Staff

Front Office

Jeff Croop

Team President

Richard Bates

Ignite Sports and Entertainment Vice President

Taylor St. Jacques

Team Vice President

EmailMessage

Born in Edmonton, AB, Canada and raised stateside in Glen Allen, VA, Taylor is an Auburn University Graduate with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration.

A family filled with several athletes, Taylor herself is a professional International Show Jumper and former member of the Auburn Equestrian team. During her time with the Tigers she collected several All-American titles, two National Championship titles, and three SEC Championship titles.

Roby Brooks

Director of Baseball Operations

Brooks played college baseball at Jacksonville State University under legendary coach Rudy Abbott from 1993-96, where he was named First-Team All-Conference. For the 1997 season, Brooks set a team record for doubles in a season with 26 and also hit .401 with 59 RBIs and a 1.211 OPS.

After a stint in the Frontier League with the Waterbury (CT) Spirit, Brooks turned his attention towards advancing the sport through his travel baseball organization, Top Gun Baseball. Brooks is the Owner and CEO of Top Gun, leading the nationally-ranked organization and helping athletes realize their highest potential. Top Gun provides individualized training to numerous young athletes, refining their technical skills across all facets of the game.

Ricky Clayton

Field Manager

Sam Maynard

Assistant Coach

Andrew Strickland

Operations Assistant Manager

EmailMessage

Andrew is a senior at Jacksonville State University majoring in Sport Management. Originally from Newnan, GA, he now resides in Jacksonville. This will be his second season with the Monsters, having worked with the club for the 2021 season as well.

Andrew has numerous internships and plenty of work experience in the sports industry, including a chance to work at this year's Super Bowl.

Tom Callahan

Media and Broadcast Consultant

EmailMessage

Tom will call SBL baseball for the second straight summer, first appearing on the mic for the 2023 season. Last year he covered both the Monsters and Columbus Chatt-a-Hoots, before moving over to broadcasting for the league in 2024.

Tom was selected as the 2022-23 FPHL Broadcaster of the Year, and brings over 350 games of NHL play-by-play to Ignite Sports. He has also served as a playoff correspondent for NHL Network, been an on-air host for ESPN Radio Nashville, and has called numerous sports in addition to hockey like baseball, football, basketball, golf and lacrosse.

A native of Lackawanna, NY, Tom is an avid Buffalo Bills and Toronto Blue Jays fan. He also enjoys playing, writing and listening to music, playing all kinds of games and is likely to quote 80s comedies verbatim. He has indeed heard your Tommy Boy jokes.

Kirtley Adams

Assistant General Manager

Kirtley is from Indianapolis and graduated from American Military University with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and Project Management. When not working, Kirtley enjoys knitting, volunteering, spending time with her family, and enjoying an ice cold Mountain Dew and a Reece's.

Kristen Buley

Chief Financial Officer

EmailMessage

With a Bachelor's degree from Louisiana College, and a Master's from University of Alaska Fairbanks, Kristen has held a variety of positions that have prepared her for her roles with Ignite Sports and BKI Accounting.

Having played sports all of her life, she is competitive natured. From high school and college athletics, to coaching her kids' sports teams, to competitive archery and kickball; she's at home on the field of play and often leans onto those experiences while making career decisions.

She's a self-professed lifelong student, often picking up courses to have the ability to better her client's business. When not in the office, Kristin is usually looking for something new to experience, or curled up with a book and her dogs.