Nationals Announce 2026 Blue Rocks’ Coaching Staff 

WILMINGTON, DE- Former collegiate baseball coach, with over a decade of Division I experience, Ted Tom was named by the Washington Nationals as the manager of the Wilmington Blue Rocks for the 2026 season. Tom will serve as the 20th skipper in the franchise’s history. In addition to Tom, joining the coaching staff are hitting coach Hudson Byorock, assistant pitching coach Niko Leontarakis, defensive coach Mitchell Boe, coach Jefferson Valladares, associate athletic trainer Brandon Harrist, strength and conditioning coach Jordan Chen and associate strength and conditioning coach Preston Fausnaught. Returning to the 302 are Justin Lord who spent the 2021 season with the Blue Crew as a pitching coach and the 2003 season as a player, in addition to athletic trainer Kirby Craft who has been with the Nationals for 13 years, and on the Wilmington staff since 2023.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to manage the Wilmington Blue Rocks and represent the Washington Nationals,” said Tom. “Wilmington has a strong baseball tradition, and I am excited to get started, build strong relationships with our players, and compete with purpose every day.”

Tom, will make his professional debut after most recently spending the past few months as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Memphis. Prior to that, Tom spent eight seasons in Orlando as an assistant coach at UCF. The Lancaster, Ohio, native has also made stops at the University of Cincinnati, Shawnee State, IMG Academy and spent time as a volunteer assistant coach at Indiana in the early 2000s.

Throughout his time in the Sunshine State, Tom spent his first two seasons coaching the outfielders, served as the first base coach, led the baserunning program and assisted with the hitters. In 2019, Tom was promoted to Hitting Coach and Recruiting Coordinator, where he remained until his departure after the 2025 season. Last year, Tom assisted a UCF offense that hit a Big 12 best .319 on the season, ranking sixth in the nation. Several players recorded milestones under Tom’s tenure, including shortstop Antonio Jimenez’s Second Team All-Big 12 honors and Andrew Williamson hitting for the cycle, becoming the first Knight to do so in a decade. In the season prior, Tom helped lead UCF to the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017 with a trip to the 2024 NCAA Tallahassee Regional.

As a player, Tom graduated from Shawnee State with a degree in sport management in 2004 and was a red-shirt member of the 2000 team that finished fifth in the NAIA World Series. Tom earned All-AMC honors and the Joe Smith Memorial Award which is given to the outstanding senior that best exemplifies the attitude and sportsmanship of Smith. In the summer of 2003, Tom played for the Clarinda A’s in the MINK Collegiate Wood Bat Summer League.

Byorick, will serve as the hitting coach. The Auburn, Washington, native, joined the staff of his Alma Mater Wofford in the fall of 2022 as the director of player development. The following season he was elevated to assistant coach, working primarily with the hitters. In the summer of 2024, Byorick added the duties of recruiting coordinator. Last year the Terriers collected their seventh 30-win season in a row for the program, the No. 7 seed in the SoCon Tournament, and led the conference in triples (17) and hit-by-pitch (113), ranking 28th and 22nd in the nation, respectively. In 2024, Byorick headed one of the nation’s best offenses as Wofford tied a program best 42 wins with a 12-8 league clip to secure the SoCon Tournament championship. The Terriers were selected as the No. 3 seed in the Chapel Hill Regional and bested Long Island 5-2 in game two to grab the program’s first NCAA Tournament victory. In two seasons as a player with Wofford from 2019-20, Byorick made 77 starts in the outfield, owned a career .336 average with 93 hits, 53 RBI, 63 runs scored along with 11 stolen bases. Byorick then played a fifth season as a graduate transfer at West Virginia where he made 45 starts, batted .270, collected 43 hits, held a .421SLG% and homered three times.

Lord, will return to Frawley Stadium and serve as the pitching coach in his seventh season as a part of the Nationals’ system. Lord led Single-A affiliate the Fredericksburg Nationals championship pitching staff in 2024 including the Carolina League Pitcher of the Year Travis Sykora. Lord spent 2022 with Double-A Harrisburg, 2021 with High-A Wilmington and spent seven seasons with the Baltimore Orioles. An All-State in high school, Lord attended Junior College, transferred to Florida State, and signed undrafted with the Kansas City Royals in 2001. He went on to play three professional seasons in the Royals’ and Pirates’ systems, including the Wilmington Blue Rocks and the Lynchburg Hillcats. In 2003 with the Rocks’ Lord made 13 appearances (one start) and held a 4.09 ERA.

Leontarakis will join the 2026 staff as an assistant pitching coach. After his freshman year at Tallahassee Community College, Leontarakis was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 40th round of the 2017 MLB amateur draft. Leontarakis earned his bachelor’s degree at Post University, tossing two starts, then went on to complete his master’s degree at Eastern Kentucky in 2022. Leontarakis made 19 appearances for the Colonels, started nine times, went 6-2 with a 6.88 ERA, struck out 54 batters over 52 and one-third innings and tied for fifth in the ASUN Conference in wins. In 2022, Leontarakis spent the summer with the Trenton Thunder before transitioning into coaching. The Weston, Florida, native began coaching at Rockland Peak Performance in New Jersey, as an assistant pitching coordinator and strength coach, and most recently spent the last three seasons as the director of pitching.

Boe, the former Hawkeye, will take the reigns as the defensive coach. The Naperville, Illinois, native, appeared in 193 career games, tied for the ninth-most all-time at Iowa. In 2019 the team captain was named Iowa’s recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. Boe tallied 144 hits, 28 doubles, 72 RBIs and 21 stolen bases for the Hawkeyes. After his playing career, Boe spent two seasons as an assistant coach for Valparaiso. Boe served as the team’s infield and baserunning instructor while also coaching third base for the Beacons. In December 2022, Boe returned to his Alma Mater as an assistant coach for three seasons.

Valladares, who spent last season in the Minnesota Twins organization, will join the coaching staff for the 2026 campaign. The Venezuela native made his professional debut in 2021, spending four years in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization before being assigned to the Twins in March 2025. Last year, Valladares launched seven homers, grabbed 46 hits and 13 doubles across Single-A Fort Myers and High-A Cedar Rapids.

Craft is heading into his 13th season within the Washington Nationals Organization. Craft has been a member of the Blue Crew since 2023 and previously served in the same position in Fredericksburg.

Harrist will be joining Craft as an associate athletic trainer. Harrist spent two years at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, making a previous stop at the University of the Incarnate Word, where for two years, he was part of the UIW Athletic Training Clinical Education Program. In spring 2023, he developed and conducted rehabilitation plans for post-surgery patients at the Kennedy Space Center. In fall 2022, he participated in U.S. Air Force Special Warfare Training and in spring 2022, he worked with the UIW Baseball team. Prior to that he worked with the U.S. Air Force Basic Training unit, where he evaluated basic trainees to determine injury and proper rehabilitation protocol.Before UIW, Harrist was on active duty with the U.S. Air Force as an Aircraft Electrical and Environmental Systems Craftsman for nine years. Harrist received his Master of Science from UIW in Athletic Training and his Bachelor of Since from Texas A&M University San Antonio in Exercise Science/Pre-PT.

Chen will join the staff as the strength & Conditioning Coach, after spending last season as an assistant performance coach for the Chicago White Sox. Last year, Chen led daily warm-up, lifting, and conditioning sessions, designed and implemented training programs for athletes conducted athlete assessments, ongoing in-season athlete monitoring, and data collection for sports performance. Chen has previous experience with the Chicago Cubs, and his Alma Mater Arizona State.

Fausnaught will aid Chen as the associate strength & conditioning coach for the 2026 season. Fausnaught spent nearly three years at Davenport University as an assistant sports performance coach. Fausnaught earned his bachelor's degree from West Chester and his master’s at Eastern University.

The Wilmington Blue Rocks begin another year on the Riverfront on Friday, April 3, as the Rocks host the Jersey Shore BlueClaws (PHI) at 6:35 p.m. Information pertaining to individual game tickets, promotions, fireworks, giveaways and more will be available in the coming weeks. Please visit www.bluerocks.com for the latest information.