A Vancouver-born, Grand Forks-raised, and now Kelowna native is moving one step closer to the big leagues.
Isiah McDonald has been named the strength and conditioning coach for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRaiders, the New York Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate.
The 29-year-old is entering his fifth season in the Yankees organization. In his first year in professional baseball, he won the Strength & Conditioning Coach of the Year during his time with the FCL Yankees. He served in the same role for the Yankees Single-A team, the Hudson Valley Renegades, in 2023, and for the Double-A Somerset Patriots the last two years.
McDonald played post-secondary baseball at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops before going to UBC, where he graduated with a degree in kinesiology and exercise science.
The team announced all the staffing roles on Thursday, Feb. 5, including the return of former big leaguer Shelley Duncan as manager.
“They’re the unseen architecture of the operation,” Duncan said of the RailRiders’ training and support staff. “Day to day, Brandon, Hannah, Isiah, Danny, Matt and Jim manage the hidden variables: workload, recovery curves, information flow and competitive readiness. Their work integrates physiology, data, preparation and foresight into one coherent system. Nothing is accidental, and nothing is reactive. They are as good as it gets in each of their respective fields.”
McDonald and the RailRaiders start the 2026 season with a nine-game road trip, beginning on March 27 against the Buffalo Bisons, the Toronto Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate.