Coaching Staff

Orleans welcomed back coach Nicholson for his 23rd summer and 19th as manager, the longest tenured Orleans skipper in the “modern era” (1963-present). Kelly (or “Coach K” as he’s known in the pitching fraternity) 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 2010 it led the CCBL with a 2.21 ERA. His 2003 championship pitching staff was lights out, with a 2.36 ERA and a league-leading 397 strikeouts in 401 innings pitched. All told, Kelly’s pitching staffs have led the CCBL in ERA an astounding nine times.

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 K 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 again was named the CCBL Mike Curran 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. Under his leadership, Orleans has captured five Eastern Division titles and is a perennial playoff contender. In 2021, the team commemorated his 20th anniversary with a surprise on-field celebration. In 2023, Kelly attained his 400th win in the CCBL, and led the Birds on a thrilling run to the championship series. Since his arrival in 2001, 31 former players have been selected in the first-round of the MLB Draft, and 122 former Orleans Cardinals/Firebirds have reached the Majors.

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. 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 23rd 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 fourth 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 third Firebirds summer by his wife Trish.

Hometown: Chicago, Ill.
X (formerly Twitter): @CoachRo1Coleman

Chicago native Ro Coleman joined the Firebirds for his first summer after completing a year as Vanderbilt’s Maggie Corbin Minority Baseball Apprentice, a privately-funded position for a minority candidate who aspires to make coaching baseball their profession.

Coleman earned All-State honors in high school and participated in Chicago’s Amateur City Elite, which led to a Perfect Game appearance where he met Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin, who recruited him. Coleman chose college over professional baseball, and was a clutch-hitting outfielder for the Commodores for four impactful years, beginning in 2014, when he was a pivotal figure on the team’s national championship team.

Drafted by the Detroit Tigers after he received his bachelor’s degree in 2017, he spent a season with the Connecticut Tigers, and then returned to Nashville to become the CEO of the Nashville Stars Youth Foundation, a non-profit committed to growing baseball in the Nashville area and empowering its members to engage with their community to become better people, leaders, scholars and athletes. He’s also worked with MLB as an RBI Regional Coordinator and coach with the MLB Hank Aaron Invitational and MLB Breakthrough Series; with USA Baseball’s PDP League; and with the SEC Network as a guest analyst.

Coleman’s baseball lineage is impressive, as his dad, uncle and brother all played professionally. His motivation to make a difference was summed up by coach Corbin, who noted that “he is a unique young man who will be able to promote positive change in many.”

Hometown: St. Louis, Mo.
X (formerly Twitter): @brockleebond

Bond, who joined the Firebirds for his first season in 2024, is a native of St. Louis, where he was an award-winning athlete in both football and baseball in high school. A switch-hitting second baseman, he went on to play college baseball for both Arkansas and Missouri.

Drafted by San Francisco in the 24th round of the 2007 MLB Draft, he spent seven years in the Giants’ organization, reaching Triple-A Fresno in three of those seasons. Invited to Spring Training in 2013, Bond won the Harry S. Jordan Award, given to the player in his first Spring Training whose spirit best exemplifies the Giants. In 2014, he played for the Winnipeg Goldeyes in the independent American Association, and then signed with the Los Angeles Angels in 2015, playing for the Arkansas Travelers (AA), before ending his pro playing career with the Rockies’ Albuquerque Isotopes (AAA).

He took a break from organized baseball, during which time he became a certified teacher of the transcendental meditation technique and was a Director of MF USA, a non-profit educational program that offers the TM technique to the general public in Orlando and St. Petersburg, Fla.

He began his coaching career in 2019 first with San Jose State, and then the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He’s currently an assistant at Quincy University (Ill.) where he works with the Hawks’ infielders and hitters while earning his master’s degree in educational leadership.

Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif./Truro, Mass.

Born in New York City, Cole Cook grew up in Los Angeles and was drafted after his senior year at Palisades Charter HS by the Seattle Mariners in the 36th round of the 2007 draft; he opted to pitch for Pepperdine instead. Following his redshirt year in 2008, he was named to the WCC All-Freshman team in 2009.

That summer, he pitched for the Firebirds, and ended the season with a 1-2 record, with eight appearances and six starts, 34.1 IP, a 4.72 ERA, 25 strikeouts and nine walks. In 2010, he earned first team All-Conference honors with the Waves, and was the fifth round selection of the Cleveland Indians (150th overall). Cook spent four years in the Cleveland system (2010-13), reaching Triple-A in 2012 and 2013.

Since retiring from professional baseball, Cook has spent several years as a private coach in Los Angeles, working with young pitchers who aspire to collegiate and professional careers. In December of 2021, he moved to Truro full time to pursue his work as an artist - his work can be found at the Outermost Gallery in Provincetown and on Instragram @CapeCodTrees. Cole spent his second season coaching the Firebirds in 2024.