ST. LOUIS, Mo., – The St. Louis Cardinals announced the following staff hirings for their minor league player development and performance groups:
Dalton Hurd – Director, Hitting
Casey Demko – Minor League Infield Coordinator
Jason Eary – Minor League Assistant Coach
Wade Stauss – Minor League Assistant Coach
Rodrigo Vigil – Minor League Assistant Coach
Julian Rip – Minor League Strength & Conditioning Coordinator
Nick Coberly – Minor League Assistant Medical Coordinator
Morgan Ivey –Minor League Rehabilitation Coordinator
Kily Gilbert – Minor League Athletic Trainer
Jordan Hyink – Minor League Athletic Trainer
The Cardinals also announced the following promotions within the team’s player development and performance groups:
Emily Wiebe – Assistant Director, Player Development & Performance Analytics
Brock Hammit – Minor League Hitting Coordinator
Ryan Ludwick – Minor League Outfield Coordinator
Esmeralda Hernandez – Coordinator, International Administration
Paige Schultz – Assistant, Player Development
New Hires
Hurd joins the Cardinals after coaching last season as a minor league hitting coordinator in the Baltimore Orioles system. Prior to his time in Baltimore, Dalton spent two seasons as a hitting coach for the Arizona Complex League Giants in San Francisco’s system and worked in the private sector at Push Performance and Boss Sports as both a director of hitting and strength coach. He played professionally in the Cubs system for two seasons after being selected in the 25th round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of Seattle University where he finished his career as the program’s all-time leader in hits, games started, home runs, RBI, runs and stolen bases.
Demko joins the Cardinals organization as the club’s new minor league infield coordinator after spending three seasons as an assistant coach at Abilene Christian (Tex.) University, with an emphasis on infield and team defensive development. Prior to ACU, he spent three seasons coaching at Quincy (Ill.) University and played collegiately at Sinclair (Ohio) Community College, Coker (S.C.) University and Ohio State University.
Eary joins the organization after spending the last four years as an assistant coach at St. Louis University, with prior stops at UNLV and Cal State Fullerton, bringing strong experience in infield and baserunning development.
Vigil joins the Cardinals minor league coaching staff following an 11-year professional playing career and four years of coaching experience in the Blue Jays (three years) and Mariners (one year) systems. He brings a wealth of experience and passion in catching and hitting development along with a deep understanding of the day-to-day demands of professional baseball.
Stauss enters his first year of coaching after spending the past five seasons as a catcher in the Cardinals minor league system. The Wildwood, Mo. native and Lafayette High School graduate was signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2021 after playing collegiately at Southeast Missouri State University, reaching as high as Triple-A Memphis.
Rip brings professional baseball experience as a former Division I outfielder at USC Upstate and most recently served as a strength and conditioning coach in the Atlanta Braves minor league system for three seasons. A native of the Netherlands, Rip was named the South Atlantic League’s 2025 PBSCCS Strength Coach of the Year.
Coberly brings valuable professional baseball experience after serving as an athletic trainer/physical therapist in the San Diego Padres (five seasons) and Minnesota Twins (three seasons) minor league systems.
Ivey joins the organization following fellowship training under renowned sports medicine expert Dr. Kevin Wilk at Champion Sports Medicine in Birmingham, Ala., where she specialized in overhead athlete rehabilitation and post-operative care.
Gilbert and Hyink join the Cardinals sports medicine department as minor league athletic trainers. Gilbert most recently spent two seasons in the Houston Astros organization, while Hyink spanned three seasons across the Tampa Bay Rays and Detroit Tigers systems.
Staff Promotions
Wiebe was promoted to Assistant Director after serving as Manager, Player Development and Performance for the last six seasons. She will continue to be a major contributor to the team’s minor league player development and performance operations, while expanding her responsibilities to include tool creation and management with the baseball development group, player plan monitoring, and people management within the department’s fellow program.
Hammit moves into the role of minor league hitting coordinator after serving as assistant hitting coordinator from 2024-25. In this role, Brock will expand his impact within the club’s hitting leadership team and help drive the organization’s hitting development program across the minor league system.
Ludwick, now entering his 11th season in the Cardinals Player Development system, transitions into the minor league outfield coordinator role where he will build the outfield curriculum and lead programing across the system. The 12-year Major League veteran and 2008 Silver Slugger has served the organization in multiple capacities as a Special Assistant, particularly in outfield and hitting development.
Hernandez, entering her 10th season with the Cardinals, will help oversee day-to-day operations at the Dominican Republic academy while serving as a liaison with Player Development coordinators and contributing to strategic planning and implementation of academy programs.
Schultz transitions into the Assistant, Player Development role after spending the past two seasons with the team’s video and technology team. She will support administrative operations at the Jupiter complex and assist organizational efforts in language development coordination and visa/immigration administration.