Joe Ayrault, 49, has led the Mudcats to a 203-212 (.489) record over the last four seasons, and is 500-591 (.458) over nine seasons overall as manager of Milwaukee's Class-A affiliate. He previously managed Milwaukee's Class-A Advanced club, the Brevard County Manatees of the Florida State League from 2012 through 2016 before transferring with the Brewers to the Mudcats and the Carolina League in 2017.

Ayrault's 203 managerial victories are the most on Carolina's all-time managerial wins list. Ayrault enters the 2021 season tied for the most games managed in team history having managed 415 games in Carolina; tying him with current Cincinnati Reds Manager David Bell who managed the Mudcats from 2009 through 2011.

A product of the famed Sarasota High School baseball program, Ayrault is entering his 12th season as a manager in Milwaukee's farm system and 15th season as a manager in Minor League Baseball. Overall, Ayrault owns a 766-891 (.462) career record as a Minor League manager including his time as a manager in the Cincinnati Reds system. He began his managerial career with the Sarasota Reds in 2007 before joining the Brewers in 2010 as skipper of the Pioneer League's Helena Brewers. In 2010, Ayrault went on to earn Pioneer League Co-Manager of the Year honors while leading Helena to a 41-34 record and the Pioneer League championship in his first season at the helm. A former catcher, Ayrault was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the fifth round of the 1990 amateur draft and went on to spend his entire playing career (1990-1997) in the Atlanta organization; reaching the majors with Atlanta in 1996.

Carson Cross, 29, is in his first year with the Mudcats and his third season overall in the Brewers system. He originally worked as a development coach at the Brewers complex in Phoenix, Arizona in 2019 and was scheduled to be the pitching coach at Low-A Wisconsin in 2020. Before his time with the Brewers, the Brentwood, New Hampshire native, previously worked as pitching coordinator for Northeast Baseball in 2018. He also pitched professionally with the State College Spikes (NY Penn League) in the St. Louis Cardinals in 2015 and 2016. Cross pitched collegiately at UConn and was teammates with former Mudcats catcher Max McDowell in 2013, 2014 (missed season due to injury) and 2015. Cross' father Jeff played in the NBA for the Los Angeles Clippers, and his mother Carol is a former member of the U.S. National Freestyle ski team.

Eric Theisen, 36, is in his first season with the Mudcats and his first overall in the Brewers system. Theisen was most recently the Head Coach at Hillsdale College (NCAA Division II) in Hillsdale, Michigan. Theisen led the way at Hillsdale from 2014 through 2020 and led the Chargers to the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) title in 2018. Previously he led Hillsdale to its first appearance in an NCAA Baseball Regional in 2016 and was named Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. The Adrian, Michigan native played collegiately at Illinois State from 2005 through 2008 where he set the school record for most appearances. He later played for the Frontier League’s Traverse City Beach Bums the Brussels Kangaroos in Belgium. His father, Gordie, is currently the Recruiting Coordinator and Pitching Coach at Hillsdale and has coached college baseball in the state of Michigan for over two decades.

Liu Rodriguez, 44, is in his first season with the Mudcats and his ninth overall with the Brewers. He was most recently assigned as the manager of the Rocky Mountain Vibes in 2019 and again in 2020 before the season was lost due to Covid-19. The Venezuelan born Rodriguez also held coaching roles with Rookie Arizona in 2014, Class-A Wisconsin in 2015 and Rookie Helena from 2016 through 2018. Rodriguez played seven Minor League seasons from 1995 through 2001 and one Major League season in 1999 with the Chicago White Sox.

Matt Deal is in his third year with the Mudcats and his sixth as a team athletic trainer in the Milwaukee system. His first season in the organization came in 2015 with the Dominican Summer League Brewers and continued with the Arizona League Brewers in 2016. Deal then went on to join the Pioneer League’s Helena Brewers in 2017 and 2018, before joining Carolina in 2019.

Jonah Mergen begins his fifth straight year with the Mudcats and 11th overall in the Milwaukee organization. A native of McFarland, WI, Mergen has also worked with the Greeneville Astros and in the strength and conditioning departments at NC State University, UW-La Crosse and the National Strength and Conditioning Association World Headquarters. He first graduated from St. Ambrose University with a dual degree in exercise science and Spanish in 2007, before receiving his master’s from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in human performance in 2009.