Gulls Coaching Staff

Kevin Winterrowd (Manager)

Kevin Winterrowd returns to the Newport Gulls as the team’s manager for the second season in a row, and fourth in total after working as the pitching coach in 2017 and 2018. This is Winterrowd’s second stint with the Gulls, helping guide Newport to an Eastern Division Regular Season Title that saw the team end their campaign on an eight-game winning streak in 2010.

A native of Yukon, OK, Winterrowd has a storied career in the New England Collegiate Baseball League. He has led the North Adams Steeple Cats and Keene Swamp Bats dating back to 2002. In 2013, Winterrowd’s Swamp Bats took home the franchise’s fourth Fay Vincent Senior Cup, and he was named the league’s Manager of the Year.

“Newport’s atmosphere is unrivaled. These past few years have been a blast and I’m honored to be a part of it. It starts with leadership. This organization has been run well since the beginning and that is the culture I instill in our players” said Winterrowd about returning to Newport.

Winterrowd enjoys guiding amateur ball players to reach their full potential and has been successful doing so. Well over 100 former players have went on to be drafted and play professionally. This talent was exemplified as he was responsible for evaluating and selecting players for the 17U National Development Program and National Identification Series at the USA Baseball Facility in Cary, NC.

“A title is what we are after. I want to develop these young men and leave them better ballplayers when they go back to school but we are going to be competitive day in and day out. Not playing last summer fueled the fire and I’m ready to go”, continued Winterrowd.

Gulls General Manager Chuck Paiva shares in Winterrowd’s excitement, stating “Kevin is the right man for Newport. He knows the league. He knows our organization. He knows how to win. This is a great man that my partners and I are proud to have represent the Gulls”.

Greg Zackrison will also be returning to coach under Kevin Winterrowd again this summer. Another NECBL Veteran with an illustrious coaching background, Zackrison is the team’s Pitching Coach for the second straight season. He is currently Bridgewater State’s (Bridgewater, MA) Head Coach and another former NECBL Manager of the Year. Zackrison was given this award in 2014 while at the helm of the Plymouth Pilgrims, leading his team to an NECBL-best 34-13 record and a Southern Division Title. The NECBL hasn’t been Zackrison’s only summer ball experience. He has won championships in the New York Collegiate Baseball League and the historic Cape Cod Baseball League. Prior to Bridgewater State, Zackrison worked as the Pitching Coach for Division II Stonehill College (North Easton, MA) and Assistant Head Coach for Junior College Powerhouse Massasoit CC (Brockton,MA) .

Jim Sauro (Hitting Coach)

Rounding out the group of three returning coaches is Newport Hitting Coach James Sauro. He also brings with him an NECBL Manager of the Year award, receiving the accolade as Head Coach of the Ocean State Waves in 2017. His Waves rose to the #1 Ranking in Summer Collegiate Baseball during that season and they went on to represent the Southern Division in the NECBL Championship Series.

One of Rhode Island’s most notable High School Baseball Coaches, Sauro has led South Kingston High School (South Kingston, RI) since 1997. The SK Rebels won the Rhode Island State Championship in 2018 after finishing as the runner up each of the two previous seasons.

“To have a third former manager in this league on your staff is something special”, said GM Paiva. Paiva added, “His knowledge of the entire game and expertise in hitting is tops in the country, but more importantly, his ability to convey that insight to players is what is most significant”.