Dragons Announce New Coaching Staff; Vince Harrison Jr. to Serve as Manager in 2024
Dayton, Ohio—The Dayton Dragons announced their 2024 coaching staff today, as assigned by the Cincinnati Reds. The Dragons named Vince Harrison Jr., an experienced minor league player and coach and former star at Princeton High School in Cincinnati, as the 12th manager in Dragons history. Bryan LaHair, who managed the
Dayton, Ohio—The Dayton Dragons announced their 2024 coaching staff today, as assigned by the Cincinnati Reds. The Dragons named Vince Harrison Jr., an experienced minor league player and coach and former star at Princeton High School in Cincinnati, as the 12th manager in Dragons history. Bryan LaHair, who managed the Dragons in 2022-23, will serve as a coach with the Louisville Bats in the Reds organization in 2024.
Vince Harrison Jr.—Manager
Brian Garman—Pitching Coach
José León—Hitting Coach
Jefry Sierra—Coach
Additionally, the Dragons announced that Lauren Powers will serve as the club’s athletic trainer in 2024, becoming the first female ever to be part of the Dragons field staff. Additionally, Michael Sadler will be the team’s strength and conditioning coach. Luis Rios-Jimenez will serve as performance coach. Hunter Rickard will be the video and tech specialist for the team.
“The Dayton Dragons are known for their top-quality operation and big attendance numbers, and I am excited for the opportunity to be part of the positive atmosphere at Day Air Ballpark in 2024 and call it home. I am also excited for my family. Dayton is a drivable distance from our home, so this will provide an opportunity for my wife, children, and parents to share in this experience.—new Dragons manager Vince Harrison Jr.
Vince Harrison Jr.
Vince Harrison Jr. will bring 10 seasons of minor league managing/coaching experience to the Dragons in 2024. He served as a coach with the Reds Triple-A club, the Louisville Bats, in 2023. Harrison Jr. also enjoyed a nine-year professional career as a player, playing in the Rays, Mets, and Marlins systems as a third baseman.
Harrison, 44, has previous success as a manager in the Midwest League. In 2019, he was the manager for Kane County, an Arizona Diamondbacks affiliate, and led the club to an outstanding record of 81-58, tying for most victories in the league that season.
Harrison is part of a big baseball family. His younger brother, Josh Harrison, is an active Major League player with more than 1,000 career base hits and has been selected to play in the MLB all-star game two times, both while with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Their uncle, John Shelby, spent 11 years in the Major Leagues as a center fielder, mostly with the Orioles and Dodgers, and reached the 20-home run mark two times. Two cousins also played professionally.
Vince Harrison Jr. played at Princeton High School in Cincinnati before starring in both baseball and football at the University of Kentucky. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2001 and spent four years as a player in their farm system, reaching the Double-A level. His best seasons came in 2003 with Charleston (.275 batting average with 19 home runs) and 2004 with Bakersfield and Montgomery (.275, 16 home runs, .838 OPS).
After Harrison’s playing career ended following the 2011 season, he was hired as a coach by the Pirates. He joined the Diamondbacks organization as a hitting coach in 2014 and spent five years in that role before becoming a manager. He managed for three years in the Diamondbacks system before joining the Reds organization in 2023 as a coach with Louisville.
“We are excited for Vince Harrison to return to the Cincinnati area and manage in Dayton this year,” said Jeremy Farrell, Cincinnati Reds Senior Director of Player Development. “With his previous managerial experience and the impact he made on the organization in 2023, we feel that he is a great fit for this role in 2024. We are looking forward to the leadership Vince is going to bring to the Dragons this year.”
Harrison Jr.’s Coaching History
*Year Team League Class Position *
2012 West Virginia South Atlantic A Hitting Coach
2014 Missoula Pioneer Rookie Hitting Coach
2015 Kane County Midwest A Hitting Coach
2016 Visalia California A Hitting Coach
2017 Visalia California A Hitting Coach
2018 Jackson Southern AA Hitting Coach
2019 Kane County Midwest A Manager
2021 Hillsboro Northwest High-A Manager
2022 Hillsboro Northwest High-A Manager
2023 Louisville International AAA Coach
Brian Garman
Wapakoneta, Ohio native Brian Garman returns to the Dragons in 2024 as the club’s pitching coach after filling the same role with Double-A Chattanooga in 2023. Garman was the Dragons pitching coach in 2021 and ’22 when he amazingly worked with 10 future major leaguers over those two seasons in Dayton including Andrew Abbott, Graham Ashcraft, Lyon Richardson, Connor Phillips, and Joe Boyle among others. Under Garman’s leadership, the 2021 Dragons pitching staff set club records for most strikeouts per game and fewest hits allowed per game.
Garman served as a pitching coach in the Los Angeles Angels system for two seasons, working at Orem (Utah) in the Pioneer League in 2019 and Inland Empire in the California League in 2018.
Garman pitched at Wapakoneta High School and the University of Cincinnati before being drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2010. He spent four years as a pitcher in the Brewers system, reaching the Double-A level in his final year in 2013.
Garman’s Coaching History (all as pitching coach)
*Year Team League Class *
2018 Inland Empire California A
2019 Orem Pioneer Rookie
2021 Dayton Midwest High-A
2022 Dayton Midwest High-A
2023 Chattanooga Southern AA
José León
José León will join the Dragons as hitting coach in 2024, his third season in the Reds organization and sixth year as a professional coach/manager. He was the hitting coach for the Arizona Complex League (ACL) Reds in 2023. León began his coaching career in the St. Louis Cardinals organization in 2018 and served as a manager in their system in both 2019 and 2021.
León, a native of Puerto Rico, reached the Major Leagues as a player with the Baltimore Orioles for parts of three seasons from 2002-’04, appearing in 88 games. He played in the Minor Leagues from 1994-2009, enjoying a 16-year playing career as a corner infielder.
León’s Coaching History
*Year Team League Class Position *
2018 DSL Cardinals Dominican Summer Rookie Hitting Coach
2019 State College New York/Penn Rookie Manager
2021 Palm Beach Florida State A Manager
2022 DSL Reds Dominican Summer Rookie Hitting Coach
2023 ACL Reds Arizona Complex Rookie Hitting Coach
Jefry Sierra
Jefry Sierra, a former Dragons player, joins the club as a coach in 2024. Sierra becomes the second former Dragons player to return to the team in a coaching role (Luis Bolivar was the first). Sierra appeared in 176 games with the Dragons in 2011-’12 as an outfielder. His 46 career stolen bases with the Dragons ranks among the top-10 in franchise history. Sierra was a key player for the Dragons in 2011 when the team posted an all-time franchise best record of 81-59 with a roster that also featured Billy Hamilton, Tucker Barnhart, and Donald Lutz among others.
The 2024 season will be Sierra’s 10th year as a coach in the Reds organization. He served as a coach with Double-A Chattanooga in 2023 after coaching at Single-A Daytona in 2022.
Sierra’s Coaching History
Year Team League Class Position
2015-21 DSL Reds Dominican Summer Rookie Coach
2022 Daytona Florida State A Coach
2023 Chattanooga Southern AA Coach
Lauren Powers joins the Dragons as the club’s athletic trainer. She has spent the last five years in the Reds organization and worked at Single-A Daytona in 2023. She is a graduate of the University of Arizona and earned a master’s degree in athletic training at the University of Northern Arizona.
Michael Sadler joins the Dragons as strength and conditioning coach after serving in the same position in the Seattle Mariners organization since 2018. He was with Triple-A Tacoma in the Pacific Coast League for the last two seasons, earning the league’s Strength Coach of the Year award in 2023. He is a graduate of Mount Marty University in Yankton, South Dakota.
Luis Rios-Jimenez joins the Dragons as performance coach. He spent the last six years in the Cleveland Guardians organization, including the last two seasons as the strength and conditioning coach with the Lake County Captains in the Midwest League. He holds a master’s degree from Nova Southeastern University.
Hunter Rickard joins the Dragons as video and tech specialist with the team and will work closely with players and coaches in analyzing game video. He is a graduate of the University of Miami (Florida) and a native of Lansing, Michigan. He previously worked in a similar video role in the Philadelphia Phillies organization, spending the 2023 season with the Clearwater Phillies.
Dragons All-Time Coaching Staffs
Year Manager Pitching Coach Batting Coach Coach
2000 Freddie Benavides Don Alexander Brian Conley
2001 Donnie Scott Bill Moloney Brian Conley
2002 Donnie Scott Ted Power Brian Conley
2003 Donnie Scott Jaime Garcia Billy White
2004 Alonzo Powell Larry Pierson Max Venable
2005 Alonzo Powell Larry Pierson Chris Sabo
2006 Billy Gardner, Jr. Larry Pierson* Alonzo Powell
2007 Donnie Scott Doug Bair Darren Bragg
2008 Donnie Scott Doug Bair Darren Bragg
2009 Todd Benzinger Tony Fossas Tony Jaramillo
2010 Todd Benzinger Tony Fossas Ken Griffey Sr.*
2011 Delino DeShields Tony Fossas Alex Pelaez
2012 Delino DeShields Tom Browning Alex Pelaez
2013 Jose Nieves Tony Fossas Alex Pelaez
2014 Jose Nieves Tony Fossas Luis Bolivar
2015 Jose Nieves Tom Browning Luis Bolivar Corky Miller
2016 Dick Schofield Derrin Ebert Luis Bolivar Corky Miller
2017 Luis Bolivar Derrin Ebert Daryle Ward Kevin Mahar
2018 Luis Bolivar Seth Etherton Daryle Ward Kevin Mahar
2019 Luis Bolivar Seth Etherton Mike Devereaux Kevin Mahar
2020 Season Cancelled
2021 Jose Moreno Brian Garman Daryle Ward Darren Bragg
2022 Bryan LaHair Brian Garman Daryle Ward Juan Samuel
2023 Bryan LaHair Todd Naskedov Eric Richardson Osmin Melendez
2024 Vince Harrison Jr. Brian Garman José León Jefry Sierra
*Pete Magre served as pitching coach for a portion of the 2006 season. Jason Baker served as Batting Coach for a portion of the 2010 season.
The Dragons open the 2024 season, their 24th in the Midwest League, on April 5 at Day Air Ballpark against the Lansing Lugnuts.
Dragons 2024 season ticket information is available now. Call the Dragons at (937) 228-2287 or email [email protected] for more information, or visit the Dragons website at daytondragons.com/seasontickets.