Mycal Jones Named BlueClaws Manager, Coaching Staff Announced

JERSEY SHORE, NJ - Mycal Jones, who spent last year on the staff with Double-A Reading, will manage the BlueClaws for their 25th Anniversary Season in 2026, it was announced in conjunction with the Phillies. He becomes the 18th manager in BlueClaws franchise history.

Jones replaces Greg Brodzinski, who managed the BlueClaws to 209 wins over the last three seasons and a postseason appearance in 2023. Brodzinski will serve as the Complex Coordinator at the Phillies Player Development Center in Clearwater this year.

This will be Jones' seventh year in the Phillies organization. He was scheduled to be a coach with Clearwater in the cancelled 2020 season, and then was on the staffs with the FCL Phillies (2021), Reading (2022), Clearwater (2023-24), and Reading (2025) before taking over as the BlueClaws manager for 2026. Originally a 4th round pick of the Braves in the 2009 draft, he played in their system through 2015.

Joining Jones on the coaching staff will be pitching coach Ryan Buchter, hitting coach Darnell Sweeney, position coach and assistant hitting coach Ryan Wrobleski, and position coach Orlando Muñoz.

Members of the support staff are mental performance coach Taylor Bertolet, athletic trainer Marissa VanHassel, strength & conditioning coach John Sweeney (no relation to hitting coach Darnell Sweeney), performance nutritionist Jana Bridgman, manager of clubhouse services and team travel Mackenzie Bourke, and video and technology associate Shannon O'Neill.

Buchter returns for a second season as the BlueClaws pitching coach. Last season, 14 pitchers were promoted from the BlueClaws to Double-A Reading while the team had the league's third best ERA from July 1st through the end of the season at just 3.22. Buchter was with Triple-A Lehigh Valley for the two previous seasons. Buchter pitched parts of seven seasons in the majors with the Braves, Padres, Royals, Athletics, Angels, and Diamondbacks and had a 3.16 ERA over 285 major league games. He went to Highland Regional High School in Blackwood, New Jersey.

Darnell Sweeney joins the BlueClaws this year as the team's hitting coach after serving as a hitting coach with the FCL Phillies in 2024 and 2025. He made his coaching debut with the State College Spikes in the MLB Draft League in 2024. Sweeney was originally drafted by the Dodgers in the 13th round of the 2012 draft. He was traded to the Phillies in the 2015 deal that sent Chase Utley to the Dodgers. Sweeney played in the big leagues with the Phillies and Toronto and played Minor League or independent league baseball through 2024.

Wrobleski joins the BlueClaws for the first time in 2026. He was a 20th round pick of the Astros in 2022 from Dallas Baptist University and played four years in their system. He spent last year at Double-A Corpus Christi and this will be his first season as a coach.

Muñoz returns to the BlueClaws for a third season. He joined the Phillies organization in 2017 as a coach with the Dominican Summer League Phillies. He spent time playing and managing for both Zulia in the Venezuelan Winter League and Modena and Parma in the Italian Baseball League. Muñoz played six seasons in the Angels system, reaching as high as Triple-A Vancouver.

Athletic trainer Marissa VanHassel and strength & conditioning coach John Sweeney both spent last year with Clearwater. This will be VanHassel's first season with the BlueClaws, while Sweeney returns to the Jersey Shore after serving in the same role with the BlueClaws in 2024. Bourke begins her third season with the BlueClaws in this current role. The first-ever female Minor League Baseball home clubhouse manager, she was named South Atlantic League Home Clubhouse Manager of the Year in 2025.

Beyond Brodzinski, there are several former BlueClaws managers working around the system this year. Shawn Williams (2015-16) will serve as the bench coach for Single-A Clearwater. Marty Malloy (2017-18) will be the bench coach at Double-A Reading. Chris Adamson (2021) is the bench coach at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Keith Werman (2022) is the organization's Development Coordinator. Lastly, Dusty Wathan (2009) will begin his ninth season as the Phillies third base coach.

The BlueClaws open the 2026 season, their 25th Anniversary Season, on Friday, April 3rd with the home opener set for Tuesday, April 7th against Brooklyn (Mets). Single-game tickets for 2026 BlueClaws home games are available by clicking here.

-Jersey Shore BlueClaws-