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!”

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.