The Cincinnati Reds and the Louisville Bats have announced the 2026 coaching staff for the Triple-A affiliate. Pat Kelly is returning to manage the Bats and he will be joined by pitching coaches Reid Cornulius and Carson Phillips, hitting coach Daryle Ward, and coaches Vince Harrison and Peterson Plaz.
Pat Kelly is back for his 7th season in a row as the Louisville Bats manager. He’s been in player development with the Reds since the 2007 season, but in 2018 he did serve as the bench coach for the big league club. He’s also been a manager at every level of the farm system since joining the organization with the exception of the international teams in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela (which last existed for the Reds in 2007). Over his managerial career he’s won 2092 minor league games.
Reid Cornelius joined the Reds organization last year as the Bats pitching coach. From 2022-2024 he was the bullpen coach for the Colorado Rockies. He had previously served as the Miami Marlins bullpen coach for seven years from 2010-2016. Before then he was a coach in their farm system for seven seasons. Cornelius also served as a pitching coach in Triple-A for Atlanta’s farm system. As a player he spent parts of three seasons in the big leagues with the Expos, Mets, and Marlins from 1995-2000.
Carson Phillips is a newcomer to the Reds organization. While listed as one of the pitching coaches, he notes on instagram that he will be serving as the bullpen coach for the Bats – a role he’s been in with Triple-A Buffalo (Blue Jays), Double-A Frisco (Rangers) and High-A Vancouver (Blue Jays) over the past three seasons. Before joining pro baseball he was a graduate assistant for the University of Arizona after his college pitching career (California Baptist, San Diego Mesa, and Dixie State) came to an end after the 2022 season.
Daryle Ward moved up from Double-A Chattanooga last season to join the Bats staff. With the Lookouts he had been the hitting coach in 2019, 2023, and 2024. He was the hitting coach for the Dayton Dragons in all of the other seasons between 2017-2022. As a player he spent 11 seasons in the big leagues with the Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Nationals, Atlanta Braves, and Chicago Cubs from 1998-2008.
Vince Harrison is back with Louisville after last serving with the club in 2023. During the 2024 and 2025 seasons he was the manager of the High-A Dayton Dragons. This will be his 13th season as a minor league coach or manager. Before joining the Reds organization he had served as a hitting coach and manager within the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. His coaching career began in 2012 in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.
Peterson Plaz was with Harrison in Dayton as a coach last season. This will be his 4th season as a coach with the Reds organization, getting started in 2023 when he was the performance coach in Dayton. In 2024 he was the ACL Reds hitting coach. Plaz played in the Reds farm system from 2016-2019 and played for the DSL Reds and Rojos, the ACL Reds, the Greeneville Reds, and the Dayton Dragons.
You can see the other Reds minor league coaching staff announcements here.