CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The Appalachian League has announced its data coordinator interns for the 2026 season.
Each data coordinator serves as the technology liaison for their respective team, managing in-game video operations and the technology needed for data capture and player development. They are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the data while working closely with the Appalachian League’s technology partners to identify and troubleshoot issues. Most importantly, each data coordinator is essential in distributing information to players, coaches and scouts.
“The Appalachian League is excited to welcome such a great group of data coordinators for the 2026 season,” Appalachian League executive director Brian Graham said. “The addition of this group sets our league apart from all other summer leagues and plays a key role in helping us become the best collegiate summer baseball league in the country.”
This internship provides first-hand experience of being a part of a coaching staff and hands-on experience with the game’s best technology. Since 2022, more than 15 former data coordinators have gone on to work for Major League organizations.
Here are the Appy League’s data coordinators for the 2026 season:
Andrew O’Connor, Bluefield Ridge Runners
O’Connor recently graduated from the College of the Holy Cross where he was an international studies major with a middle eastern studies minor. While at Holy Cross, O’Connor served as the director of analytics for the baseball team since the spring of 2023. He was a baseball operations intern in the Cape Cod League in 2025 and worked in the New England Collegiate Baseball League in 2023-24.
Gianna Ondrey, Burlington Sock Puppets
Ondrey recently finished her second year as a TrackMan analyst for the Florida Southern baseball team. With the baseball team she tagged pitches to identify pitch types within repertoires, produced reports highlighting key performance metrics and translated data for players and coaches. Ondrey is a rising senior at Florida Southern College where she is pursuing a bachelor of science in sports business management.
Joey Thomalla, Danville Otterbots
Thomalla is a rising senior at the University of Notre Dame where he is studying business analytics, applied mathematics and statistics. Thomalla brings two years of experience as a student manager with the Notre Dame baseball team to Danville. He worked last summer as a business intelligence analyst at Wells Lamont in Skokie, Ill.
Connor Nicolas, Elizabethton River Riders
Nicolas joins the River Riders after graduating with a degree in sports management from Indiana University, where he spent the past two seasons as a bullpen catcher for the baseball team. Last summer, Nicolas worked as a baseball operations intern and bullpen catcher for the Brewster Whitecaps in the Cape Cod League. He has also worked as a scouting and data intern with Prep Baseball Illinois.
Seamus Blaney, Greeneville Flyboys
Blaney earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in business intelligence and analytics from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. During his time at school he served as the head manager for the Division I baseball team, focusing on player and game analytics. In addition, he worked with the athletic department as an athletic operations assistant.
Cameron Poppen, Johnson City Doughboys
Poppen joins the Doughboys after graduating from Point Loma Nazarene University, where he worked as an analyst for the baseball team. In this role, he operated TrackMan during games and assisted with player development reports, scouting tools and visual dashboards for coaches and players. He is passionate about using analytics to support player development and game strategy.
Kyle Rodriguez, Kingsport Axmen
Rodriguez recently graduated from the University of Iowa with a major in economics and a minor in sport and rec management. While at Iowa, Rodriguez served as a student manager for the Iowa baseball team. He started as a baseball operations assistant and finished as the team lead for the video and tech department. During the past two summers, Rodriguez worked as an area scout for Prep Baseball Illinois/Wisconsin.
Eli Grant, Pulaski River Turtles
Grant is in his second season as a student baseball manager at Southeast Missouri State University, where he assists with player development through analytics, video and technology operations for the Redhawks baseball program. Grant spent two summers in the Prospect League as a scoring systems supervisor and TrackMan operator for the Cape Catfish. He will graduate from Southeast Missouri State in December with a degree in sports management and minor in business.
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 X, and @appyleague on Instagram.
