Iowa Cubs Announce 2026 Field Staff, Marty Pevey Returns as Manager

Marty Pevey will manage the Iowa Cubs for a 14th consecutive season, extending a franchise record that includes 822 wins in Des Moines and 1,466 career victories, a total that ranks fifth‑most among active minor‑league managers. The club announced its full 2026 on‑field staff Feb. 18, naming bench coach Nick Lovullo, pitching coaches Tony Cougoule and Jamie Vermilyea, hitting coaches Damon Minor and Taylor Fortney, athletic trainers Logan Severson and Seth Clapp, and strength and conditioning coaches Connor Rooney and Christian French.

The Iowa release places Pevey in his 18th season with the Chicago Cubs organization and notes his long professional tenure after 13 seasons as a player. Pevey’s coaching resume includes time in the Toronto Blue Jays organization from 1996 to 2008, with specific big league roles as Blue Jays bullpen coach in 1999, first‑base coach in 2006 and 2007, and third‑base coach in 2008, before he joined the Cubs as manager of Single‑A Peoria in 2009. His honors include 1998 Atlantic League Manager of the Year and 2009 Midwest League Co‑Manager of the Year.

The staff announcement includes biographical specifics for two support staffers. The release lists Seth Clapp as entering his first year in Iowa and sixth with the Cubs after serving as an athletic trainer for Rookie League Arizona in 2021, Advanced‑A South Bend in 2022, and Double‑A Knoxville from 2023 through 2025. Connor Rooney joins for a second consecutive season in Iowa after stints as a rehab strength and conditioning staff member for the Cubs in Arizona in 2022 and 2024 and as a strength and conditioning coach with Double‑A Knoxville in 2023. The team release provides no expanded bios for Tony Cougoule, Jamie Vermilyea, Damon Minor, Nick Lovullo, Logan Severson beyond their 2026 roles, or for Christian French.

The release and local coverage highlight Pevey’s role developing major leaguers such as Kris Bryant, Kyle Hendricks, Javier Baez, Pete Crow‑Armstrong and Cade Horton, and local reporting described him as “a fan‑favorite” in Des Moines. Some outlets present Pevey’s full managerial ledger as 1,466‑1,511, while the team release emphasizes the 1,466 victories and his fifth‑most ranking among active minor‑league skippers.

The Iowa staff announcement was part of a Chicago Cubs organization‑wide rollout of minor‑league managers and coaches that also named Yovanny Cuevas to his second season managing the Myrtle Beach Pelicans and Dixon Machado to his first season managing the Arizona Complex League Mesa Cubs; Machado is noted to have played with Iowa in 2025 and logged 14 minor‑league seasons plus two KBO seasons. Iowa, which went 74‑75 in the International League West in 2025, opens its 2026 campaign March 27 with a three‑game series against Columbus.

The club release is the primary source for the 2026 roster of coaches and trainers; for media inquiries call 515‑243‑6111.