CHICAGO (WGN) — The Chicago White Sox have finalized their Major League coaching staff under first-year manager Will Venable for the 2025 MLB season, adding two new faces to a group of coaches already familiar to South Side baseball fans.
The White Sox's two new additions are bench coach Walker McKinven and assistant hitting coach Joel McKeithan.
McKinven and McKeithan are joining a staff that already features pitching coach Ethan Katz (fifth season), assistant pitching coach Matt Wise (second season), hitting coach Marcus Thames (second season), first base and outfield coach Jason Bourgeois (second season), third base and infield coach Justin Jirschele (second season), catching coach Butera (second season) and offensive coordinator Grady Sizemore (second season).
Here's a full outline of the South Siders' coaching staff heading into next year:
- Bench Coach: Walker McKinven
- Pitching Coach: Ethan Katz
- Hitting Coach: Marcus Thames
- Offensive Coordinator: Grady Sizemore
- First Base/Outfield Coach: Jason Bourgeois
- Third Base/Infield Coach: Justin Jirschele
- Assistant Pitching Coach: Matt Wise
- Assistant Hitting Coach: Joel McKeithan
- Catching Coach: Drew Butera
McKinven spent the last five seasons (2020-24) on the Milwaukee Brewers coaching staff, including 2024 as run prevention coordinator. Under his guidance in 2024, the Brewers allowed the fourth-fewest runs (641) in the majors. McKinven served as Milwaukee’s associate pitching, catching and strategy coach from 2021-23 and major league coach in 2020.
McKinven originally joined the Brewers organization in 2016 as coordinator of advance scouting and served as manager of major league strategy before being added to the coaching staff in 2020. Prior to his tenure in Milwaukee, he served as an intern with the Chicago Cubs (2013-14) and Texas Rangers (2015) organizations.
A native of Evanston, Ill., McKinven graduated from New Trier High School in Winnetka, Ill. He pitched three years at Binghamton University and two at Georgia College, where he earned a degree in business. McKinven played independent baseball with the Lincoln Saltdogs of the American Association and Worcester Tornadoes of the Cam-Ann League in 2012.
McKeithan joins the White Sox after serving as the Cincinnati Reds hitting coach for the last two seasons. He originally joined the Reds organization as the assistant hitting coach before the 2022 season.
Prior to joining Cincinnati, McKeithan was the hitting coach for Class A Williamsport in the Philadelphia Phillies organization from 2019-20, director of hitting at X2 Baseball in Charlotte, N.C. in 2020 and minor-league hitting coordinator in the Detroit Tigers system in 2021.
McKeithan, a native of Raleigh, N.C., played three collegiate seasons at Vanderbilt (2011-13) and one at North Carolina State (2015) after missing the 2014 season following Tommy John surgery. He competed in three seasons in the independent Frontier League with the Southern Illinois Miners (2017), Gateway Grizzlies (2017-18) and Lake Erie Crushers (2018).
Sizemore returns for his second season on Chicago’s coaching staff and first as offensive coordinator. He began the 2024 season as a major league coach before being named interim manager on Aug. 8. The White Sox went 13-32 over the final two months of the season, including a 5-1 stretch in the final six games.
Jirschele will begin his first full season as White Sox third base and infield coach after being named to the position in August 2024. He has been in Chicago's organization since 2016 and served as the manager of their Triple-A affiliate, the Charlotte Knights, from 2023-24.
Mike Gellinger and Doug Sisson, who were added to the 2024 coaching staff in August, will be reassigned within the White Sox organization, according to the team.