Marauders Announce 2021 Coaching Staff

BRADENTON, Fla. – The Pittsburgh Pirates have announced the minor league managerial and coaching assignments for the 2021 season.

Jonathan Johnston will manage the Marauders this season. He spent the past ten seasons as a collegiate coach, first at UC San Diego from 2011 through 2014 and most recently at the University of North Carolina-Asheville since 2014. For both programs, Johnston served as recruiting coordinator, hitting coach, and catching coach.

The New Jersey native attended the U.S. Naval Academy, where he graduated with a degree in Ocean Engineering. He was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in 2007 and played two seasons in their minor league system as a catcher at the Low-A and High-A levels. Before finishing his playing career, Johnston served over four years in the Navy as a Surface Warfare Officer.

Former major leaguer Fernando Nieve will serve as Bradenton’s pitching coach. He enters his second season as a coach in the Pirates organization after serving as pitching coach for the GCL Pirates in 2019. A native of Puerto Caballo, Venezuela, Nieve pitched in the majors for the Houston Astros and New York Mets from 2006 through 2010.

Jonny Tucker is the Marauders’ new hitting coach. The University of Florida alum enters his second season as a coach in the Pirates system, having spent 2019 as the hitting coach for the West Virginia Black Bears. Tucker spent seven seasons as an infielder/outfielder in the Baltimore Orioles system from 2004 through 2010, followed by two years in the Washington Nationals organization before finishing his career in the independent Atlantic League from 2012 through 2015.

Jim Horner joins the staff as bench coach. From 2006 to 2015, Horner served as a manager for three different affiliates in the Seattle Mariners organization, with a brief stint on the coaching staff at Texas Tech for 2011 and 2012. He most recently held an assistant coaching role at his alma mater, Washington State University, from 2016 through 2019. As a player, Horner spent nine seasons as a catcher in the Mariners organization between 1996 and 2004, reaching as high as Triple-A.

Matt McNamee joins the staff as athletic trainer. He served in a similar role with the Bristol Pirates in 2019 and the DSL Pirates in 2018.

Nick Pressley rounds out the staff as the Marauders’ strength and conditioning coach. A coach in the Pirates system since 2018, Pressley previously worked as a strength and conditioning coach at the University of Tennessee, where he worked with both the football and baseball teams.

For more information about the Bradenton Marauders, please call 941-747-3031, visit www.BradentonMarauders.com, or email [email protected].