Field Staff

Ricky Rivera returns to Corpus Christi for his second season as the skipper of the Hooks. Rivera comes to South Texas following a two-year run at the helm of the Houston Astros Class A post in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Rivera is the 10th manager in 21 seasons of Hooks Baseball.

Prior to the start of last season, Rivera was named manager of the year in the Puerto Rican winter league after piloting San Juan to the championship series for the first time since 1997. At the time of winning the award, Rivera was the youngest manager in the circuit, and ultimately represented Puerto Rico in the 2025 Caribbean Series, serving as third base coach for Mayagüez.

A native of Dorado, Puerto Rico, Rivera officially began his Astros tenure in December 2019 before managing in the Florida Complex League in 2021 and 2022.

A right-handed pitcher and infield in college, Rivera helped Northeastern Oklahoma A&M win regular season titles in 2012 and 2013. He then transferred to Central Missouri, the alma mater of Astros owner Jim Crane, pitching two seasons for the Mules. Rivera earned a Communications degree at Central Missouri, where he was also a graduate assistant coach.

Zach Wilkins arrives in Corpus Christi for the 2026 season as pitching coach for the Hooks. Wilkins, who coached at High-A Asheville in 2025, joined the Astros organization in 2023 and spent his first two seasons as a pitching coach for the Fayetteville Woodpeckers.

Wilkins’ full time coaching journey began in 2020 where he managed the pitching staff at Utah Tech University. Formerly known as Dixie State, Wilkins helped guide the program through their transition to Division I. Following the conclusion of the 2022 season, Wilkins departed from the Trailblazers to join the coaching staff at Iowa Western Community College.

Wilkins played college baseball for two years at Palomar College in San Marcos, California, recording a pair of Pacific Coast Conference championships in 2013 and 2014. Wilkins then transferred to the University of Nevada where he played under current LSU head coach Jay Johnson.

During his junior year in 2015, Wilkins helped guide the Wolfpack to their first Mountain West Conference Championship. Once Wilkins completed his stint in Reno, the Wolfpack pitcher joined Johnson as a graduate assistant at the University of Arizona.

Wilkins is the son of former MLB pitcher Dean Wilkins. Zach’s father spent three years in the majors’ featuring stops with the Cubs and Astros.

Bobby Bell returns to Corpus Christi for his fourth season with the Hooks. Bell joined the Astros player development system prior to the 2023 campaign, bringing with him over 20 years of professional baseball experience.

In addition to coaching in the Anaheim Angels, Miami Marlins and Milwaukee Brewers organizations, Bell has instructed in independent ball while leading hitting clinics across the country.

A resident of Douglas, Georgia, Bell’s stops include the Greensboro Grasshoppers (Single-A South Atlantic League), Jupiter Hammerheads (High-A Florida State League), Carolina Mudcats (High-A Carolina League), Frontier League, and Northern League.

Signed in 1986 as a minor league free agent with the California Angels out of Mesa State College, now Colorado Mesa University, the Lafayette, Indiana native played in parts of three pro seasons while seeing action at catcher and third base.

Jeremy Cologna joins the Hooks for the 2026 campaign after spending time as assistant coach at Missouri State University. Cologna’s arrival in Corpus Christi marks his first year with the Houston Astros Organization.

Cologna’s time in Springfield dates to 2021 when he served as a volunteer assistant with the Bears. Following the conclusion of the 2021 season, Cologna was promoted to the Director of Player Development. In this role, he guided Drake Balwin to the 96th overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, the highest-drafted catcher in MSU history.

Cologna spent a pair of seasons with the New York Mets organization. In 2023, he was development coach for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies of the Double-A Eastern League. Heading into the 2024 campaign, Cologna made his way to Florida where he operated spring training duties and served as the bench coach for Class A St. Lucie.

Jeremy played collegiately for two seasons at St. Charles Community College before transferring to Avila University. During his time with the Eagles, Cologna captured back-to-back 30-win seasons as a pitcher and catcher.

Cologna graduated from Avila in 2019 with a business administration degree before joining the university’s baseball coaching staff for two seasons. In addition to his bachelor’s degree, Cologna received his Master’s in sports management from Missouri State.

Jennifer Bardales returns to Corpus Christi for her sixth campaign with the Houston Astros. Prior to debuting with the Hooks in 2024, Bardales served at the Astros Class-A post in Fayetteville, North Carolina in 2023.

In 2022, the Houston native won Florida Complex League Athletic Trainer of the Year honors by the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society while working at Houston’s training outpost in West Palm Beach.

Bardales, who owns a master’s degree in athletic training from the University of Houston, also graduated from UTSA (Bachelor of Science, Kinesiology, 2017), San Jacinto College (Associate of Arts, 2015), and Dobie High School where she participated in the sports medicine program and served as a member of HOSA, a student organization for future healthcare professionals.

Bardales augmented her time in college classrooms by being a student athletic trainer for the Roadrunners, Cougars, and Rice Owls. She is currently active in the National Athletic Training Association, Southwest Athletic Trainers’ Association, the Greater Houston Athletic Trainers’ Society, and PBATS.

Jennifer’s hobbies include yoga, reading, and cooking. She credits her success to her parents who met in Houston after immigrating to the United States. Rene and Vanessa pushed their two daughters to pursue higher education. Jennifer and her sister, Veronica, both own three college degrees. Veronica is a trauma ICU nurse in Houston.

Kevin Rivera is back for his second year as Hooks strength coach. Prior to joining the club in 2025, Rivera served a two-year stint at the Houston Astros Class-A affiliate in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Rivera’s Astros tenure began in the Dominican Summer League in 2021. The next year, he operated from the Florida Complex League in West Palm Beach.

Rivera received his bachelor’s degree in health sciences from Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, New Hampshire, where he was a four-year member of the track and field team. He then earned a master’s in kinesiology and exercise science at Long Island University in Brooklyn, New York.

A native of Long Island’s Huntington Station, Rivera underwent a seasonal stint with the Detroit Tigers in 2020 after designing and implementing conditioning programs for the USA Field Hockey Women’s National Team in 2019.

Rivera is accredited by the National Strength and Conditioning Association as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.

In the offseason, Kevin volunteers at his alma mater, Walt Whitman High School, helping student athletes learn the proper mechanics of weight training, shot put and discus throw.