In 2024, Dosch was inducted into the Youngstown State Athletic Hall of Fame.
Bristol State Liners - Turner Ward (First season)
A 12-year Major League veteran and two-time World Series Champion, Ward enters his first year with the State Liners. Ward spent 2023 and 2024 as the hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals after he was the assistant hitting coach in 2022. He previously served as the hitting coach for the Cincinnati Reds (2019), Los Angeles Dodgers (2016-18) and the Arizona Diamondbacks (2014-15) after serving as assistant hitting coach in Arizona in 2013. His prior managerial experience includes two championship seasons with the Double-A Arizona affiliate, the Mobile Bay Bears. Ward was an 18th round draft pick by the New York Yankees and debuted with the Cleveland Indians in 1990. Ward played for the Indians (1990-91), Toronto Blue Jays (1991-93), Milwaukee Brewers (1994-96), Pittsburgh Pirates (1997-99), Diamondbacks (1999-2000) and Philadelphia Phillies (2001).
Burlington Sock Puppets - Anthony Essien (Fifth season)
Essien returns to Burlington for his fifth season and fourth as the Sock Puppets manager after serving as the pitching coach in 2021 and 2022 before stepping into the managerial role midway through the 2022 campaign. Essien has led Burlington to three straight playoff appearances including the Championship game in 2022 and 2023. Essien is in his 10th season as the pitching coach at Reedley College in California. He previously spent 17 seasons as an assistant coach at Clovis High School (Calif.). During his tenure at Clovis, he coached more than 20 players that moved into the professional ranks, including Major League All-Star Ryan Cook.
Danville Otterbots - Mickey Tettleton (Third season)
Tettleton returns to Danville for his second season after leading the Otterbots to a Appy League championship in 2024. He previously served as the hitting coach for the Greeneville Flyboys in 2023. Tettleton was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the fifth round of the 1981 MLB June Amateur Draft and went on to play 14 seasons for the Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers. The three-time Silver Slugger Award winner was an All-Star in 1989 with the A’s and 1994 with the Tigers. Tettleton played collegiately at Oklahoma State and is a member of the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. Tettleton also made a cameo appearance in the 1994 hit movie “Little Big League.”
Elizabethton River Riders - Jeremy Owens (Fifth season)
Owens enters his fifth season with the River Riders, fourth as manager after spending 2021 as the team’s hitting coach. A native of nearby Johnson City, Tenn., Owens was selected in the eighth round of the 1998 draft out of Middle Tennessee State by the San Diego Padres. Owens, a former outfielder, was selected as Baseball America’s best outfielder and fastest baserunner in 2000. He played five seasons in the Padres organization and two seasons with the Boston Red Sox organization before finishing his career with the independent Southern Maryland Blue Crabs from 2008-14.
Greeneville Flyboys - Jack Wilson (Second season)
Wilson returns to Greeneville after leading the Flyboys to the Appy League Championship Game in 2024. A 12-year MLB veteran, Wilson was drafted by the Cardinals in the ninth round of the 1998 MLB Draft and made his pro debut that summer in the Appy League with the Johnson City Cardinals. Wilson debuted with the Pirates in 2001 and went on to spend nine seasons in Pittsburgh, earning an All-Star appearance and Silver Slugger award winner in 2004. Wilson, also a defensive wizard, led all of baseball in 2005 in assists (523) after previously leading all Major League shortstops in 2004 with 492. Wilson also played for the Seattle Mariners (2009-11) and Atlanta Braves (2011-12).
Johnson City Doughboys - Dave Anderson (First season)
Anderson brings more than 40 years of experience as a player and coach at the collegiate and professional levels to Johnson City. Drafted in the first round (No. 22 overall) in 1981 by the Los Angeles Dodgers, Anderson played 10 years in the Major Leagues with the Dodgers (1983-89, 1992) and the San Francisco Giants (1990-91). Anderson was a member of the Dodgers 1988 World Series Championship team. In Game 1 of the Fall Classic, he was on-deck and then recalled for Kirk Gibson before Gibson’s famous walk-off home run. Anderson has held numerous Minor League coaching positions with the Tigers, Dodgers, Rangers, Orioles and Los Angeles Angels organizations. From 2009-13, he was a member of the Rangers Major League coaching staff that earned two American League pennants. Anderson played collegiately at the University of Memphis, where he was a two sport athlete in baseball and football. He was inducted into the Memphis “M Club Hall of Fame” in 1989.
Kingsport Axmen - Rick Adair (Second season)
Adair returns to Kingsport after leading the Axmen to the playoffs in 2024. Adair spent ten total seasons as a Major League pitching coach with the Indians, Tigers, Mariners and Orioles. Prior to that, he coached at every level of the Minor Leagues, including being a pitching coordinator for the Tigers, Braves and Rangers. Adair was a third round draft pick by the Mariners in 1979 and pitched seven years in the Mariners organization. When his playing career ended, Adair was hired by the Indians in 1986 to work as an area scout and then coach the Burlington Indians pitchers once the Appy League season began.
Pulaski River Turtles - Bill Kinneberg (Third season)
Kinneberg returns for his second season managing Pulaski after previously managing the Bristol State Liners in 2023. Kinneberg served as the head coach at the University of Utah from 2005 until his retirement in 2021, compiling 365 wins. In 2016, he led Utah to its first-ever Pac-12 Conference title and was named Pac-12 Baseball Coach of the Year. Kinneberg managed the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team in 2007 and 2010, and was the pitching coach in 1999. Kinneberg played collegiately at Central Arizona College and the University of Arizona.
Tri-State Coal Cats - Tommy Gregg (Third season)
Gregg led the Coal Cats in their inaugural season in 2024 after coaching for the Pulaski River Turtles in 2023. Gregg brings more than 35 years of professional experience as a player and coach. The Pirates selected Gregg in the seventh round of the 1985 MLB Draft, and he made his debut with the Pirates during the 1987 season. Gregg played nine seasons in the Major Leagues for the Pirates (1987-88), Braves (1988-92, 1997), Reds (1993) and Florida Marlins (1995). He would go on to be a Minor League hitting coach for 21 seasons with the Braves, Cardinals, Royals and Marlins organizations. Gregg was a standout football and baseball player at Wake Forest and was inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.
About the Appalachian League
Founded in 1911, the Appalachian League is one of the longest-running baseball leagues in history. The Appy League is the only collegiate summer league under MLB and USA Baseball’s Prospect Development Pipeline (“PDP”) and is an integral part of the identification and development process for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Teams and other future National teams.
For more information about the Appalachian League, visit appyleague.com or follow @appyleague & @appyleaguedata on Twitter/X, and @appyleague on Instagram.
