The Brooklyn Cyclones announced their 2021 coaching staff on Thursday, with Ed Blankmeyer getting another chance to be their manager. His staff is rounded out by Nic Jackson as the hitting coach, Royce Ring as the pitching coach, and Mariano Duncan as the bench coach.

Blankmeyer was hired last year to be the Cyclones’ manager, but the 2020 season was cancelled due to COVID-19. Instead, he served as the Mets alternate site coordinator in Brooklyn.

The long-time St. John’s manager went 829-500 with the Red Storm. Blankmeyer has also been a coach on multiple USA Baseball squads, most recently in 2015.

Duncan, former big leaguer that played in parts of 12 seasons, enters his third season in the organization. He was scheduled to be the Columbia Fireflies’ hitting coach for the cancelled 2020 season. Duncan began his coaching career in 2003 with the GCL Dodgers.

Ring is a familiar face for Mets fans as a former member of the major league team, he had a 3.47 ERA over two seasons with the Mets from 2005-2006. Ring has been a pitching coach in the Mets system since 2014 and was supposed to be the Fireflies’ pitching coach in 2020.

Jackson is a another former Met, though far more obscure as he only played in a few games with the Binghamton Mets back in 2007. Nic spent the last four years as a pro scout for the Cubs.

Vanessa Weisbach will serve as the athletic trainer and Ryan Orr will be the performance coach.

The Cyclones have moved up to being the Mets High-A affiliated and are currently scheduled to begin their season on May 4 and have their home opener on May 18 against the Hudson Valley Renegades.