The Washington Nationals have announced the 2025 FredNats coaching staff, with Billy McMillon taking over as the third manager in the franchise’s five-year history. Pitching Coach Justin Lord, Hitting Coach Mike Habas and Athletic Trainer Jacob Meyer all return from the 2024 Carolina League championship-winning staff.
Here’s the full 2025 coaching staff with their 2024 coaching assignments in parentheses:
Manager: Billy McMillon (Triple-A Rochester Development Coach)
Pitching Coach: Justin Lord (Fredericksburg Pitching Coach)
Hitting Coach: Mike Habas (Fredericksburg Hitting Coach)
Development Coach: Luis Ordaz (Florida Complex League Manager)
Athletic Trainer: Jacob Meyer (Fredericksburg Athletic Trainer)
Strength & Conditioning Coach: Mike Reiskind (Milwaukee Brewers Single-A S&C)
Performance Analyst: Samantha Unger (Double-A Harrisburg Performance Analyst)
McMillon, 53, joined Washington in 2022 and has spent the last three seasons as the Development Coach for Triple-A Rochester. McMillon played parts of six Major League seasons with four different organizations, including the Oakland Athletics (2001-04), Detroit Tigers (2000-01), Philadelphia Phillies (1997), and Florida Marlins (1996-97).
The former Clemson Tiger was a three-time International League All-Star and the 1996 IL Rookie of the Year with Charlotte, earning him induction into the IL Hall of Fame in 2019 and Charlotte’s Round Table of Honor in 2022. McMillon was initially selected in the eighth round of the 1993 MLB Draft by Florida. He replaces Jake Lowery, who managed the FredNats the last three seasons, culminating in a championship last year. Lowery will manage High-A Wilmington in 2025.
Prior to joining Washington, McMillon coached in the Boston Red Sox organization for over a decade. He managed the Worcester Red Sox (Triple-A) in their inaugural season in 2021 after managing Boston’s former Triple-A affiliate Pawtucket in 2019.
Lord, 45, returns to Fredericksburg for a third season in 2025 after leading the FredNats’ championship pitching staff last season, including the 2024 Carolina League Pitcher of the Year Travis Sykora. This is Lord’s fifth total season coaching in the Washington organization after a six-year professional playing career and several seasons coaching in the Baltimore system. The Alabama native and Florida State alum was scheduled to be the Fredericksburg Pitching Coach in the canceled 2020 season and was the pitching coach for one season in Double-A Harrisburg prior to joining the FredNats in 2023.
Habas, 34, also returns to Fredericksburg from the 2024 championship staff for his second season with Washington after leading the FredNat offense to a highly successful season, finishing in the top third in the league in virtually every meaningful offensive category. Prior to joining the Nationals, he spent the previous four seasons coaching in the Milwaukee Brewers organization, most recently as the Hitting Coach for the ACL Brewers in 2022 and 2023.
Prior to joining Milwaukee, he was an assistant coach for the independent Gary SouthShore RailCats. While coaching with Gary, he was also the Head Coach at Prairie State College, a Junior College in the Chicago area.
Ordaz, 49, joins the FredNat coaching staff in the Development Coach role after managing the Florida Complex League Nationals in 2024. He played parts of seven seasons in the Major Leagues, appearing in 206 career games with the St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Ordaz has coached in the Washington organization for over a decade and was the Hitting Coach for the Potomac Nationals for four seasons from 2016-19. He replaces Carmelo Jaime, who will manage the FCL Nationals in 2025 after three seasons in Fredericksburg.
Reiskind joins Washington in 2025 after spending the 2024 season in the Carolina League as the Associate Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Carolina Mudcats (Milwaukee Brewers), Fredericksburg’s divisional playoff opponent on the way to the 2024 title. Prior to joining the Brewers, he was the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg and also coached at Appalachian State University.
Meyer, the third returner from the 2024 championship staff, begins his eighth year as an Athletic Trainer with Washington and third in Fredericksburg after spending his first five years at the facility in West Palm Beach, FL.
Unger starts her third season with the Nationals and first with Fredericksburg after spending the last two years in the same role with Double-A Harrisburg. Prior to that, she spent three seasons in the San Francisco Giants organization as an associate analyst, working with Double-A Richmond in 2022. She has previously worked for TrackMan and Inside Edge, Inc. in operation roles.
The FredNats begin the 2025 season on Friday, April 4 on the road at Carolina. Opening night at Virginia Credit Union Stadium is Tuesday, April 8 at 6:35 p.m. The promotional schedule will be released at a later date.
