When the Kelowna Falcons hit the field for their 17th summer, they will be led by a familiar face.
Bryan Donohue will return for his second season as the bench boss of the West Coast League club.
In his first summer at the helm in 2016, the Falcons posted a 25-29 record.
Donohue, who is also the field manager for Mt. Hood Community College in Oregon, is returning to Kelowna with some definite goals in mind.
“Seeing this team be successful at the championship level is really important to me,” said Donohue.
“This organization has all of the pieces to put together another championship year. We have a one of a kind community that is a special place for all our guys to become a part of and I believe there is a culture up here that really stays with everyone.”
After knocking on the door of being a .500 team for much of last season, Donohue said the Falcons will strive to be more consistent, while putting more offensive pressure on their opponents in 2017.
Donohue said one significant change from last year is how early he and GM Mark Nonis got to work on filling the club’s roster for this summer.
“It really came together well using my resources and Mark’s connections to getting the guys that we wanted. We have some key guys coming back along with some proven players from all over the country. I’m really excited about this roster and getting them focused on winning a title.”
“We are much older as a whole than last year and have much more talent that has already produced at a higher level than last year.”
Donohue added that he expects the Falcons to have considerably more team speed than in 2016.
“Having the ability to take advantage of stolen bases to get into scoring position is huge,” he said. “I want to be a team that constantly puts pressure on and causes problems for opposing defenses and pitchers.”
The Falcons will open the new WCL season June 2 at home to the Port Angeles Lefties, formerly the Kitsap Bluejackets.
The complete 2017 Falcons schedule can be found here.