KINSTON, North Carolina (February 7, 2025) - The Down East Bird Dawgs, along with the Frontier League, an MLB Partner League, have signed five new players to the roster for the inaugural 2025 season!

There are 91-days left until the Bird Dawgs home opener on Friday, May 9, 2025, and the team has announced the signing of five new players to the 2025 roster. With these additional signings, the roster now sits at 16 total players, inching closer to the league required 24-man roster, which also limits teams to three veterans (players older than 29 years as of October 1), and a minimum of ten players required to be rookies.

“Our coaching staff has been hard at work to find the best talent to bring to Kinston for our 2025 inaugural season,” said Kristopher Dumschat, Director of Marketing, Promotions & Fan Experience for the Down East Bird Dawgs. “Manny, Cole, Brandon, Tyler and Drew have each demonstrated the character and skills we want in our clubhouse, and we are excited to see them in a Bird Dawgs uniform this year.”

Led by Field Manager Brett Wellman, the Bird Dawgs signed Catcher Manny Jackson and OF Brandon Fields on January 27, followed by RHP Drew Henderson on January 28, Catcher Tyler Blaum on January 30, and CF Cole Hill on February 2, 2025.

• Jackson played on the collegiate level for four seasons and most recently played for the State College Spikes in the MLB Draft League for the 2024 season. On all levels Jackson has a career 156 games, hitting .284 with 79 RBI, 26 doubles, 14 homers and 8 stolen bases. During his senior year at Norfolk State University, Jackson played and started in all 52 games, averaging a .330 from the plate with 74 hits and recorded an 18-game hitting streak.
• Fields who recently played the 2024 season with the Gary SouthShore RailCats and had a collegiate career that included the University of South Carolina, State College of Florida, and Southeastern University, has a career 167 games, hitting .262 with 80 RBI, 24 doubles, 21 homers and 73 stolen bases. Fields was a two-sport athlete at Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, Florida and was regarded as the number 9 outfielder recruit nationally by Perfect Game after recording a .359 batting average in 59 games with 8 home runs.
• Henderson, who recently played the 2024 season with the Garden City Wind in the Pecos League, logged a 7-2 record, a 3.28 ERA with 60 strikeouts in 60.1 innings pitched. During his collegiate career, Henderson played five consecutive years at Cameron University, capturing a 13-13 record, a 5.68 ERA in 48 games with 136 strikeouts in 171 innings pitched. During his freshman year with the Aggies, he tallied a 3-1 record with one save in 12 appearances and five starts.
• Blaum has played the past two seasons with the Québec Capitales in the Frontier League, the Charleston Dirty Birds in the Atlantic League in 2022 and the Joliet Slammers in the Frontier League in 2021 and played on the collegiate level for five years at the University of Virginia-Wise. He’s captured on all levels a .275 batting average with 153 RBI, 74 doubles, 11 homers, and 23 stolen bases. Blaum was named UVA Wise Male Athlete of the Year in 2020 and won the 2023 & 2024 Frontier League Championship with the Québec Capitales.
• Hill played two years at Stephen F. Austin University in 2023 & 2024 and played for the Waterloo Bucks in the Northwoods Summer Collegiate League, recording a .306 batting average with 104 RBI, 34 doubles, 14 homers, and 56 stolen bases. Hill finished his junior year with a .967 fielding percentage and recorded 88 Putouts and has played baseball in 15 states, as well as Canada.