by Hunter Dawkins, Owner/Publisher
BILOXI (GG) — The Milwaukee Brewers have announced the complete 2026 coaching staff for the Biloxi Shuckers, highlighted by the return of Mike Guerrero as the team’s manager after two seasons as a Roving Infield Instructor. Guerrero’s staff includes Hitting Coach Kevin Martir (2nd), Pitching Coach Josh Spence (3rd), Coach Matt Lipka (2nd), and Associate Coach Tyson Cooper (1st).
Joe Ayrault, who previously managed the team from 2024-2025, has been promoted to the Brewers Minor League Field Coordinator. Ayrault ends his tenure with a 140-133 record and joins Mike Guerrero as the second Shuckers manager to lead the team to back-to-back playoff appearances, reaching the playoffs in 2024 and 2025.
Guerrero, 58, enters his ninth season in Biloxi and 27th as a manager in Minor League Baseball. After reaching 1,400 career wins during the 2023 season, Guerrero needs 55 wins during the 2026 season to reach 1,500. His 1,445 wins are the sixth-most among active managers in Minor League Baseball. Guerrero owns a 492-449 (.523) record with the Shuckers and is the winningest manager in franchise history.
During his tenure with the Shuckers, he has managed 71 of the 82 former Shuckers who have gone on to make their MLB debuts, including Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta, Jackson Chourio, Josh Hader and Brice Turang. In 2018 and 2019, he helped the Shuckers become the first Brewers Double-A affiliate to reach the championship series in back-to-back years since 2006 and 2007. Guerrero has also been named the 2018 Southern League Manager of the Year, 2013 Mike Coolbaugh Award winner, 2009 Florida State League Manager of the Year and 2001 Dominican Summer League Manager of the Year.
Martir enters his eighth season as a coach in Minor League Baseball, his third in Double-A and his second with Biloxi. In 2025, he oversaw a Shuckers lineup that led the Southern League in runs (639), doubles (197), home runs (111), walks (621), on-base percentage (.337), slugging percentage (.362) and OPS (.699). He previously spent five seasons in the New York Yankees organization, serving as the hitting coach with the Double-A Somerset Patriots (2024), High-A Hudson Valley Renegades (2023) and Single-A Tampa Tarpons (2021-2022).
Spence enters his second season as the Shuckers pitching coach and his third on the coaching staff. In 2025, he managed a Shuckers pitching staff that included four Brewers Top-30 prospects, including 2025 Brewers Minor League Pitcher of the Year, Mississippi State alum Tyson Hardin. The native of Australia played professionally for five seasons and made 188 appearances across MLB, MiLB and independent baseball, including 51 MLB appearances across two seasons with the San Diego Padres between 2011 and 2012.
Lipka enters his second season with the Shuckers after a 12-year playing career that saw the former outfielder appear in 1,137 games in Minor League Baseball. Cooper enters his second season in professional baseball and his first with the Shuckers. Cooper previously served as a Development Coach with the Rookie-level ACL Brewers in 2025.
The Biloxi Shuckers are the Double-A Affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Shuckers are members of the Southern League and play at Keesler Federal Park in Biloxi, Mississippi. Their first home game is Tuesday, April 7 against the Pensacola Blue Wahoos.
(Photo submitted by Biloxi Shuckers)
