Chicago Cubs announce that manager of the South Bend coaching staff. three of its 2023 coaches will return in 2024, including Nick Lovullo, manager of the South Bend Cubs coaching staff.
South Bend, Indiana – The South Bend Cubs have revealed their field crew for the 2024 Midwest League season in collaboration with the Chicago Cubs. As the new manager of South Bend, Nick Lovullo is making his first managerial move with a Cubs full-season affiliate. First-year hitting coach Nate Spears and new pitching coach Bruce Billings accompany him.
Two years ago, Nick Lovullo joined the Cubs organization as a coach, bringing with him a wealth of baseball history ingrained in his family. After a collegiate playing career at Holy Cross (Massachusetts), the 30-year-old Lovullo was selected by Boston in the 20th round of the 2016 MLB Draft, where he was once a prospect for the Red Sox. In 50 games, Lovullo hit.278 in 2015, his finest collegiate season. He also ended the year with more walks (31) than strikeouts (29). That following summer, he was able to play for the Cape Cod Baseball League’s Falmouth Commodores because to his outstanding Patriot League performance. He was raised in Thousand Oaks, California, where he also played baseball in high school. During his first year, Lovullo received promotion as
After serving in the same capacity for a successful season with Low-A Myrtle Beach, Bruce Billings joins South Bend for the 2024 campaign. The Pelicans pitching staff, led by Billings, had the second-highest strikeout total and the lowest opponent batting average in the Carolina League the previous season. Before being chosen by the Colorado Rockies in the 2007 MLB Draft, the former major leaguer had a successful collegiate playing career at San Diego State. Before Stephen Strasburg surpassed Billings as the all-time strikeout leader during his tenure with the Aztecs, Billings was the team’s all-time leader. In addition to pitching for the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees, he made his Major League Baseball debut in 2011 with the Rockies. Professional pitching was also used in billing.
As the South Bend Cubs’ new hitting instructor, Nate Spears is off to a great start. Spears joined the coaching staff as a player as well, having played in Major League Baseball with the Baltimore Orioles after being picked by the team in the fifth round of the 2003 MLB Draft out of high school. When the Orioles moved the native of Fort Myers, Florida to the Northsiders in exchange for Corey Patterson in 2006, the player experienced his first taste of Chicago Cubs baseball. 2008 saw Spears play for Double-A Tennessee under the direction of former South Bend manager Buddy Bailey, eventually reaching Triple-A Iowa. He later made his MLB debut with the Boston Red Sox, where his career led him. Spears participated in 2011 and 2012 Boston games.
Andrew Rueter, the Development Coach (Pitching), is rejoining the staff. Rueter, a former University of Redlands right-hand pitcher, assisted in managing a pitching staff that finished fourth in the Midwest League with 1191 strikeouts in the previous year. Rueter coached the Florence Y’alls in independent baseball before to moving to South Bend.
Development Coach Marco Romero is a recent addition to the South Bend coaching team. In 2023, Romero was the Tennessee Smokies’ player development coach. He received a degree in business management and a minor in entrepreneurship from Indiana University in 2022.
