The Chicago White Sox have finalized their coaching staff for the 2026 season following sweeping changes made at the end of September.
The turnover gave second-year manager Will Venable his first opportunity to assemble his own staff after largely inheriting his coaches when he took the job last offseason. The group he assembled blends managerial and playing experience, with coaches who have filled a range of leadership and development roles.
The White Sox’s 2026 coaching staff includes:
Bench Coach: Walker McKiven
Pitching Coach: Zach Bove
Assistant Pitching Coach: Bobby Hearn
Bullpen Coach: Matt Wise
Hitting Coach: Derek Shoman
Assistant Hitting Coach: Joel McKeithan
First Base/Outfield Coach: Jose Leger
Third Base/Infield Coach: Justin Jirschele
Major League Fielding Coordinator: Chris Denofia
Bullpen Catcher: Bennet Markinson
Bullpen Catcher: Luis Sierra
Major League Assistant: Tony Medina
New Arrivals
Pitching coach Zach Bove and hitting coach Derek Shoman represent the most significant changes to Will Venable’s staff this offseason.
Bove replaces Ethan Katz, who spent five seasons with the organization after joining in 2021. The 37-year-old comes from Kansas City, where he served the past three seasons as an assistant pitching coach. The Royals ranked sixth in the majors with a 3.73 ERA last season and allowed the eighth-fewest home runs.
Bove played college baseball as a first baseman at Central Florida and Flagler College from 2007 to 2010 and later earned a master’s degree in positive coaching and athletic leadership from the University of Missouri in 2015. He began his professional coaching career in 2019 with the Minnesota Twins as pitching coach for the Gulf Coast League affiliate and later served as a special projects coordinator and minor league assistant pitching coordinator.
Hitting Coach
Shoman takes over for Marcus Thames after a season in which the White Sox offense ranked 27th in runs scored and 23rd in home runs, though it showed improvement in plate discipline. Chicago finished 18th in walks and 16th in strikeouts.
Shoman has spent the past three seasons as an assistant hitting coach, including two with Minnesota and one with Miami. He joined a Marlins offense that ranked 27th in runs scored and helped oversee improvement from an 87 to a 96 wRC+.
The 35-year-old has ties to Illinois, having played one season at the University of Illinois Springfield, and previously spent nearly a decade in various roles with the Schaumburg Boomers before entering the major league coaching ranks.
Assistant Pitching Coach
Like Shoman, Bobby Hearn joins the White Sox from Minnesota, where he served as the Twins’ assistant pitching coordinator last season after working as the organization’s complex pitching coordinator in 2024.
It’s a new role for the White Sox, who did not have an assistant pitching coach last season under Katz.
Before joining the Twins, Hearn spent the 2023 season at Davidson College as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator, an experience that could benefit a young White Sox pitching staff. He began his professional coaching career in 2021 as the Twins’ Florida Complex League pitching coach and was promoted to Single-A Cedar Rapids in 2022. He also worked on the coaching staff of the Glendale Desert Dogs during the 2022 Arizona Fall League.
Hearn is familiar with White Sox ace Shane Smith, the team’s lone All-Star last season. The two were teammates at Wake Forest, where Hearn pitched from 2016 to 2020, served as team captain as a junior and senior, and earned a master’s degree in accounting.
First Base Coach
First base coach Jose Leger brings over a decade of managerial experience, currently managing Gigantes del Cibao in the Dominican Winter League.
He comes from a St. Louis Cardinals organization that has a solid track record of player development. Leger has spent the past eight seasons in the Red Birds organization in various roles.
He served as the assistant fielding and base running coordinator in 2025, managed Double-A Springfield from 2021-2024 where he posted a 264-270 record and led the team to back-to-back playoff berths in his final two seasons, and was the Latin American Field and Academy Development Coordinator at the team's Dominican complex from 2018-2020
He also managed in the Mets organization at the Single-A and rookie levels, posting a 416–219 record over three seasons in Single-A. Over 12 seasons as a minor league manager, his teams made five postseason appearances and posted a .503 winning percentage.
Major League Fielding Coordinator
Chris Denorfia brings a mix of major league playing experience and coaching expertise that could benefit the White Sox’s outfield and baserunning development. He also has a direct connection with manager Will Venable, having been teammates with the Padres from 2010-14, giving the staff continuity and familiarity in leadership.
The 45-year-old spent the last five seasons in the Colorado Rockies organization, serving as the team’s outfield and baserunning coordinator from 2024-25 after managing Class AA Hartford from 2021-23. He was set to manage Hartford in 2020 before the minor-league season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After retiring as a player in 2017, Denorfia spent 2018 as a special assistant to the Cubs’ president and general manager, then joined Chicago’s major league staff in 2019 as a quality assurance coach.
Denorfia’s 10-year major league career gives him instant credibility with players. In 808 games with the Reds, A’s, Padres, Mariners, and Cubs, he hit .272/.330/.392 with 41 home runs and 196 RBIs. Known for his defense, he recorded 13 outfield assists in 2013 and earned San Diego’s Heart and Hustle Award. That combination of on-field success and leadership should help the White Sox develop their outfielders and improve baserunning in 2026.
Bullpen Catcher
Bennet Markinson is the youngest member of the White Sox coaching staff. The soon-to-be 23-year-old joins the team after playing four seasons at Northwestern, where he started 48 games at catcher. During his junior season, he led the Wildcats with a .337 batting average, .408 on-base percentage and .905 OPS.
Markinson briefly pursued a professional career after signing with the Phillies as an undrafted free agent, but he retired in November without appearing in a game.
Major League Assistant
Grifol’s major league assistant, Tony Medina, has been coaching in the Chicagoland area since 2022 with the Schaumburg Boomers. The team credits him with modernizing player evaluation and in-game strategy while serving as their data analytics coordinator in 2023. Medina began his tenure as the Boomers’ hitting coach before spending the past three years refining the club’s data-driven decision-making. The White Sox have been working to modernize their player development and analytics in recent years, making Medina a valuable and intriguing addition to the coaching staff.
Familiar Faces Returning
Two of Venable’s hires last winter, bench coach Walker McKinven and assistant hitting coach Joel McKeithan, are back for another year with the White Sox
Bench coach Walker McKinven brought an impressive résumé. The Chicagoland native, he spent nine years with the Brewers in roles ranging from video scout to strategy coach before becoming their run prevention coordinator.
In that role, Milwaukee ranked third in MLB with 27 defensive runs prevented in 2024. McKinven also played a key role in game planning and in the development of catchers — including All-Star William Contreras, who went from –11 Defensive Runs Saved with Atlanta to +11 two years after arriving in Milwaukee. His presence is considered a major asset for the White Sox’s young catching core of Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero. He is expected to have an even larger role with the catchers this season.
Third base coach Justin Jirschele will also return after being brought in after Pedro Grifol was dismissed midway through the 2024 season.
Bullpen Coach
Matt Wise will return after joining the White Sox in 2024. Before joining the White Sox, Wise spent 12 years in the Angels organization, joining the Halos coaching staff in 2020 and serving as the team’s pitching coach in 2023.
Wiset is the lone assistant coach hired by Pedro Grifol still remaining on the White Sox staff after the team declined to renew the contracts of four coaches at the end of September.
Bullpen Catcher
Luis Sierra returns as bullpen catcher and brings a decade of minor league playing experience, including seven seasons in White Sox organization. After coming over from the Reds organization in 2006, he worked his way up to the Triple-A level in 2014 but failed to crack the big league roster. Sierra played seven different positions, including 169 games at catcher.
