LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) — The Lafayette Aviators have announced a new coach for the 2018 season today.
After finishing atop the Prospect League’s West Division last season and winning the league championship, Lafayette's celebrated baseball team welcomes Will Arnold.
Arnold will be replacing Brent McNeil, who was the Aviators' Field Manager in their first two seasons and has moved on to a full-time coaching position at Quincy University.
Arnold comes to Lafayette after having spent two seasons coaching the North Iowa Area Community College Trojans where in his first season with them, he helped lead the team to a 39-19 record, 16-8 in conference.
Arnold's experience also includes four years at Central Michigan and time spent playing professionally with the Washington Wildthings and the Road Warriors of the Frontier League in 2013. He has also played for the Taos Blizzard of the Pecos League.
In 2014, Arnold helped select the 18u players to represent Team USA by coaching at the USA Baseball Tournament of Stars.
When asked about the season, Arnold stated, “I’m looking forward to coming into Lafayette and working under Dan (Kuenzi, Division President) and the ROC Ventures group; they have done a great job in limited years here. We will continue to take this team in the right direction that Brent started. We are excited about the players and the brand of baseball we plan on putting on the field every day. With a lot of younger players and a staff to match it, we are expecting to bring a lot of energy to the field night in and night out. Player development will be a main focus for us this summer so players can continue to take the necessary steps in order to become the players they want to be.”
Zach Chartrand, Lafayette Aviators Business Manager said, “Winning the Prospect League Championship in just our second season was a big accomplishment for the team. Will is ready to pick things up where we left off and hit the ground running. He already has a great group of guys lined up ready to defend our title.”
