SeaWolves Announce 2026 Field Staff
(Erie, PA) – The Erie SeaWolves, in conjunction with their parent club the Detroit Tigers, today announce the team’s 2026 field staff. Tony Cappuccilli has been named manager of the SeaWolves for the 2026 season. Cappuccilli spent the past two seasons as the manager for the High-A West Michigan Whitecaps.
(Erie, PA) – The Erie SeaWolves, in conjunction with their parent club the Detroit Tigers, today announce the team’s 2026 field staff.
Tony Cappuccilli has been named manager of the SeaWolves for the 2026 season. Cappuccilli spent the past two seasons as the manager for the High-A West Michigan Whitecaps. In 2025, the Whitecaps delivered a remarkable season, finishing with a 92–39 regular season record, two playoff series sweeps, and a Midwest League Championship. The Whitecaps were also named Baseball America’s 2025 MiLB Team of the Year. It was Cappuccilli’s first title as manager and second as part of a coaching staff (AZL Dodgers in 2028).
2026 will be Cappuccilli’s 3rd season as a manager in the Tigers system and his 5th overall as an instructor in the organization. In 2017, he began his professional coaching career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, eventually serving as manager of the Arizona Complex League (ACL) Dodgers in 2021. The Detroit Tigers hired Cappuccilli in 2022 to serve as a bench coach for the Toledo Mud Hens. His coaching career includes time with the Arizona League (AZL) Dodgers (2018), AZL Dodgers Lasorda (2019), the Ogden Raptors (canceled 2020 season), ACL Dodgers (2021), Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens (2022–23), High-A West Michigan Whitecaps (2024–25), and Erie.
Cappuccilli's staff will include pitching coach Nick Green, hitting coach Kyle MacKinnon, bench coach Nick Franklin, athletic trainer Bryce Hietpas, assistant athletic trainer Marissa Nebel, strength and conditioning coach Paul Synenkyj, and dietitian Nazirber Maduro
FIELD STAFF BIOS
TONY CAPPUCCILLI – MANAGER
Tony Cappuccilli is in his 5th season as an instructor in the Tigers organization and 3rd as a manager.
Cappuccilli graduated from University of Nevada, Reno in 2003 where he was a catcher for the Wolf Pack. He spent his summers playing professionally with the Florence Freedom in the independent Frontier League. He later earned a master’s degree in Coaching and Athletic Administration from Concordia University in 2010.
Cappuccilli began coaching high school baseball in 2004, helping lead league champions in 2007 and 2009. He moved into the college coaching ranks in 2009, assisting at Irvine Valley College, UNLV, and the University of New Mexico, where he helped the Lobos win back-to-back conference titles and reach an NCAA Regional. During the summers, he coached two summer collegiate teams, the Brewster Whitecaps and Anchorage Bucs.
Cappuccilli joined the Los Angeles Dodgers organization in 2017, coaching in the Arizona League in 2018-19 and managing the ACL Dodgers in 2021 after the 2020 season was canceled. He moved to the Tigers organization in 2022 as bench coach for Triple-A Toledo before becoming manager of the West Michigan Whitecaps in 2024-25.
NICK GREEN – PITCHING COACH
Nick Green is in his 4th season as a pitching coach in the Tigers organization. In 2023-24, Green served as the pitching coach for Single-A Lakeland before being promoted to High-A West Michigan in 2025.
In 2017, Green began his coaching career with the Gulf Coast League Red Sox. He then served as pitching coach for the Short-Season A Lowell Spinners in 2018-19. After the canceled 2020 season, Green was pitching coach for the Salem Red Sox (2021-22) before joining the Tigers organization in 2023. Under Green in 2025, the Whitecaps pitching staff led the Midwest League with a 3.17 ERA.
Green was 35th round pick in the 2004 amateur draft by the Anaheim Angels. He spent five seasons in the Angels system, reaching Triple-A Salt Lake. He later spent time in the Brewers organization and went on to pitch several productive seasons in independent ball before concluding his playing career in 2016. He also had a three-season stint in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League.
KYLE MACKINNON – HITTING COACH
Kyle MacKinnon enters his first season with the Tigers organization. He joins the Erie staff after serving as an assistant hitting coach with the Kansas City Royals organization at Single-A Columbia (2024) and High-A Quad Cities (2025). MacKinnon spent 2023 as a minor league apprentice coach with the Houston Astros after a brief stint with the Arizona Diamondbacks as a minor league coach. Before entering the professional ranks, MacKinnon coached collegiately at McPherson College (NAIA). During MacKinnon’s tenure as head coach, the Bulldogs set a school record for wins in a season (40-14 in 2022).
NICK FRANKLIN – BENCH COACH
Nick Franklin was a 2009 first-round draft pick (27th overall) of the Seattle Mariners. He made his MLB debut in 2013 and batted .214 over 301 MLB games with Seattle, Tampa Bay, Milwaukee, and Los Angeles (AL). In 2014, he was traded, along with SeaWolves alumnus Drew Smyly, to Tampa Bay in a three-team deal that brought David Price to the Tigers.
Click here for SeaWolves Managerial History
SeaWolves Ticket Memberships, Paw Pack flexible ticket books, group and hospitality outings are now available for the 2026 season by visiting SeaWolves.com or by calling 814-456-1300.