Many familiar coaches will be returning to the White Sox in 2025.
After an initial report from Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times, the team formally announced their major-league coaching staff under new manager Will Venable. The staff shakes out as follows:
- Manager: Will Venable
- Bench Coach: Walker McKinven
- Pitching Coach: Ethan Katz
- Assistant Pitching Coach: Matt Wise
- Hitting Coach: Marcus Thames
- Assistant Hitting Coach: Joel McKeithan
- First Base/Outfield Coach: Jason Burgeois
- Third Base/Infield Coach: Justin Jirschele
- Catching Coach: Drew Butera
- Offensive Coordinator: Grady Sizemore
Both hitting coach Marcus Thames (second season) and pitching coach Ethan Katz (fifth season) are back, as are Grady Sizemore, Justin Jirschele, Jason Burgeois, Matt Wise, and Drew Butera. Mike Gellinger and Doug Sisson, who both joined the staff temporarily post-Grifol, will reportedly remain in the organization but not at the major league level.
To make it easier to visualize the new names and familiar faces, here is a breakdown of the 2025 coaches compared to the Opening Day staff last season:
| Position | 2025 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Manager | Will Venable | Pedro Grifol |
| Bench Coach | Walker McKinven | Charlie Montoyo |
| Pitching Coach | Ethan Katz | Ethan Katz |
| Assistant Pitching Coach | Matt Wise | Matt Wise |
| Hitting Coach | Marcus Thames | Marcus Thames |
| Assistant Hitting Coach | Joel McKeithan | Mike Tosar |
| First Base/Outfield Coach | Jason Bourgeois | Jason Bourgeois |
| Third Base/Infield Coach | Justin Jirschele | Eddie Rodriguez |
| Catching Coach | Drew Butera | Drew Butera |
| Offensive Coordinator | Grady Sizemore | — |
The White Sox’s press release included write-ups on the newest additions to the organization, McKinven and McKeithan.
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).
Notably, Sizmore will also transition to a new role after serving as a Major League coach and later interim manager. His title is now “Offensive Coordinator,” a position that the team has not had previously.
Related Articles
Follow us @SoxOn35th for more White Sox news!
Featured Image: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
What joke…. keep the hold overs, that would not have jobs in professionally run organizations.
Everyone with the exception of Sizemore should have been jettisoned. But cause the Sox are too cheap…. they keep the status quo. Hope Venable doesn’t get to comfortable… cause he willing went along with this, he’ll be just as bad as the other managers this inept team has hired.