Crushers 2026 Coaching Staff Takes Final Form

by Zane Bloom

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:

Zane Bloom, zbloom@lakeeriecrushers.com

910-777-3871

Crushers 2026 Coaching Staff Takes Shape

Crushers Roster Updates Presented by BCT Alarm Services, Inc.

     

Avon, OH - January 7, 2026 - The Lake Erie Crushers 2026 coaching staff under manager Jared Lemieux has been solidified. Mark Mason returns as the bench coach, Brandyn Sittinger returns as a player/pitching coach, and Brett Muché joins the team as the hitting coach. Lake Erie Crushers roster updates are presented by BCT Alarm Service, Inc.

Longtime baseball mind Mark Mason returns to the Crushers for his second season as the bench coach. Mason picked up pitching coach duties midway through 2025 with Johnny Barbato’s exit after being signed to the Mexican League. A recent induction into the Pennsylvania Baseball Hall of Fame, Mark Mason coached collegiately from 1987 to 2009 at Washington and Jefferson, Waynesburg University, and the University of Pittsburgh, winning five conference championships and four Coach of the Year award honors.

Mason is also no stranger to the Frontier League. He managed the Washington Wild Things for five seasons in the 2000s, winning Coach of the Year twice. Mason is also the all-time winningest manager for the York Revolution in the Atlantic League with 606 career wins, including a championship in 2017. His most recent managing stint came in 2023 with the Empire State Greys, a Frontier League travel team. Mason brings decades of baseball experience back to a Crushers team looking to make it back to the Frontier League Playoffs for the third straight season.

Brandyn Sittinger has become a household name around Avon. The Lagrange native and Keystone High School product provides unique MLB experience to the Crushers, now in a new pitching coach role coming into 2026. In 2021, Sittinger made his MLB debut with the Arizona Diamondbacks after his first stint in the Frontier League with the Evansville Otters in 2019. Sittinger joined the Crushers as a pitcher in 2025 and was one of the most dominant relievers in the league in the second half of the season. 

After beginning the season in the starting rotation, Sittinger found his niche as a high-leverage reliever and setup man in the bullpen down the stretch. He was a workhorse, logging a 3.33 ERA in 73 innings with 88 strikeouts (10.8 K/9). In a span of a month and a half from mid-June to late-July, he went 24 ⅔ innings without surrendering a run. On top of that, he struck out 35 batters and allowed only eight men to reach base (for a staggering WHIP of 0.311). With seven seasons of professional playing experience under his belt, Sittinger positions himself as a true veteran - one that assumed a leadership role in the Crushers’ clubhouse in 2025. Now the acting pitching coach, Sittinger’s role expands from his own pitching on the mound to the performance of the Crushers’ pitching staff as a unit. Sittinger becomes the second player/coach in as many years under Jared Lemieux. 

Brett Muché brings over 25 years of baseball experience with origins just a short drive from Avon at North Olmsted High School where he was an upperclassman standout and eventually inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2007. He went on to play at Tiffin University from 1991-1993 and was the first player signed in the history of the Newark Buffalos, a Frontier League franchise. Muche finished his professional playing career as a corner infielder/catcher with the Dakota Rattlers in 1996 before returning to California to coach at Los Angeles High School and El Segundo High School.

In 2000, Muche landed an assistant coaching job at Pierce College, and in 2001 he was promoted to Head Coach, a title he kept for three seasons. From there, Muche has been heavily invested in the future of baseball through player development, coaching, and instructing at San Diego Strikers Baseball Academy and Big League Edge. He has also done work with the University of Puget Sound, San Diego State University, and University of Washington Huskies Baseball Camps. He is currently the bench coach for Lorain County Community College and joins the Crushers as the new hitting coach with founded hitting philosophies based on approach and mindset.

The Lake Erie Crushers 2026 Coaching Staff:

  • Jared Lemieux - Manager (4th season)

  • Mark Mason - Bench Coach (2nd season)

  • Brandyn Sittinger - Pitching Coach (1st season)

  • Brett Muche - Hitting Coach (1st season)

The Lake Erie Crushers will open their 17th season at newly named ForeFront Field in Avon on Friday, May 8th, 2026 in a playoff rematch against the Schaumburg Boomers. For information on season ticket memberships visit lakeeriecrushers.com, and be sure to follow our socials @LECrushers on Instagram/Facebook/X.

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About the Lake Erie Crushers

The Lake Erie Crushers are a professional baseball team based in Avon, Ohio, just 18 miles west of Cleveland at ForeFront Field. They compete in the Frontier League, a proud MLB Partner League, and have brought a family-friendly, fan-oriented baseball experience to Northeast Ohio since 2009. As Lorain County’s only professional sports franchise, the Lake Erie Crushers are the largest economic driver in Lorain County, hosting more than 200 events per year that include over 50 baseball games, concerts, charity functions, and other events that bring the community of Avon together. Len Komoroski is the Crushers Chairman and Managing Partner, and the team is led by President Vic Gregovits. Jared Lemieux, a Maine Baseball Hall of Fame inductee, is in his fourth season as field manager.