TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – [May 2024] – Terre Haute REX Baseball Manager Tony Rosselli rounds out his coaching staff for the 2024 season. For the first time the staff will consist of former players throughout the 14-year history of the organization. Rosselli is assisted by Jacob Harden who is entering his 5th season as an assistant coach with the REX. Cole Vicars in his first year, is joined as the pitching coach for the summer of 2024.
Cole Vicars was a part of the 2010 REX team as a Terre Haute Native, a year that the Terre Haute REX had joined the Prospect League in their first inaugural season. Vicars stepped up to the mound with five strikeouts in 6.2 innings pitched, while also nailing 20 hits and 10 runs at the plate. The 2010 team found itself with 29 wins that year while breaking ground in the Wabash Valley.
Assistant Coach Jacob Harden will return to the dugout this summer for his 5th season. Harden had a former stint in the summer of 2017 in the Prospect League, a year that the REX won 32 games and saw Harden appeared in three of those. Harden says he is prideful of being part of the REX and is grateful to be able to keep his energy in the Wabash Valley. He says, “You got to have great players to get great results and Tony has been a huge asset in terms of getting guys here this summer, it should be another fun summer at Bob Warn Field”. Coach Harden is in his 3rd year as Head Coach for the Linton High School Varsity Baseball program and lead the Miners to their first Regional Championship in program history in 2022.
First year skipper Tony Rosselli was part of the 2014 REX team that went for 37 wins and a Prospect League playoff berth. Rosselli was a standout incoming freshman to Indiana State University, but less than a year before his collegiate career started at Bob Warn Field, he was getting himself acclimated to the place he’d call home in the summer of 2014. The Prospect League West Division All-Star put up a .285 batting average while hitting seven home runs and 31 RBI. Rosselli also recorded nine doubles, three triples and 11 stolen bases in that 2014 season. Five of Rosselli’s seven home runs came inside Bob Warn Field, in front of his hometown crowd in the Wabash Valley. Rosselli also played for a moment in 2017 before being picked up and signed to play pro ball after his senior year at Indiana State.
Now, Rosselli has put together a roster of nearly 40 athletes from across the country to lead the REX back into the 2024 Prospect League Playoffs. With six years of playing as a professional. Rosselli is familiar with postseason play. Throughout his time as a player for the REX and as a head coach for the Wilson Tobs in the Coastal Plain League, he has continued to stay competitive and has had many opportunities in playoff atmospheres, and now having an opportunity to lead his hometown team once again.
“This would be the first time the REX has a full coaching staff consisting of both former players and/or coaches in our prior seasons. Were excited to welcome on board Cole Vicars, who was under field manager Brian Dorsett in the REX’s inaugural season. Assistant Coach Jacob Harden has been a huge addition to the clubhouse as a player briefly in 2017 to an assistant coach the past four summers.” General Manager Bruce Rosselli said. “Tony Rosselli, played back in 2014 and 2017, and helped as an assistant in the summer of 2022, with all three of those guys leading this exciting team of recruits, they bring back with them those years of REX traditions, and I have faith they will lead us to another fun summer.”
Coming up Next
REX baseball begins their season tomorrow, Tuesday May 28th in Huntingburg, Indiana visiting the Dubois County Bombers in their first game of the season. The first five games to start the year will be against the Bombers and the Dans, with home games taking place on Friday and Sunday of this upcoming weekend all at Bob Warn Field. Friday, May 31st will be the home opener against the Dans with a 6:30 PM EST first pitch at Bob Warn Field. Sunday, June 2nd will be a 4:30 PM EST first pitch, hosting the Dubois County Bombers at Bob Warn Field. Sunday, June 2nd will be Kids Run the Bases! Make sure you stick around to the end!
News Around the League
The Prospect League has expanded once again in the summer of 2024. Now out of 18 total teams, there is an even split between the Western and Eastern conference. The Western conference consists of two divisions, the Northwest and South division. The Eastern Conference is also made up of two divisions, the Northeast and Central division. The league layout is shown below:
Central Division (Eastern Conf.) | Northeast Division (Eastern Conf.) | South Division (Western Conf.) | Northwest Division (Western Conf.) |
REX Baseball | Champion City Kings | Alton River Dragons | Burlington Bees |
Danville Dans | Lafayette Aviators | Cape Catfish | Clinton LumberKings |
Normal CornBelters | Chillicothe Paints | Jackson Rockabillys | Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp |
Dubois County Bombers | Johnstown Millrats | O’Fallon Hoots | Springfield Lucky Horseshoes |
Full Count Rhythm. | Thrillville Thrillbillies |
Per the Prospect League, the league plays a split season, with first and second half winners. The first-half winner in each division hosts the second-half winner in a one-game division championship game. The Prospect League Championship remains a best-of-three game series, while all other playoff games remain winner-take-all. If a team wins both halves, the team from the same division with the next-best second-half record qualifies for the playoffs. The first half of the 2024 Prospect League season ends when the last game is completed on June 30. Official standings are determined by winning percentage, since many teams will have played a different number of games.
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