Pistol Shrimp Announce 2025 Coaching Staff
Peru, Ill. – The Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp announced today the team's 2025 coaching staff, led by Manager John Jakiemiec. Jakiemiec returns for his seventh season alongside longtime Pitching Coach Mark Sheehan and Assistant Coach Justyn Friday. Two familiar faces join the 2025 staff as Ryan Eiermann joins as Assistant Pitching Coach and Chance Resetich joins as an Assistant Coach.
John Jakiemiec remains the only Field Manager in Pistol Shrimp history, leading the team since 2019. Jakiemiec led the Pistol Shrimp to their first Prospect League title in 2024 and was awarded the 2024 Prospect League Manager of the Year by his peers. He has coached travel, high school, and summer collegiate baseball for several years, with many of his former players now playing professionally. Born and raised in Birch Run, MI, John played multiple high school sports before going on to play football at Dartmouth College. He resides in Northern California with his wife, Anne, and yellow lab Tucker, and has been blessed with three children, Bryan, Natalie, and Kyle.
Mark Sheehan returns for his seventh season as Pitching Coach. Sheehan served as the National Director of the National Pitching Association from 2015 - 2017 before founding his own academy, Evolution Athletics, in Naperville, Illinois, and was awarded the Collegiate Baseball News Teaching Professional of the Year in 2014. As one of the most highly respected and sought-after coaches in baseball, he has a vast amount of experience training pitchers, tutoring professional and college pitching coaches, and consulting with multiple MLB teams. A former Lisle, Illinois resident, his home base is currently Pompano Beach, Florida, and is a proud Dad to his three sons, Connor, Quinn, and Nolan.
Justyn Friday returns for his seventh season as an Assistant Coach, often occupying the first base coaching box and tossing batting practice. Friday played at Joliet Junior College, where he was a captain, named to the All-Region Team, and still holds the stolen base record. Formerly a part of the staff at Aurora Central Catholic High School, he now coaches and teaches at Oswego East High School. Friday grew up in Marietta, Georgia, but considers Massachusetts his home. He currently resides in Joliet, Illinois, with son Justyn Jr, daughter Sydney, and pitbull Zuri.
Ryan Eiermann joins the staff this season as Assistant Pitching Coach. Eiermann graduated from Naperville Central High School in 2017 and went to play at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. He then transferred to Kankakee Community College before finishing his career at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida. In High School, Eiremann broke the school strikeout record with 118 strikeouts and won Pitcher of the Year honors as a sophomore. He then broke the strikeout record at Kankakee Community College with 113 strikeouts (8-2 W-L, 77.0 IP, 2.34 ERA, 13 BB), and the following summer broke the Prospect League strikeout record with 109 strikeouts (8-1 W-L, 68.0 IP, 2.12 ERA, 28 BB). In his free time, Ryan loves fishing, hiking, listening to music, and hanging out with his dogs, and is excited to be back with the team in the Illinois Valley.
Chance Resetich joins the staff this season as an Assistant Coach. Resetich was a standout at Hall High School in Spring Valley and has been a mainstay of the Pistol Shrimp's roster since 2021. He played two years at Black Hawk Community College, followed by two at Southeast Missouri State University, before completing his career this spring at Harding University. He has a master's degree from SEMO and is excited to join the coaching staff to help develop players and continue winning championships.
The Pistol Shrimp open the 2025 Prospect League season on the road, facing the Clinton LumberKings on Tuesday, May 27th. The team will debut at home on Friday, May 30th, against the Normal CornBelters for Opening Weekend Part 1 presented by The Law Offices of Peter F. Ferracuti. The 2025 game schedule and promo schedule can be viewed at pistolshrimpbaseball.com.
About Pistol Shrimp Baseball: The 2024 Prosepct League Champion Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp are an amateur wood-bat summer league baseball team, made up of top college players from around the country who aspire to a career in professional baseball! Established in 2019, the Pistol Shrimp are part of the Prospect League, an 18-team league that spans across the midwest from Iowa to Tennessee to Pennsylvania. The Pistol Shrimp play their home games at Schwieckert Stadium in Peru, Illinois from late May to early August each year, and pride themselves on providing fun, affordable, family-friendly entertainment to the communities of Peru and the towns throughout the entire Illinois Valley region!