2018 Potomac Nationals Field Staff Announced

Woodbridge, VA---The Washington Nationals announced the Potomac Nationals' Field Staff for the 2018 season on Friday afternoon. The trio of field coaches announced features two returning staff members and one new face. Manager Tripp Keister will lead the P-Nats for the fifth consecutive season, Luis Ordaz will be back with Potomac for a third straight season as the hitting coach, while Sam Narron will make his first appearance for The Red, White, & Blue as the team's pitching coach. Gabe Torres will return for his second season with Potomac as the Strength & Conditioning Coach, while Don Neidig will serve as the Athletic Trainer for the P-Nats for the first time.
Washington Nationals Vice President and Senior Advisor to the General Manager, Bob Boone, Assistant General Manager and Vice President, Player Personnel, Doug Harris, and Director of Player Development, Mark Scialabba, made the joint announcement.

Keister will enter the 2018 season with the second most wins in Potomac franchise history (279). He begins the 2018 season 34 wins behind Joe Cunningham for the franchise record. Keister's 2018 campaign will also tie him with Cunningham for the most seasons at the helm for the franchise (5).
The 47-year-old Keister has managed both the Class-A Hagerstown Suns and the Gulf Coast League Nationals in addition to his time with Potomac.
A 33rd round draft pick by the New York Mets in 1992, Keister played 341 games over four seasons in the Mets' system.
Prior to his time as a coach in the Washington organization, Keister served as the Head Baseball Coach and Associate Athletic Director at Wesley College in Dover, Delaware from 2006 to 2011. He served as an assistant coach at the University of South Carolina from 1996-1998 and held the head coach position at Delaware State University from 1999-2000.
Ordaz returns for 2018, where he will serve as the hitting coach for the third straight season. The Maracaibo, Venezuela native is set for his eighth season in Washington's Minor League system.
Signed as an International Free Agent in 1992 by the Cincinnati Reds, Ordaz played in 206 games in the Majors between the St. Louis Cardinals (1997-1999), Kansas City Royals (2000-2002), and Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2006).
The 42-year-old worked as the hitting coach for Hagerstown in 2014 and 2015, and the same position with Short-Season Auburn from 2011 to 2013.
Narron is the new face to the three-man crew overseeing the P-Nats for 2018. A 15th round pick in the 2001 MLB Draft by the Texas Rangers, Narron made his Major League debut for the Rangers on 7/30/04, his only MLB appearance.
The youngest member of the three-man staff at 36-years-old, Narron began his coaching career with Auburn in 2012, the year after he retired from professional baseball. He spent 2012 and 2013 with the Auburn Doubledays, and has spent the past three seasons with Hagerstown.
Narron has a long lineage of baseball. He is the cousin to current minor league manager and former MLB catcher Jerry Narron, and the grandson of former MLB catcher Sam Narron. He replaces Franklin Bravo, who will serve as the Pitching Coach for the Auburn Doubledays in 2018.
Torres returns for his second season as the Strength & Conditioning Coach with Potomac. This will be his fourth season within the Nationals' system. The 2012 graduate of the University of South Carolina-Beaufort has served in the same coaching role for both Auburn (2016), and the Hagerstown (2015).
Neidig has spent the last four seasons as the Athletic Trainer for the Hagerstown Suns, the role he will serve with Potomac in 2018. In 2013, the Lock Haven University graduate worked on the title-winning Gulf Coast League Nationals' staff. Neidig is set to replace T.D. Swinford, who will serve as the Athletic Trainer for the Double-A Harrisburg Senators in 2018.
The 2018 Potomac Nationals season gets underway on April 5th at Pfitzner Stadium against the Wilmington Blue Rocks (Kansas City Royals). First pitch for the opener is set for 7:05pm.
P-Nats' 2018 ticket plans and group outings are currently available for purchase. For more information, or to purchase any of these plans, contact Potomac Nationals Director of Season Ticket and Group Ticket Sales, Alec Manriquez, by phone at 703-590-2311, ext. 221, or via e-mail at [email protected].
The Potomac Nationals of the Carolina League play at Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge, Virginia, and are the Carolina League affiliate of the Washington Nationals. The Potomac Nationals have claimed five Carolina League Championship titles (1982, 1989, 2008, 2010, and 2014) and nine CL Northern Division Championships. Sponsorship opportunities for the P-Nats' 2018 season and beyond are available, as well as all-inclusive corporate picnic outings to watch the future stars of the Washington Nationals at The Pfitz. 2018 Potomac Nationals season tickets and mini plans are now on sale. For more information on Potomac Nationals 2018 season tickets, mini plans, group outings, picnic packages, fundraisers, and all things Red, White, and Blue, visit the P-Nats online at www.potomacnationals.com, follow the P-Nats on Facebook (@PotomacNationals), Twitter (@PNats42), and Instagram (@pnats42), or call the Potomac Nationals' Extreme Custom Collision Ticket Office at 703-590-2311.
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