Our Staff

Rich Janor founded the Wheatland Ducks Baseball Program in 2003. Rich was the Head Varsity Baseball Coach at Montini Catholic High School in Lombard, IL. His achievements include being named High School Varsity Coach of the Year in 2011 and 2013 by the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association (IHSBCA) Area. Under his leadership, Montini Catholic reached the IHSA 3A State Finals in 2013 and advanced to the IHSA 3A Elite Eight in 2011.

With over 30 years of experience in amateur baseball, Bill Smith has had an extensive career as both a player and coach. A former player and coach at the College of St. Francis in Joliet, IL, he was also a disciple of the legendary Coach Gordie Gillespie. Additionally, Bill served as a high school coach at St. Joseph High School in Westchester, IL, where he continued to contribute to the sport's development and mentorship of young athletes.

Brian is a former standout pitcher at Northern Illinois University where he received a Master's Degree in Sports Management. Brian coached and managed multiple collegiate and professional baseball teams including the Windy City Thunderbolts, the Rockford Rivets and the Madison Mallards. Brian is currently the WAA Manager of Programming as well as the Administrator for our Spikes Travel Softball and Wizards Travel Basketball.

With over 30 years of experience in amateur baseball, Bill Smith has had an extensive career as both a player and coach. A former player and coach at the College of St. Francis in Joliet, IL, he was also a disciple of the legendary Coach Gordie Gillespie. Additionally, Bill served as a high school coach at St. Joseph High School in Westchester, IL, where he continued to contribute to the sport's development and mentorship of young athletes.

Brian is a former standout pitcher at Northern Illinois University where he received a Master's Degree in Sports Management. Brian coached and managed multiple collegiate and professional baseball teams including the Windy City Thunderbolts, the Rockford Rivets and the Madison Mallards. Brian is currently the WAA Manager of Programming as well as the Administrator for our Spikes Travel Softball and Wizards Travel Basketball.

A former baseball player at Naperville North High School, College of DuPage, and Benedictine University, Scott Kelsch has spent four years as a head coach for Ducks Baseball (9U-12U) and has coached and instructed in various travel baseball programs (10U-16U). He is USA Baseball Coach Certified and a past president of the Oswego East All Sports Boosters. His two adult children, Riley and Alex, were standout athletes at Oswego East High School and played for the Spikes and Ducks. Riley is currently an assistant softball coach at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.

Cal Djuraskovic played collegiately at Central Michigan University and Davenport University before becoming the pitching coach at Prairie State College. He also pitched professionally for the Windy City ThunderBolts and was named a 2023 Frontier League All-Star.

David Cronin played collegiately at the University of Illinois Chicago, earning 2017 All-Horizon League 2nd Team honors and being named MVP of the 2017 Horizon League Tournament. He was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 2017 MLB First-Year Player Draft (Round 20, Pick 597) and was a 2018 Frontier League All-Star infielder with the Evansville Otters.

Frank Meisl played collegiately at Benedictine University and has served as an assistant coach at Evergreen Park High School. He is currently a Learning Behavior Specialist in District 68 and the head coach for the High School Ducks team.

With over 15+ years of experience coaching 30+ teams in travel baseball, basketball, and football, John Knauss spent four years as a head coach in the Ducks Organization. Played collegiately and selected Captain at Harper College, he comes from a family with multiple members who played baseball at the college and professional level. Active volunteer in the local community and has served as a past Scholarship Chair for the Oswego East All Sports Boosters. His sons, Cameron and Spencer, were both involved in WAA Sports and played varsity baseball at Oswego East High School.