GRAND CHUTE (NBC 26) — There’s a new face leading the Brewers’ High-A squad, but he’s no stranger to Wisconsin Timber Rattlers fans. Nick Stanley has been named the team’s manager for 2026.
"It's really exciting," Stanley said. "I came here in 2021 for the first time with a really young son and another one on the way, and now they're coming back as 6- and 4-year-olds. From a family standpoint, we fell in love with the area. We've got friends there that we've stayed in touch with. On the baseball side, just that atmosphere, being back in the summertime when the weather's nice, the renovations of the ballpark are going to be new for me. I'm really, really looking forward to that."
Víctor Estévez, who has managed the team the last two years, is now on the Washington Nationals Major League staff.
Stanley served as the Timber Rattlers' hitting coach in 2021 and 2022, working under previous managers Matt Erickson and Joe Ayrault. Over the last two seasons, he was the manager for the Carolina Mudcats, the Brewers' Low-A affiliate. He earned Carolina League manager of the year honors in 2024.
The Brewers are known for their draft-and-develop approach, and for Stanley, being entrusted with shaping the next great Milwaukee Brewer means a lot.
"It's something that we all take a lot of pride in," he said. "We're preparing these guys for the major leagues. We're also preparing them to win in the major leagues, because that's been the standard and that's important to us. We take a lot of pride when the major league team is in the playoffs seven out of eight years or whatever it is, and guys that have come through our minor league system are thriving in that environment. That means a lot to us."
The Timber Rattlers kick off their season on April 2 against Beloit.
