Nick Stanley Returning as Manager of the Mudcats

ZEBULON, N.C. – The Carolina Mudcats, in conjunction with the Milwaukee Brewers, are thrilled to announce that Nick Stanley is returning as manager of the Mudcats for the 2025 season. The announcement came today as the Brewers announced their player development staff assignments for the 2025 season, including Minor League managers and coaches for Carolina and Milwaukee’s six other affiliates.

Stanley will lead the Mudcats coaching staff that includes Pitching Coach Paul Moeller, Pitching Coach Blake Nation, Hitting Coach Austin Turner, Associate Coach Ricky Carvajal, Athletic Trainer Matt Pawlik and Strength & Conditioning Specialist Jim Buckley.

Moeller, Nation, Carvajal, Pawlik and Buckley all enter their first year with the Mudcats. Stanley and Turner, meanwhile, are the lone returnees.

Stanley, 37, is back for his second season at the helm of the Mudcats. Stanley, however, is entering his eighth season in the Milwaukee system having previously worked as bench coach of Double-A Biloxi in 2023, hitting coach with High-A Wisconsin from 2021 through 2022, hitting coach with Rookie level Rocky Mountain in 2019 and hitting coach for the Dominican Summer League's DSL Indians/Brewers co-op team in 2018. He was additionally scheduled to manage the AZL Brewers Gold during the COVID-19 pandemic canceled season in 2020. Stanley has also accumulated numerous years of coaching experience in New Zealand at various levels.

Moeller, 35, enters his first season as pitching coach of the Mudcats and his sixth overall season as a coach in the Milwaukee system. He previously worked as a bullpen coach with Double-A Biloxi in 2024 and half of 2023, pitching coach with ACL Brewers in 2022 & 2023 and the DSL Brewers 2 in the same capacity in 2021.

Before joining the Brewers, Moeller spent the 2019/20 off-season as a volunteer assistant with Santa Clara University at the NCAA DI level. He served as a volunteer assistant coach with San Francisco State in 2019 at the NCAA DII level. Moeller also spent seven years with the Walbeck Baseball Academy as an instructor, director of training, membership manager and sales manager. His playing career, he pitched for three years at the NCAA level, including two with the University of Pacific in the Big West and San Francisco in the California Collegiate Athletic Conference.

Nation, 37, enters his first season with Carolina as pitching coach. Last year, he was in the same role for the ACL Brewers. In 2023, Nation was development coach for DSL Brewers Blue. Before joining the Brewers organization, Nation served as the Towson University pitching coach in 2021 & 2022. He joined the staff from Hofstra University, where he served in the same role for three seasons.

He formerly had stops at Florida SW State College and the University of Tampa, plus he was the head coach of the Vermont Mountaineers in the New England Collegiate Baseball League. A former 22nd round pick by the Mariners out of Georgia Southern, Nation, a 2012 graduate of GSU, pitched six years in the professional ranks, finishing with a 2.78 ERA and 21-6 record.

Turner, 29, returns for his second season as hitting coach of the Mudcats. Overall, the Ardmore, AL native is entering his fourth season as a hitting coach in the Brewers system having spent the 2022 & 2023 season with the DSL Brewers 1 and DSL Brewers Gold respectively. Before joining the Brewers, Turner was the hitting coach for the Coastal Plain League’s Wilmington Sharks in 2021 and an assistant coach at John A. Logan College (IL) from 2020-2022 and Alabama A&M from 2018-2020. Turner played collegiately at Alabama A&M (2014-16). Turner attended Ardmore High School in Ardmore, AL.

Carvajal, 29, enters his first season as the associate coach with the Mudcats. Last year, he was the development coach for the AZL Brewers. In 2023, Carvajal joined the Brewers organization as a player development intern.

He was an assistant baseball coach at Paine College (GA) in 2018 & 2019. He then moved over to the softball team at Paine and worked as their head coach from 2019 through early 2023. Carvajal played college ball at the College of the Albemarle (NC) and Paine College (GA). He was a two-time HBCU All-American and picked up all-conference accolades twice.

Pawlik, 27, enters his first season as the athletic trainer with the Mudcats. He returns to the Brewers organization after serving as the Associate Athletic Trainer with the Biloxi Shuckers in 2022. Last year, he was with TMI Sports Medicine as an athletic trainer. In 2023, Pawlik was the assistant athletic trainer for the Stephen F. Austin State University baseball team. He is a graduate Northern Illinois University and Central Michigan University.

Buckley, 31, enters his first season as strength and conditioning specialist with the Mudcats. He is a graduate of Castleton University in Vermont. For the past two seasons, Buckley was in the same role with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Before joining the Brewers organization, he was the strength & conditioning coach of the Fort Wayne TinCaps of the Midwest League in 2022.

Brendon Cozier returns for his second season with the Mudcats as the home clubhouse manager. The Brewers hired Cozier as the affiliate clubhouse manager in 2023. Before joining the Brewers organization, Cozier was with the Colorado Rockies organization from 2021-2023. He graduated from Central Michigan University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Sports Management.

Carolina’s 2024 pitching coach, Michael O’Neal, was assigned to High-A Wisconsin where he will serve in the same role for the Timber Rattlers in 2025. Marcelo Alfonsin and Liu Rodriguez, the 2024 coaches were assigned to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and Biloxi Shuckers, respectively, in the same roles.

The Mudcats officially open the 2025 season on Friday, April 4 against the defending Carolina League Champion, Fredericksburg Nationals at Five County Stadium in Zebulon, N.C.

Season ticket packages, mini plans, group options, as well as luxury suite packages and DRB Homes Sky Lounge reservations in the US Foods Club Level are all available now by visiting carolinamudcats.com, by calling (919) 269-2287 and by visiting the Five County Stadium front office in Zebulon.

The Carolina Mudcats are the officially licensed Class-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. First established in 1991, the Mudcats have provided affordable family fun for over 30 years at Five County Stadium in Zebulon, N.C. The 2025 season will celebrate the 35^th year of the Carolina Mudcats. Follow the Mudcats online at www.carolinamudcats.com, and on social media at facebook.com/carolinamudcats, x.com/carolinamudcats, tiktok.com/@carolinamudcats and instagram.com/carolinamudcats.