Bilardello Back to Lead Dust Devils in 2026
PASCO, WA - Veteran manager Dann Bilardello will return to the Mid-Columbia in 2026 for a second year at the helm of the Tri-City Dust Devils, the Los Angeles Angels announced Wednesday. Bilardello led Tri-City to the most wins in a season (61) in franchise history in 2025, a year
PASCO, WA - Veteran manager Dann Bilardello will return to the Mid-Columbia in 2026 for a second year at the helm of the Tri-City Dust Devils, the Los Angeles Angels announced Wednesday.
Bilardello led Tri-City to the most wins in a season (61) in franchise history in 2025, a year that saw the Dust Devils competitive in both halves of the 132-game Northwest League schedule. The Santa Cruz, California native also reached a professional milestone in his first year managing Tri-City, winning his 900th game as a manager last July 22 at Hillsboro. The upcoming year will be Bilardello’s 16th season leading a ballclub, with the Tri-Cities his eighth managerial stop.
The Dust Devils’ second-year skipper heads up an almost entirely new coaching staff for the 2026 campaign. 12-year MLB veteran southpaw and Shoreline, Washington native Glendon Rusch takes over as Tri-City pitching coach, joining the Angels’ minor league development staff from the Kalispell, Montana-based Glacier Range Riders of the Pioneer League. Rusch has previous experience coaching in the minors, serving as the pitching coach for the Lake Elsinore Storm from 2015-2017. With the Dust Devils a San Diego Padres affiliate at the time, Rusch coached Tri-City alums such as David Bednar, Eric Lauer and Cal Quantrill.
New hitting coach Tony Jaramillo comes to the Northwest League after serving in the Angels organization as the hitting coach for Single-A Inland Empire in 2025. Jaramillo begins his fifth season with the Angels, continuing a coaching career that began in 2004 in the Detroit Tigers organization and included a decade’s worth of time with the Cincinnati Reds. The Dallas, Texas native rose through the system to the bigs with the Reds, serving as the major league club’s assistant hitting coach from 2016-2018. He also follows in a family tradition of coaching hitting, with his uncle Rudy mentoring big league hitters for over two decades from 1990-2012.
The Dust Devils coaching staff does have one returner: Brian Rupp, who served on the Tri-City coaching staff as hitting coach for the 2022 season. Rupp has spent the last three years as part of the Inland Empire staff, with 2026 his 26th year as a coach in professional baseball. Rupp has served as both a hitting coach and manager in MiLB, including a championship in 2008 with the Burlington Bees, and brings a wealth of experience back to the Northwest League.
Four staff members debut with the Dust Devils in 2026: athletic trainer Jeremy Hall, strength and conditioning coach Billy Kidd, game planning strategist Easton Rhodes and video assistant Sam Carpenter. As well, the clubhouse staff of Joe Creason (manager) and Angel Gonzalez (assistant manager) returns for a second season at Gesa Stadium.
The Tri-City Dust Devils begin their 25th season in the Northwest League by hosting the Vancouver Canadians on Opening Night, April 3rd, at Gesa Stadium. For ticket information, including our new Season Pass for all 66 home games in 2026, visit the official site: www.dustdevilsbaseball.com.
Dust Devils Baseball... a Tri-Cities Tradition for 25 Years!