Coaching Staff
Manager - Vance Wilson
Vance Wilson joined the Naturals as the second manager in franchise history in 2014. Now in his fourth season with the Naturals, he is no stranger to Northwest Arkansas as he and his family reside in Springdale, Arkansas.
In three (3) years at the helm, the skipper has accumulated 187 wins during the regular season and has led the Naturals to consecutive Texas League North Division pennants, taking Northwest Arkansas to two straight Texas League Championship Series.
The former Major League catcher has been pivotal in the development of a vast core of current Kansas City Royals, with six 2016 Naturals playing for the Royals at some point during the season. Throughout his managerial tenure with the Naturals, Wilson has seen 10 players play in Northwest Arkansas and make Major League debuts during the same season, sending three in 2014 (Lane Adams, Brandon Finnegan and Wilking Rodriguez), three in 2015 (Dusty Coleman, Raul Mondesi and Miguel Almonte) and four in 2016 (Hunter Dozier, Kevin McCarthy, Alec Mills and Matt Strahm).
Pitching Coach - Steve Luebber
Steve Luebber returns as the Naturals' pitching coach in 2017 and has been a member of the Royals organization for the past 11 years with nine spent as the pitching coach of the Wilmington Blue Rocks (Advanced-A) prior to his time in Northwest Arkansas. In 3016, he guided an elite Naturals' pitching staff last season to a number of franchise records. The hurlers posted the lowest ERA in franchise history with a 3.55 average, third best in the Texas League, while leading the league in strikeouts (1,163), also a franchise-best. Under Luebber's tutelage, the pitching staff walked the fewest amount of batters in Naturals' history (373) and posted a franchise-best, 1.24 WHIP.
The former big league hurler pitched 17 seasons in professional baseball having worked in the Texas League prior in 2000-2001 season for the Tulsa Drillers, then the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. He compiled a 6-10 record with a 4.62 ERA over 66 Major League appearances for the Twins, Blue Jays and Orioles. He currently resides in Joplin, Mo. with his wife Lee Ann.
Hitting Coach - Leon Roberts
Leon Roberts enters his first season as the Naturals hitting coach in 2017, after spending the last five (5) seasons in the Houston Astros' organization, including four (2012-15) as the hitting coach at Triple-A Fresno and one (2016) as the club's roving outfield and base running instructor. Roberts played 11 seasons in the Major Leagues as an outfielder, including his last two seasons (1983-84) in Kansas City.
Athletic Trainer - Masa Koyanagi
Masa Koyanagi will be the trainer again in 2017, his sixth season with the team and tenth season in the Royals' system. The Fukuoka, Japan native worked for Advanced Class-A Wilmington prior to joining the Naturals. Prior to his time in the Royals' organization, Kayanagi spent the 2007 season on the staff of the Tampa Bay Rays, where he served as an interpreter for former Major League infielder Akinori Iwamura. He also served as an Athletic Trainer in the Milwaukee Brewers organization for four seasons from 2003-2006. In 2006, he served as the trainer for the champion Japanese squad in the inaugural World Baseball Classic. He resides in Peoria, AZ with his wife and two daughters
Strength Coach - Jarret Abell
Jarret Abell joins the Naturals as strength and conditioning coach after serving in the same role at Advanced-A Wilmington (2016), Class-A Lexington (2015) and Rookie level Idaho Falls (2014).
Team Doctor - Chris Dougherty
As head team physician, Dr. Chris Dougherty's primary responsibility is for the players' medical care and to coordinate services provided by other Naturals medical network physicians, working closely with the Naturals training staff.
Dr. Dougherty is a specialist in sports medicine and minimally invasive (arthroscopic) surgery to repair joint problems involving the shoulder, elbow, knee, foot, ankle and hip. Dougherty is a native of Bloomsdale, Missouri, and a graduate of Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences. He came to Northwest Arkansas in April 2005. Prior to that he completed a residency in orthopedics at Oklahoma State University Medical Center and a fellowship at the Kentucky Sports Medicine Center, where he provided care for professional and collegiate athletes.
Dr. Dougherty is nationally and internationally recognized for his expertise in sports medicine and serves as an instructor in arthroscopy and sports medicine both in the United States and abroad.