Sanford River Rats Announce 2026 Staff

After being two games away from winning it all, the Sanford River Rats are entering the 2026 season with revenge on their minds and an itch to get onto the baseball diamond. With a brand-new coaching staff and summer interns, Sanford looks to continue its success in the Florida Collegiate Summer League (FCSL).

Leading this year's coaching staff is a familiar face in Mike McDaniel. McDaniel previously coached for the Winter Garden Squeeze before coming to the River Rats. McDaniel played baseball and graduated from the University of the Ozarks in Arkansas. Originally from Arkansas, he moved to Florida in 2010 and found himself in head coaching roles for several different high school teams in Orange County, including Oak Ridge High School and Olympia High School. He was recently hired as the head coach for the John Melvin Christian College baseball team, the first baseball head coach in their history.

Assisting McDaniel is Larry Resonalves, who is also his assistant at John Melvin Christian College. Born in Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico, Resonalves played infield at Mount Mercy University in Iowa and was an assistant coach at Olympia High School for four years.

Also complementing the coaching staff are Scott Garland and Angel Otero, who will serve in voluntary roles. Garland spent four years in Winter Garden and previously coached the Orlando Snappers. Otero also served on the Winter Garden staff and coached alongside McDaniel at Olympia High School.

On the operations side of the organization, Katelynne Sanders is once again taking charge. Along with a year under her belt as the Sanford general manager, she is completing her sport management degree at Liberty University. She looks to continue the positive impact she made on the River Rats organization last summer.

Supporting Sanders is a hard-working group of team operations interns: Dylan Merrick (University of Florida), Jacob Groseclose (Appalachian State University graduate), Alani Ezzai (Lynn University) and Spencer Payne (University of Florida graduate). They work behind the scenes to ensure the gameday experience for fans runs as seamlessly as possible.

Behind the gameday posts and everything digital is social media intern Bryanna Grant (Framingham State University). She is responsible for providing details on everything Sanford and will be part of the league's brand-new news team, which will conduct interviews and produce pregame and postgame shows throughout the summer.

On the mic this season is communications intern Alejandro Landers (Elon University). He will be the voice of the River Rats throughout the season, providing energy and passion for every home and away game while conducting on-air analysis before and after games.

Brian Smith will operate the scoreboard. He has been heavily involved with the FCSL throughout the years and graduated from the University of Central Florida in 2007.

Lastly, the friendly voice guiding fans throughout the games is public address announcer Robert Segal. He will bring electricity to the stands and ensure fans stay engaged and focused on their squad.

Alejandro Landers (Elon University)