Thursday, May 8, Corvallis, Ore. – The Corvallis Knights will feature a mixture of familiar and fresh faces on their coaching staff for the 2025 season.
Veteran skipper Brooke Knight, the dean of the West Coast League coaching fraternity, returns for his 17th season at the helm. He has directed the Knights every season since 2008, their second summer in Corvallis.
Joining him this summer are Beau Kerns, who returns to the club after a season as the Director of Operations at the University of Utah; University of Portland senior Spencer Scott, who starred for the Knights on their 2021 and 2022 WCL championship teams, and Joshua Woods, a former standout at Sherwood High School.
Knight is the most successful coach in West Coast league history, having earned 10 titles in 13 championship-series appearances. His teams have posted a 715-290 record (.711 winning percentage) over his 16-year stint.
He directed the Knights to WCL crowns in 2008, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023.
The Knights have qualified for the playoffs in all 16 of his seasons at the helm. He garnered WCL Coach of the Year honors in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022.
Knight has also managed the Sydney Blue Sox, Perth Heat and Adelaide Giants in the Australian Baseball League.
Kerns will serve as the head assistant coach/director of pitching, succeeding Ed Knaggs, who is now the head coach of the Bellingham Bells. Scott and Woods will serve as assistant bench coaches.
“We are ecstatic to have Coach Kerns back on board this upcoming season,” Knight said. “Beau was a tenacious player and his ability to develop young arms both on and off the field is exceptional.
“He’s an excellent communicator and has a knack to balance his laser-focused work ethic with a fun and enjoyable disposition. I’m really looking forward to going to battle with Beau, shoulder to shoulder, in our quest for another WCL championship.”
Kerns left the Knights midway through the 2024 season, his fifth with the club, to begin his job at Utah. He was an assistant coach at Umpqua CC before joining the Knights in 2021, and was also the head coach at Central Valley High School in Spokane Valley, Wash., for two springs.
“First and foremost, I want to thank Dan Segel and Brooke Knight,” Kerns said. “I am extremely humbled and grateful to be given another opportunity with the Knights.
“It’s so tough to foresee any opportunities in one’s future and to be afforded one to come back to this wonderful organization in Corvallis is humbling and fortunate. This organization has such a rich history in developing amateur baseball player’s skills on the field and off the field.
“The thought of being part of that again is exciting. In my experience, the Knights have been about developing their players, their relationships, and the winning culture that is a biproduct.
“It’s been forged through hard work and dedication. I have been enthralled with the young humans that have been part of the work groups we’ve had. Corvallis, Oregon, and its fans hold a special place in mine and my family’s hearts.”
Kerns has both pitched and coached in the WCL. He played for Knaggs in 2012 and 2013 in Wenatchee, and spent his 2014 summer hurling for the Yakima Valley Pippins.
This will be Kerns’ third stint as a WCL assistant; he worked for the Yakima Valley Pippins from 2017-2019. Following his collegiate playing career at Wenatchee Valley College and Lewis-Clark State College, he pitched in the independent professional Frontier League (2015-2016).
A native of Lewiston, Idaho, Kerns won a NAIA title for his hometown Warriors in 2015, and earned World Series MVP honors.
Scott concluded an outstanding career at Portland this spring. He was a four-year starter. A Portland native, Scott was a 6A all-state player at Grant High School before enrolling at UP.
He played several infield positions for the 2021 Knights and hit .343 in 30 games, with 14 RBIs. He hit .438 in five playoff games, with two RBIs.
In 2022, Scott hit .274 in 41 games, with 21 RBIs and 12 stolen bases.
“Spencer will work directly with our infielders and assist me with offensive development,” Knight said. “Spence is finishing up his career at the University of Portland this spring and has a hunger to get his coaching career started.
“As a player, Spencer was a great teammate on our 2021 and 2022 clubs and always led by example. His ability to relate well with others is his greatest strength. I’m confident he’ll earn the respect from our 2025 club in short order.”
Woods graduated from Sherwood in 2021 and is a junior at Washington State, majoring in psychology with a minor in sports management. He doubles as an assistant coach at nearby Moscow (Idaho) High School.
Woods was originally slated to work with the analytics team, but when an opening surfaced on the coaching staff Knight determined Woods – who coached at Sherwood with Knights’ legends Zak Taylor and Randy Ruschman – would fit in perfectly as an on-field assistant.
“I just wanted to get into the dugout,” Woods said, to the point he volunteered to travel with the club and help at road games, something the analytics team has never done. “I’ve been hoping for an opportunity like this and am extremely grateful for it.
“Coach Knight wants me to be a sponge and retain as much information as I can,” and be a bridge between the on-field and analytical aspects of coaching. He will also work with the catchers; two of his star pupils at Sherwood were Pacific University’s William Kliever and current Sherwood standout Carson Miller.
“Josh has been coaching for the past four years at the high school level and was mentored by Knights alum Zak Taylor, and specializes in catching,” Knight said. “He brings a sincere hunger to everything he does and is excited about coaching at a higher level.
“His ultimate goal is to be a full-time college coach, and we believe Josh has what it takes to continue his quest to reach that goal. Also an assistant bench coach, Josh will partner with our analytics team and our coaching staff to provide critical feedback to our players and assist with competitive preparation.”
Woods began playing baseball at three years of age and played until his freshman year at Phoenix College in Arizona, when he retired during fall practice.
He began coaching at Sherwood the following spring; he was a varsity assistant for three seasons, concluding in 2023 as the Associate Head Coach for the varsity summer team.
The Knights begin the 2025 season on May 22 with their annual Science, Engineering & Art Day, presented by Paventy & Brown Orthodontics, at Goss Stadium against the NW Star Nighthawks. Their WCL opener is June 2nd against the defending champion Portland Pickles. Their WCL home opener is June 11 vs. Yakima Valley.