Dunedin Blue Jays Announce 2026 Coaching Staff

DUNEDIN, FL - The Toronto Blue Jays have announced the 2026 coaching staff for the Class-A Dunedin Blue Jays, led by first-year manager Ryan Casteel.

Casteel makes his managerial debut in 2026 following a 14-year professional playing career. A four-time Minor League All-Star, he spent time in the Colorado Rockies, Seattle Mariners, and Atlanta Braves farm systems, appearing in nearly 900 career games. Casteel announced his retirement in July 2024 and immediately transitioned into coaching with Atlanta’s Triple-A affiliate, the Gwinnett Stripers. He then served as a coach with the FCL Braves in 2025 before stepping into his first managerial role with Dunedin.

Joining Casteel is Bench Coach Ashley Stephenson, who returns for her second season on Dunedin’s coaching staff and fourth with the Blue Jays organization. Stephenson spent the 2025 season as a Position Coach for Dunedin, primarily working with the outfielders. She spent the prior two seasons in the same role with the High-A Vancouver Canadians, where she helped guide the club to a Northwest League championship in 2023.

Inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2024, Stephenson has enjoyed a storied multi-sport career. She starred collegiately in hockey at Wilfrid Laurier University, winning four conference titles and a CIS National Championship before playing professionally in both the National Women’s Hockey League and Canadian Women’s Hockey League.

On the diamond, Stephenson represented Canada’s women’s national baseball team from 2004–2018, earning two Team MVP honors, an All-Star selection at third base at the 2008 IBAF World Cup, and the 2011 Baseball Canada Jimmy Rattlesnake Award, which was later renamed in her honor. In 2022, she became the first woman to manage a Canadian national baseball team, leading her squad to two victories over Team USA in the Friendship Series, before joining the Blue Jays organization.

Brett Kennedy enters his first season as Dunedin’s Pitching Coach and second with the Blue Jays organization after leading the Complex League Champion FCL Blue Jays pitching staff in 2025. Kennedy enjoyed a nine-year professional playing career, including MLB service time with the San Diego Padres in 2018 and the Cincinnati Reds in 2023. A Fordham University graduate, Kennedy takes over for fellow Ram Cory Riordan, who was named the Blue Jays’ Pitching Coordinator after three seasons in Dunedin.

Nash Knight returns for his third season as Dunedin’s Hitting Coach. The Denton, Texas native spent six seasons as a player in the Blue Jays organization from 2015–2021, reaching the Triple-A level.

Under Knight’s guidance in 2025, Dunedin ranked among the Florida State League’s top offensive clubs, finishing fourth in batting average (.244) and home runs (85), second in slugging percentage (.371), and third in OPS (.716). Through the first 46 games of the 2025 season, the Blue Jays led the league in home runs (41), on-base percentage (.368), slugging percentage (.416), OPS (.784), and runs scored (292). Eight position players earned their first promotions to High-A in 2025 under Knight, including JR Freethy, who reached Double-A by season’s end.

Andy Fermin joins the Dunedin staff as a Position Coach in his first season with the club. A former infielder in the Blue Jays farm system from 2010–2016, Fermin has remained with the organization in a coaching capacity following his playing days. He served as a coach with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats from 2017-2019 and was part of the 2018 Eastern League championship staff under current Toronto Manager John Schneider. He served as Hitting Coach for the DSL Blue Jays in 2021 and managed the club from 2022–2023. He returned stateside as manager of the FCL Blue Jays in 2024 before serving as the club’s Bench Coach in 2025. Fermin returns to Dunedin after spending parts of three seasons at TD Ballpark as a player in 2014-2016.

Antonio Caceres rounds out the on-field staff in his second season as Bullpen Coach. A lifelong member of the Blue Jays organization, Caceres signed with Toronto out of the Dominican Republic at age 17 and played in the system from 1995–1998 before transitioning into coaching in 2000. He has spent the past 25 years developing pitchers throughout the lower levels of the farm system.

The Dunedin Blue Jays’ 2026 support staff includes Head Athletic Trainer Luke Greene, Assistant Athletic Trainer Rob Shifrin, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Zane Hunt, Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach Abimael Lebron, Nutritionist Anna Lehigh, Mental Performance Coach Caitlin Haworth, and Technology Assistant Jacoby Dale.

The Dunedin Blue Jays open the 2026 Florida State League season on April 2, hosting the Bradenton Marauders (Pirates) at TD Ballpark at 6:30 p.m.