Portland, Maine – The Boston Red Sox announced today the Portland Sea Dogs coaching staff for the 2025 season, led by Manager Chad Epperson. It will be Epperson’s fourth season with the Sea Dogs, where he has led Portland to a 226-186 record in his three seasons with the club. Sean Isaac (Pitching Coach), Chris Hess (Hitting Coach), Kyle Sasala (Defensive Coach) and Bobby Stachura (Athletic Trainer) also return to the staff after spending 2024 with the Sea Dogs. Juan Rivera (Pitching Coach), Johnny Reina (Assistant Hitting Coach), and Jonah Mondloch (Strength and Conditioning Coach) join the staff for the first time.

Manager Chad Epperson will lead the team in his fourth season in Portland. In 2024, he led the Sea Dogs to a 78-60 record, the best record in the Northeast Division of the Eastern League, and third best in the league. In his fourth season with the team, he is tied for the longest serving manager in Sea Dogs history with Arnie Beyeler who managed Portland for four seasons from 2007 to 2010. Before managing the Sea Dogs, Epperson spent 12 seasons as the Red Sox Catching Coordinator. Prior to that, he spent his first eight seasons with the Red Sox as a manager or coach at the minor league level. A manager from 2004-09, he led his club to the playoffs in four straight campaigns beginning in 2006, including Single-A Salem in 2009. A back-to-back California League Manager of the Year with Lancaster from 2007-08, he also managed Wilmington to the playoffs in 2006. The Kentucky native managed Capital City in 2005 and Augusta in 2004 after spending two seasons (2002-03) as Sarasota’s hitting coach. He also managed Cook County of the independent Frontier League in 2001. Epperson played nine years in the minor leagues in the Mets (1992-95), Red Sox (1997-99), and Orioles (2000) systems prior to his coaching career

Sean Isaac will serve as Portland’s pitching coach for a third season. Under his leadership, the Sea Dogs’ pitching staff led Double-A in strikeouts (1,329) and were second in saves (40) in 2024. In 2022 he was the assistant pitching coach for the Nashville Sounds, the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. Previously, Isaac served as the Director of Player Development at UC-Santa Barbara. He spent three seasons (2016-2018) as a minor league pitcher in the Angels organization reaching the Triple-A level in 2017 and 2018. In 78 career games, he notched a 9-4 record with a 4.34 ERA. On May 2, 2018, he pitched the final inning of a combined no-hitter for Inland Empire.

Juan Rivera will join Sean Isaac as a second pitching coach with Portland. Rivera spent the last three seasons as Salem Red Sox’ pitching coach and led the pitching staff to a 3.61 ERA, fourth-best in Single-A. A graduate of Eastern Nazarene College, he has been in the Red Sox organization since 2022 as a Development Coach with Salem.

Johnny Reina will serve as Assistant Hitting Coach after working as a Hitting Trainer at Driveline Baseball in Seattle, Washington. Driveline Baseball’s mission is to develop the future of baseball training by finding industry-leading insights, all while publishing those insights back to the baseball community. Reina has written two books about the sport, The Secret Arts Within the Game and The Eyes of Baseball.

Kyle Sasala will be on staff for his second season in Portland after previously working as the Associate Head Coach at Grove City College from 2016 – 2023. Sasala helped the 2023 Wolverines to a school-record 30 victories, along with a 16-4 conference record. In 2019, Sasala assisted head coach Matt Royer in leading the Wolverines to a then-program record 28 victories. He served as the team's interim head coach during the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III Championship Tournament, guiding Grove City to a runner-up finish.

Bobby Stachura returns to Portland for his third season as the Sea Dogs’ Athletic Trainer. Stachura has served as the Athletic Trainer for Single-A Greenville for the past four seasons. He started in the Red Sox organization in 2017 as the Athletic Trainer for the Lowell Spinners. He also spent four years as an athletic trainer at the University of Rhode Island. Stachura graduated with a B.S. in Athletic Training from Lasell College in 2013. He received his M.S. from the University of Rhode Island’s Department of Kinesiology in 2015.

Strength and Conditioning Coach Jonah Mondloch joins the staff for his first season in Portland, but his second year in the Red Sox organization. He was previously an Assistant Rehab Strength and Conditioning Coach. In that role, he assisted in the strength and conditioning for players returning to the field. He collaborated with other Major League sports performance on-field staff members to ensure the highest care for injured athletes.

The Sea Dogs will open the 2025 season on the road in Reading, Pennsylvania, on Friday, April 4th. The home opener at Delta Dental Park is scheduled for Tuesday, April 8th. Tickets for the 2025 season are on sale now and can be purchased online at seadogs.com or by calling 207-879-9500.