If you’re a baseball fan, someone can mention a number in a random conversation and you instantly picture a player or two, possibly related to your favorite team. With the calendar flipping to 2026 a few days ago, I thought I would take a look at which players in Milwaukee Brewers history have worn No. 26. Depending on your Brewers fanaticism, you should have been able to come up with a couple—more if you are a true sicko (complimentary).

The Brewers have a pretty solid group of players who have donned the number; most of the top 10 players to wear No. 26 had significant roles. Where this challenge became difficult was filling out a lineup, as some positions don’t have much of a history of players wearing it. For one spot, I couldn’t find anyone who had the number. This list is in no particular order.

Aaron Ashby, LHP
We might as well start with the current wearer of the number. Ashby was a much-hyped prospect after being a fourth-round pick in the 2018 draft. Originally thought of as a starter, the left-hander has been put in a relief role the last two seasons and excelled. Since returning from the minors in June 2024, Ashby has pitched in 57 games and posted a 2.73 FIP and 176 ERA+. At times this season, it seemed like Ashby was pitching in every game, which demonstrates his ability to bounce back from outing to outing. Ashby is on pace to break the record number of seasons of wearing the number, counting the 2023 season he missed due to left labrum surgery.

Jeff Cirillo, 3B
For some Brewers fans, Cirillo was the first player they grew to love. Some of that was because when he played for the Crew (1994-99), it was a pretty rough stretch in team history, finishing in fifth place three of those six seasons. Cirillo could hit, and also played pretty good defense at third base. Three times, Cirillo hit better than .320, but he only had modest power, topping out at 15 homers (twice). Languishing on a bad team that was about to move into a new stadium, Cirillo was traded in December 1999 to the Colorado Rockies, along with left-handed starter Scott Karl, in a three-team deal that included the Oakland A’s. The Crew received catcher Henry Blanco and right-handers Jamey Wright and Jimmy Haynes. Cirillo currently is the record-holder; he wore No. 26 for six seasons.

Manny Parra, LHP
Parra came along just as the Brewers were turning the corner. The left-handed starter made his debut in 2007 with nine appearances, including two starts. He joined the rotation in 2008, starting 29 of 32 games and having a 4.16 FIP and 96 ERA+, winning 10 games on the Brewers team that broke the lengthy playoff drought that started after their lone World Series appearance in 1982. However, his first two seasons were wearing No. 43. He switched to No. 26 in 2009. After a rough 2009 in the rotation with a 4.88 FIP and 6.36 ERA, he transitioned into a relief role during the 2010 season, coming out of the bullpen for 26 of his 42 games. He missed the entire 2011 season due to back surgery, with 2012 being his final year with the Crew.

Glenn Braggs, LF-RF
Like the first three on this list, Braggs was a Brewers draft choice, selected in the second round in 1983. The burly corner outfielder made his big-league debut in 1986, originally as No. 36 but then switching to No. 26. Braggs would be a stalwart in the outfield, flipping between right and left, and put up a .255/.312/.395 slash line before he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in June 1990. Despite his good size (6-foot-3, 210 pounds), Braggs never hit more than 15 homers with the Crew (1989), but did have double-digit steals twice.

Damian Miller, C
Miller, a Wisconsin native, came to the Crew at the end of his career, signing before the 2005 season as a 35-year-old. He was not only a pretty good catcher, but could still hit a bit. In his three seasons in Milwaukee, Miller had a slash line of .257/.324/.391, not far from his .262/.329/.411 for his 11-year career. Miller only played in 58 games, but had a really cool moment. It was La Crosse Day at the Brewers when the La Crosse-born and former Viterbo College (you guessed it, La Crosse) backstop hit a three-run walk-off homer in the 11th inning. Miller grew up in nearby West Salem, where he went to high school.

Kyle Lohse, RHP
Like Miller, Lohse came to the Brewers as his career was coming to a close. He signed a three-year, $33-million contract just before Opening Day 2013, one of the first players afflicted by the burden of the qualifying offer. He came over from the St. Louis Cardinals, where he had spent the previous five years and helped eliminate the Brewers in the 2011 NL Championship Series. Lohse proved to be worth the money, particularly the first two seasons. He put up a FIP of 4.08 and 3.95 in 2013 and 2014, respectively, while chewing up nearly 200 innings each year. But 2015 was a struggle, as he posted a 5.14 FIP. That led to him being shifted to the bullpen, as only 22 of his 37 games were starts.

Bob Coluccio, CF
Coluccio is technically the first Brewers player to wear the number, but not the first in franchise history. In 1969, there were two members of the expansion Seattle Pilots who wore the number before the team moved to Milwaukee just before the 1970 season. The very first one was third baseman Mike Ferraro, who only appeared in five games before being traded to the Baltimore Orioles, who then traded Ferraro back just before Opening Day in 1973 (he then wore 33). Catcher Merritt Ranew wore the number for the rest of the 1969 Pilots season. Coluccio was a 17th-round draft choice of the Pilots in 1969 and made his debut with the Brewers in 1973. He was a good defender who didn’t hit much, compiling a .221/.309/.362 slash line.

Taylor Jungmann, RHP
Jungmann was the first of two top-15 picks the Brewers had in the 2011 draft, taken 12th; left-handed starter Jed Bradley went 15th. (Bradley made six MLB appearances, all in 2016 with Atlanta.) A right-handed starter, Jungmann made it to the majors with the Brewers, with his debut coming in 2015. He had a good rookie season, making 21 starts with a 3.92 FIP and 105 ERA+, including one complete game. In the Opening Day rotation for 2016, Jungmann was roughed up in five April starts, allowing 22 runs in 20â…” innings, and sent to Triple-A Colorado Springs to right himself. But things only got worse there. He would come back for three late-season appearances. He made one early-season relief appearance the next year before being optioned back to the minors, where he spent the rest of 2017. He was released in January 2018 to pursue an opportunity in Japan.

Matt Wise, RHP
Wise joined the Brewers for the 2004 season, after being released by the Los Angeles Angels. He only wore No. 26 in his first season, switching to 38 after the Brewers signed Miller before the 2005 season. Wise was a key member of the Crew’s bullpen in each of his four seasons. In 175 relief appearances covering 215 innings, Wise put up a 3.91 FIP, good enough for a 112 ERA+. Wise is entering his third season as the bullpen coach for the Chicago White Sox.

Dick Davis, LF
Davis wasn’t selected in the draft coming out of Compton (Calif.) High School, and signed with the Brewers as an undrafted free agent in 1972. The outfielder worked his way through the minors and had a breakthrough season in 1977, his first with Triple-A Spokane. He put together a .355/.391/.523 slash line in 114 games, earning a July promotion to make his debut. He had two stints with the Brewers that season, compiling a .275/.278/.314 slash line in 22 games. Davis spent the 1978-80 seasons on the MLB roster, carving out a role as a pinch-hitter and backup outfielder. He hit a career-high 12 homers in 1979 and saw his most action with the Brewers in 1980, appearing in 106 games. He finished his Brewers tenure with a .264/.291/.390 slash line. Davis was traded in spring training 1981 to the Philadelphia Phillies, for left-handed starter Randy Lerch.

All-26 lineup

Catcher: Damian Miller

First base: Dick Davis (never played the position, but no one who wore 26 did)

Second base: Brian Giles (original flavor)

Third base: Jeff Cirillo

Shortstop: Juan Bell

Left field: Glenn Braggs

Center field: Bob Coluccio

Right field: Kevin Bass

Right-handed starter: Kyle Lohse

Left-handed starter: Manny Parra

Reliever: Aaron Ashby