The Lexington Legends announced today the addition of three new coaches to the organization’s coaching staff. Joining Legends Manager and former MLB Catcher Barry Lyons are Pitching Coach Cameron Roth, Hitting Coach Enohel Polanco, and Defense Coach Bryan Swalley.
“We are very fortunate to hire these three well-respected, experienced and professional men to our staff,” said Legends Manager Barry Lyons. “By building a team of coaches who understand the game from a range of different perspectives, we’re setting our players and our team up for great success.”
Roth, a left-handed pitcher, was chosen in the 29th round of the 2010 MLB Draft by the Baltimore Orioles following his junior year at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He pitched professionally for parts of three seasons before retiring from his playing career due to a back injury. After his playing career ended, Roth began his coaching career with the Frontier League’s Schaumburg Boomers, before coaching in the Detroit Tigers Minor League organization. He was most recently Manager for the Lake Erie Crushers
A native of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, Polanco spent the past 12 seasons on the York Revolution staff. During his time with York, Polanco played a major role on the field as the team’s Hitting and Third Base Coach, helping the club reach the postseason during seven of his 12 years. Polanco began his professional baseball career as an infielder with the New York Mets organization in 1995. His 14-year playing career also took him to the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, Florida Marlins, and Colorado Rockies farm systems.
For the past three years, Swalley has served as the Infield Coach for Major League Baseball in China, at the premier MLB Player Development Center in Nanjing, China. Prior to his experience with MLB, Swalley served as the Defensive/Baserunning coach for Kentucky Christian University during the school’s inaugural baseball season. He has also worked as an Associate Scout for the Seattle Mariners in Ohio and West Virginia.
“Each of our new coaches brings tremendous experience to the Legends organization – from playing to coaching to managing – and we’re thrilled for them to work with our players,” said Legends owner Nathan Lyons. “We’re excitedly looking forward to what we believe will be an incredible season for the Legends.”
