Coaching Staff

The Edmonton Riverhawks are excited to announce our 2021 coaching staff. A combination of elite game experience, technical knowledge, strong mentoring, youth and enthusiasm, our coaching staff will provide great opportunities for our players to develop their skills while competing with the best teams in the West Coast League.

Kelly Stinnett

Manager

Stinnett began his big league career in 1994 with the New York Mets. In the next decade, he also played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies and Kansas City Royals. He made a comeback to the majors with the Diamondbacks before signing contracts with the New York Yankees, Mets, L.A. Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals. After ten stops with eight teams, he retired with a .234 career batting average and a .313 on base percentage.

The 51-year-old was originally drafted by the Cleveland Indians in 1989 out of Seminole Junior College in Oklahoma where he was National Junior College player of the year, sporting a .399 batting average as he led his team to third place in the Junior College World Series. He attended high school in Lawton, Oklahoma, where he was a letterman in both baseball and football.

Stinnett has spent his post playing days coaching and currently leads the baseball program at Park University's Gilbert, Arizona, campus.

He resides in Gilbert with his wife and four sons.

Ethan Elias

Pitching Coach

Ethan had a successful playing career which saw him drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft. He played 3 years in the Cubs system before heading to the Frontier League for a season. After a successful campaign there, he was signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Elias also has a wealth of National Team experience in Canada. He is currently coaching at the Absolute Human Performance Academy based out of the Edmonton region.

Jake Lanferman

Hitting Coach

Jake played his youth baseball in the Sherwood Park Minor Baseball Program. He attended St. Francis Xavier Academy and the St. Albert Prospects Academy throughout high school and represented Team Alberta many times. After high school he received an athletic scholarship to play for Fort Hays State University in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NCAA D2). After playing in Kansas for a number of years, he transferred to the University of British Columbia where he played in the Cascade Conference (NAIA). He received an athletic scholarship at UBC for consecutive seasons and finished his collegiate baseball career in 2020.