New faces have come in to help the Wolf Pack baseball team rack up more wins on the diamond with expertise from the professional leagues.

Over the summer, Jeremy Kennedy was named the team’s new coach.

Kennedy heads to Uptown, New Orleans from Keiser University in Florida. In his three years there, he led the Seahawks to their first-ever appearance at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics World Series, 40-win seasons each year, three conference championships and two regular season titles. He also coached five student-athletes that ended up signing professional baseball contracts.

Steven Bruce, Loyola’s new pitching coach and recruiting coordinator, was one of those players that made it to the next level. He played three seasons in the Texas Rangers farm system for the Rangers’ Class A-Advanced affiliate Down East Wood Ducks.

Kennedy told Wolf Pack Athletics that he is thrilled to bring Bruce to campus.

“I know he has a bright future as a coach. Coach Bruce has a passion for development; he has lived it, and I’m excited to see the impact that he will have on our pitchers. I know he is also a tireless worker who will hit the recruiting trail hard,” Kennedy told Wolf Pack Athletics.

While playing for the Ducks, Bruce helped them win their first Carolina League Championship and represented the Texas Rangers as a starting pitcher in the Arizona Fall League in 2017.

The team is looking forward to working with their new coaches and improving on last year’s 21-33 record.

“This is a new year and with that I’d rather look into the present and toward the future focusing on winning this season,” business senior Alex Acevedo said. “I think that this change is something really good for the team. From day one, we’ve already been working hard and putting in the work. That is what it’s going to take. If we want to be respected in our conference and beyond then, we’re going to have to earn that.”

Acevedo and his teammates are looking forward to what is in store for this team as they make changes for this upcoming season.

“This change is something that we’re all excited about because of the new opportunity and fresh start that it brings to the program. I don’t think that there is anything that can get in between our (team’s) brotherhood. We’re just going to keep working hard every day together so that we can make something special happen this spring. The only thing that I can see happening without brotherhood is us growing even closer through our hard work,” he said.