2025 Cedar Rapids Kernels Coaching Staff Announced
Cedar Rapids, IA - In conjunction with the Minnesota Twins, the Cedar Rapids Kernels are pleased to announce the Kernels 2025 coaching staff. Manager Brian Meyer joins the Kernels for his first season at the helm in Cedar Rapids, replacing Brian Dinkelman who managed the Kernels each of the last
Cedar Rapids, IA - In conjunction with the Minnesota Twins, the Cedar Rapids Kernels are pleased to announce the Kernels 2025 coaching staff. Manager Brian Meyer joins the Kernels for his first season at the helm in Cedar Rapids, replacing Brian Dinkelman who managed the Kernels each of the last five seasons. Joining him are fellow newcomers to Cedar Rapids, Pitching Coach Hunter Townsend, Hitting and Development Coach Julian Gonzalez, Lead Athletic Trainer Taylor Carpenter, Assistant Athletic Trainer Morgan Leichtenberger and Fellow, Baseball Technology Marcus Hill. Pitching Coach Argenis Angulo and Hitting Coach CJ Baker return for their second season in Cedar Rapids, while Strength & Conditioning Coach Blake Kretovics is back for his third season with the Kernels.
Manager Brian Meyer (1st Season) - 2022 Florida State League Manager of the Year Brian Meyer joins the Kernels as manager in 2025 after spending the last four seasons in that same role with single-A Fort Myers. In his four seasons with the Mighty Mussels, Meyer posted an overall record of 262-236 (.526), finishing over .500 every year while leading Fort Myers to an FSL West Division title and a playoff berth in 2022. A native of North Royalton, Ohio, Meyer played second base for three seasons at Otterbein College before beginning his coaching career as the school’s hitting coach in 2007. After three years with the Cardinals, Meyer made the jump to Division One as an assistant coach at Wright State for two seasons, followed by a five-year stint as the Director of baseball operations at Tulane and three seasons as an assistant coach at Butler. In 2020, Meyer joined the Twins organization as the hitting coach for the Mighty Mussels before the cancellation of the season, and in 2021, he was named manager. Meyer takes the reins from Brian Dinkelman, who managed the Kernels each of the last five seasons, finishing his time in Cedar Rapids with 364 wins, the most in modern franchise history.
Pitching Coach Argenis Angulo (2nd Season) - Pitching Coach Argenis Angulo returns to the Kernels for his second season in Cedar Rapids in 2025. Born in Araure, Venezuela, Angulo was drafted by Cleveland in the 19th round of the 2014 MLB draft. The right-handed pitcher spent time in the Cleveland and Oakland organizations before closing out his career in 2022 with the Twins AA affiliate, the Wichita Wind Surge. Following his retirement from professional baseball, Angulo spent 2023 as the pitching coach for the FCL Twins and last season oversaw a Kernels staff that included Zebby Matthews, who was named Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Year.
Pitching Coach Hunter Townsend (1st Season) - Pitching Coach Hunter Townsend joins the Kernels for his first season in Cedar Rapids and first in professional baseball in 2025. Originally from Houston, Texas, Townsend joins the Kernels and the Twins organization after spending the last three years as a pitching performance coach at Tread Athletics. As a player, Townsend pitched four seasons at the University of Charleston in Charleston, West Virginia, before playing his graduate season at East Tennessee State in 2021.
Hitting Coach CJ Baker (2nd Season) - CJ Baker returns to the Kernels staff for his second season in Cedar Rapids in 2025. Last season, his first in professional baseball, Baker led a Kernels lineup that led the Midwest League in slugging percentage, doubles and total bases while finishing in second in home runs and OPS. Before joining the Twins organization, Baker logged nine years of collegiate coaching experience, most recently as the Video, Technology and Analytics Coordinator for two seasons at Stanford University in 2022 and 2023. Before his time in Palo Alto, Baker also made coaching stops at Bucknell University, Lock Haven University and Seattle University.
Hitting and Development Coach Julian Gonzalez (1st Season) - Hitting and Development Coach Julian Gonzalez joins the Kernels for his first season with Cedar Rapids and the Twins organization in 2025. The Florida native brings three years of professional coaching experience after spending the last three seasons as a MiLB hitting coach in the Orioles system. With Baltimore, Gonzalez spent 2022 and 2023 as the hitting coach for the DSL Orioles before making the jump to hitting coach for the FSL Orioles in 2024. With a coaching career that dates back to his college days, Gonzalez got his start as a student assistant with the North Florida University softball team in 2016 before coaching both baseball and softball at the high school level prior to his jump to professional baseball in 2022.
Strength & Conditioning Coach Blake Kretovics (3rd Season) - The lone returning Kernels staff member from the 2023 Midwest League Championship team, Strength and Conditioning Coach Blake Kretovics returns for his third season in Cedar Rapids in 2025. As a native of New Richmond, Wisconsin, Kretovics played college baseball at Winona State University in Winona, Minnesota, where he studied Exercise Science, Strength and Conditioning. Kretovics also has experience working with the Twins and at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.
Lead Athletic Trainer Taylor Carpenter (1st Season) - Lead Athletic Trainer Taylor Carpenter joins the Kernels for her fourth season with the Twins and first in Cedar Rapids in 2025. The Wisconsin native returns to the Midwest after spending each of the last two seasons as an assistant athletic trainer under head trainer Ben Myers with triple-A St. Paul. Carpenter started in the Twins organization in 2022 as the assistant athletic trainer with AA Wichita. Originally from Clintonville, Wisconsin, Carpenter earned a degree in Athletic Training from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in 2018 and began her career in athletic training at Florida Gulf Coast University.
Assistant Athletic Trainer Morgan Leichtenberger (1st Season) - Assistant Athletic Trainer Morgan Leichtenberger joins the Kernels in her third season with the Twins organization and first in Cedar Rapids. After joining the Twins in 2022, Leichtenberger served as an assistant athletic trainer for the FCL Twins in her first season in 2023 and held that same role with single-A Fort Myers in 2024. Leichtenberger earned a degree in athletic training from Penn State University in 2020 and a master's from A.T. Still University in 2022. She began in professional baseball as an Athletic Training intern with the Diamondbacks in 2019 and also served as an Athletic Training Associate with the Dodgers in 2022.
Fellow, Baseball Technology Marcus Hill (1st Season) - Baseball Technology Fellow Marcus Hill joins the Kernels for his second season in the Twins organization in 2025. A native of Southlake, Texas, Hill enjoyed a three-year playing career as an outfielder at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Kentucky, graduating with a degree in Marketing in 2021. Hill got his start in professional baseball as a Minor League Video Assistant with the Rockies in the 2022 season and spent last season as a part of the Twins baseball technology staff.
The Kernels Opening Night for 2025 is Tuesday, April 8th, at 6:35 PM vs. Beloit. Single-game tickets go on sale on Tuesday, March 11th. Season tickets, coupon books, and group outing bookings are available now. Visit Kernels.com or call 319-363-3887.
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