Coaching Staff

Orleans is indeed fortunate to welcome back Coach Nicholson for his 24th summer and 20th as manager, the longest tenured Orleans skipper in the “modern era” (1963-present). Kelly (Coach K, or Coach Nick) is a native of Corona, Calif., where he won numerous scholar-athlete awards in both baseball and basketball while in high school. He was a four-year letter winner and two-time all-conference pick during his pitching career at Loyola Marymount.

After earning his bachelor’s degree in business administration from LMU, he began his career teaching mathematics at Loyola High School of Los Angeles, while completing his master’s degree in education from LMU. He was the head coach of the Loyola HS Cubs for 11 seasons, leading the team to seven playoff appearances and a league title. Kelly then spent three seasons as Loyola Marymount’s pitching coach; each year the Lions won the West Coast Conference title and went to the NCAA regionals. In the summer of 2000, Kelly worked with the Team USA pitching staff in its early preparation for international play. Kelly joined Orleans as the pitching coach in 2001. In 2002, Coach K’s staff had a 2.11 ERA (the best ever by Cardinals pitchers) and in 2004 it led the CCBL with a 2.37 ERA. His 2003 championship pitching staff was lights out, with a 2.36 ERA and a league-leading 397 strikeouts in 401 innings pitched.

Co-winner of the Hossfeld Spirit Award with Coach Steve DeBlasi in 2004, Kelly became the field manager in 2005. In his first season, Nicholson was the unanimous choice of his fellow managers for the CCBL Mike Curran Manager of the Year Award after leading the Cardinals to a record-setting 30-win season and the championship. Coach Nick was again named Manager of the Year in 2008 as his squad finished the regular season in first place overall (25-17-2). In 2015, Kelly led the Firebirds to a franchise record of 31-12-1 (.716) and was again named the Manager of the Year. In 2017, his Birds captured the President’s Trophy once more (29-15), and he received his fourth Mike Curran Award.

In 2019, the Birds shared the regular season East title with Chatham and Kelly attained his 350th win. In 2021, the team commemorated his 20th anniversary with a surprise on-field celebration. In 2023, Coach Nick notched his 400th win, and the Birds made a thrilling run at the CCBL championship before losing in the third and final game.

Under his leadership, Orleans has captured six Eastern Division titles and is a perennial playoff contender. Since his arrival in 2001, 32 former players have been selected in the first-round of the MLB draft and 130 former Orleans Cardinals/Firebirds have reached MLB.

It’s no surprise to anyone who knows him that Kelly enjoys the respect, affection and admiration of his players, fellow coaches and colleagues here and around the league, and in the wider baseball community. His annual reunion dinners for players and coaches in Scottsdale during MLB Spring Training are legendary. He’s a favorite around town, having made countless friends over the years. Orleans fans know they’ll see a first-class team on the field every summer with Kelly at the helm. Orleans welcomes a true gentleman and a terrific leader back for his 24th summer.

Kelly lives with his wife Donna in Playa del Rey, Calif. He can be found on X (formerly Twitter) @CoachK21 and at knicholson@loyolahs.edu.

Hometown: San Francisco, Calif.
Twitter: @JayBanfield

Jay Banfield joined the Firebirds for his sixth summer on the Cape as the team’s Bench Coach and Mental Performance Coordinator.

Jay graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Psychology. His research in self-efficacy, a concept which has led to the growth mindset framework, has appeared in the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology.

Jay has had a wide-ranging career in the private, public and non-profit sectors. Prior to joining the Firebirds, he helped lead a national youth and workforce development organization, Year Up, that has trained and placed tens of thousands of low-income young adults, ages 18 to 24, into careers in the nation’s leading employers such as Google, JPMorgan Chase, Kaiser Permanente and Facebook. Applying the research-validated principles of Year Up, combined with his playing and coaching experience, Jay created a tailored program for the Firebirds. He has his Mental Performance Mastery Coaching Certification.

In the off-season, Jay works with professional and collegiate baseball players, as well as collegiate baseball programs, on mental performance and team dynamics. He also serves as the Chief Officer of Economic Mobility for All Home, an organization designed to disrupt homelessness and poverty in the San Francisco Bay Area. Jay played baseball at Foothill College (Calif.) and in Europe semi-professionally, and has coached at various levels since 2007.

Hometown: College Station, Texas

With more than three decades of coaching experience, Coach Lawler brings an impeccable baseball pedigree to the Firebirds. His resume includes six years as the pitching coach for the Wareham Gatemen (2014-19).

Originally from Carroll, Iowa, he graduated from Buena Vista College (Iowa) where he was a pitcher for the Beavers. Drafted in 1972 by the Yankees, he played one season for the Johnson City Yankees.

His coaching career has taken him from Gonzaga, where he was the head coach (1979-80), to Texas El Paso for four years (1981-84) as their head coach. He became an assistant coach at Texas A&M in 1985, and was the assistant head coach from 1989 through 2005. The Aggies boasted a record of 876-433-3 during his tenure, appeared in the NCAA Tournament 13 times and made it to the College World Series twice (1993, 1999). In 2003, Lawler was named the National Assistant Coach of the Year by the ABCA and Baseball America.

Lawler was the head coach at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock from 2005 to 2008, and an assistant with Team USA’s 18U team in 2011 and 2012. After his years at Wareham, he was an assistant at Pepperdine (2020-21).

Coach Lawler was joined on the Cape for his fourth Firebirds summer by his wife Trish.

Hometown: Franklin, Mass.

The Firebirds welcome Chris Constantine back to the coaching staff for his second year, following a five-year hiatus. During that time, he served as the outfield and baserunning coordinator for both the Los Angeles Angels and Tampa Bay Rays, and was named the 2019 Coach of the Year within the Angels organization.

Prior to his time with the Angels and Rays, Chris spent four seasons as an assistant coach with the Firebirds. A native of Franklin, Mass., he has also had collegiate stops at Winston-Salem State, Maryland Eastern Shore and the United States Naval Academy. In his time at Navy, the Midshipmen won back-to-back regular season conference championships and accumulated the highest two-year win total in Naval Academy history, including a 43-win 2016 campaign and the program’s first victory in the NCAA Tournament in more than ten years.

Hometown: Brenham, Texas

Joining the Firebirds for his first year, Kyle Van Hook brings a rich baseball background to Orleans. After graduating from TCU where he played his collegiate baseball, Kyle began his coaching career at St. Pius HS in Houston in 1981. He served as an assistant coach with the University of Houston in 1984-85, and later became an assistant with San Jacinto Junior College in before taking over as head coach for Blinn College in Brenham, Texas, where he won more than 300 games and led the Buccaneers to the NJCAA World Series in 1992. His baseball trajectory changed directions in 1998 when he became a major league scout, first with the Seattle Mariners, then with Cleveland Indians and finally with the Minnesota Twins before retiring in 2024. In 2019, he was inducted into the Texas Scouts Association Hall of Fame, whose membership is comprised of area scouts in Texas from all 30 MLB teams; he also served as the organization’s president from 2016-17. In the off seasons, Kyle served as a broadcaster for Brenham HS Cubs football on KWHI for many years.

Kyle and his late wife Loyce are parents to Clay and Olivia, both of whom became coaches, and Vanessa, a teacher. In 2017, Kyle donated a kidney to his then 20-month-old grandson, Briscoe, who is now thriving.

Hometown: Louisville, Ky.

Will Kempf joins the Firebirds for his initial season after completing a year as a graduate assistant coach working with catchers and hitters at Louisville. His first experience with coaching came in the summer of 2023, getting in on the ground floor when he interned with the USA Baseball 12U National Team prior to their winning a gold medal in international competition. Following his graduation in 2024 from Centre College in Danville, Ky., he decided to pursue a coaching career which led him to the Cardinals. At Centre, he majored in Psychology and Spanish and was a catcher and relief pitcher for the Colonels, serving as a team captain while participating in the team’s exhibition/mission trip to the Dominican Republic and first NCAA Tournament appearance. Away from baseball, Will enjoys running, watching movies and playing the cello.

Hometown: Knoxville, Tenn.

The Firebirds are pleased to welcome an alumnus of the amazing 2015 team, Kyle Serrano, back to Orleans, this time as an assistant coach. After a prep career where he earned numerous honors, Kyle pitched for the University of Tennessee from 2014-17, and was drafted in the 10th round of the 2017 draft by the Houston Astros. He spent five years in the Astros’ Minor League system, reaching Double-A. He continued his pro career with the Ottawa Titans in the Frontier League in 2022, and then Acereros de Monclova in the Mexican League in 2023. Kyle is now moving into the coaching ranks, serving as the pitching coach for the Johnson University Royals in Knoxville and bringing the same baseball acumen, focus and energy to the Firebirds.

Hometown: Magnolia, Ark.

Matt played for the Firebirds in 2019 and then again in 2021 when the league resumed after the pandemic. He began his collegiate career at San Jacinto College (Texas) in 2018, transferring to Arkansas the following year, where he won SEC honors and his teams went to Omaha twice. After his second stint with Orleans, Matt signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Phillies and spent a season with the FCL Phillies. In 2022 and 2023, he played first for the Lincoln Saltdogs and then for the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks, both of the independent American Association. Shifting his baseball focus to coaching, he’s now the hitting coach at Southern Arkansas University Tech. He also coaches travel ball and gives private lessons. Welcome back to Orleans, Matt!