by Medford Alert News https://medfordalert.com/
https://medfordalert.com/2026/10/07/medford-rogues-enter-2027-season-with-new-coach-new-conference/
MEDFORD, Ore. (Oct. 7, 2026) — The Medford Rogues have named Matt Tomlin as their head coach for the 2027 summer collegiate baseball season, bringing a longtime Humboldt County baseball standout and highly accomplished multi-sport coach to Southern Oregon.
Tomlin, who spent the 2026 summer season as a pitching coach with the Humboldt Crabs, will take over the Rogues following a 28-13 season in which Medford finished third in the Pacific Empire League.
The 2027 season will also mark a new chapter for the Rogues, who are leaving the Pacific Empire League and joining the newly formed Far Western Conference.
The new summer collegiate baseball conference is scheduled to feature six teams: the Medford Rogues, Fresno A’s, Redding Colt 45’s, Lincoln Peloteros, Watsonville Aggies and Nor Cal Warriors. The conference is being promoted as a new regional summer baseball league focused on collegiate competition.
For Tomlin, the move to Medford represents a return to a region where he has longstanding ties to summer collegiate baseball.
Tomlin began his baseball career in Humboldt County before attending Scottsdale Community College and the University of Nebraska. He later played professionally for the Springfield Capitals of the Frontier League.
He eventually retired from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office to focus on athletics and coaching. Tomlin serves as athletic director at St. Bernard’s and has coached the school’s baseball and football programs as well as girls basketball.
He also served as head coach of the Humboldt Eagles baseball program from 2018 through 2021.
Tomlin has deep ties to the Humboldt Crabs, having played for the organization from 1995 through 1998. He established a club record for career saves during his playing days and was inducted into the Humboldt Crabs Hall of Fame as part of the 2024 class.
He returned to the Crabs organization as a coach, including serving as a pitching coach during the 2026 summer season.
Now, Tomlin will bring that experience to the Rogues as the organization begins a new era in the Far Western Conference.
The 2027 season will also provide Tomlin an opportunity to face his former team when the Rogues and Crabs meet on the summer baseball schedule.
The Rogues play their home games in south Medford in a stadium at Lithia and Driveway fields managed by the City of Medford, where the organization has hosted summer collegiate wood-bat baseball for more than a decade. The team recruits collegiate players from around the country for its summer roster.
With a new head coach and a new conference, the 2027 season will bring significant changes to summer baseball in Medford as the Rogues begin the next chapter of the franchise.
Note: Nick Burger returns as the Rogues pitching coach and Brandon Dixon (who is also from Humboldt County) was hired by Tomlin to be the first base coach. One coaching position remains.