Fireflies 2024 Field Staff Announced

COLUMBIA, SC – The Columbia Fireflies, in conjunction with the Kansas City Royals, today announced their 2024 coaching staff. Columbia will have a new skipper taking the reins as former hitting coach Jesus Azuaje has been named the Fireflies fifth manager in team history.

Last year, Azuaje took the helm of the ACL Royals, who he led to a 31-25 record. The former infielder has been a Minor League coach with the Royals since 2015, primarily as a hitting coach, prior to last season. He spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons with the Columbia Fireflies and was the hitting coach for the Lexington Legends back-to-back South Atlantic League Championships in 2018 and 2019.

Azuaje succeeds Tony Pena Jr., who had managed the club for the previous two seasons, including the franchise’s winningest season in club history last year.

Azuaje is joined by some familiar faces as pitching coach John Habyan and hitting coach Ari Adut are returning to the team in 2024. Habyan led the Fireflies to the seventh-best staff ERA in Minor League Baseball during the 2023 season (out of 120 teams). Columbia paced Minor League Baseball in team ERA until June 25, when the team had its first round of call-ups for its pitching staff.

This will be Habyan’s third year with the Fireflies after a 17-year career coaching prep ball at St. John the Baptist and a seven-year stint as the pitching coach for Hofstra. Adut joins the fold for his second season in Columbia. Prior to joining the Royals ranks, Adut spent time with both the Phillies and the Yankees. He has been coaching in professional baseball since 2019.

This year, Columbia will welcome two new assistant coaches. First, the assistant pitching coach Sam Freeman, who pitched 36 innings in Omaha in 2022 following a nine-year professional career that was highlighted by a stellar 2017 season with the Atlanta Braves. Freeman corralled a 2.55 ERA in 60 innings across 58 games for Atlanta, striking out 59 hitters while walking only 27. Columbia will also have assistant hitting coach Kyle Mackinnon on the staff this season. Mackinnon has been coaching since 2009, when he worked with the Ontario Blue Jays—the premier travel baseball team in Canada. He broke through in college baseball, where he coached McPherson College from 2016-2022. Last year, he was an apprentice coach with the Houston Astros when he caught the Kansas City Royals attention.

Columbia will bring in a new support staff in 2024 with Athletic Trainer Kazuma Fukuzumi and Strength and Conditioning Coach Bryce Hall.

The Fireflies will bring back their Clubhouse Operations Coordinator, Christian Andreas for the 2024 season. Andreas won the Carolina League 2023 Clubhouse Attendant of the Year Award and is returning for a fourth season in the Soda City.

Fireflies Opening Night is April 9 at 7:05 pm as Columbia welcomes the Myrtle Beach Pelicans to town. For more information on the upcoming season and promotional schedule, visit ColumbiaFireflies.com.