WALLA WALLA, Washington – A familiar face is returning to the Sweets for the 2025 season.

Colby Watilo, current pitching coach at Whitman College, is the team’s new manager for the 2025 season. He becomes the second former Sweets player to be named head coach for the Sweets.

“I am extremely excited and feel honored to be named the next head coach of the Walla Walla Sweets,” Watilo said. “As a Walla Walla native, former Sweets host family member, and former Sweets player, this opportunity means a lot to me and I can’t wait to be back in a Sweets uniform.”

“I look forward to getting to work and to bringing tons of excitement and entertainment to Borleske Stadium and the Walla Walla Valley in the summer of 2025! Go Sweets!”

“I’m excited to have Colby lead our team for the 2025 season,” said Sweets general manager Cody Miller. “He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our team that will benefit our players and staff every day during the summer.”

Watilo, entering his fourth season as pitching coach for Whitman College, replaces Jarrod Molnaa, who had managed the Sweets the previous two seasons.  Molnaa was also a former player for the Sweets in 2016 and 2017.

“I want to thank Jarrod for his time and efforts the past two years,” Miller said.  “I wish him nothing but continued success with Walla Walla Community College.”

A Walla Walla High School graduate, Watilo spent two summers as a player for the Sweets, where he was a catcher on the 2016 and 2017 teams. He played his collegiate ball at George Fox University, appearing in 63 games during his four-year career. He joined the George Fox baseball coaching staff after graduating in 2019, and stayed on for two seasons before moving back home to coach for Whitman.

During his time at Whitman, Watilo has played a large role in the team’s recent success. Since he joined head coach Brian Kitamura’s staff in 2022, Whitman has advanced to two Northwest Conference tournaments, has appeared in one NWC tournament championship game, and won a NWC regular-season conference championship.

The 2024 season saw the greatest success, with two Whitman starting pitchers earning first-team All Conference Honors, and a third earning second-team honors. The trio led a dominant starting rotation that led the NWC in most major pitching categories, including strikeouts, earned runs allowed, and hits allowed.

Watilo also spent a summer as manager of the Xenia Scouts, a member of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League. In his one season, the Scouts went 21-17 and earned a playoff appearance for the first time since 2016. Watilo was named the South Division manager of the year, and the Scouts had six players named to the GLSCL All Star Game.

Season tickets for the Sweets are currently on sale for the upcoming season.  The schedule for the 2025 season will be released at a later date.