SPRINGFIELD – In November, the Springfield Drifters hired their new general manager of the future in Jake Willard. Although he is a native Californian, Willard has resided in the Springfield-Eugene area since enrolling in college at the University of Oregon, and he is ready to build on the area’s sports history.
“I really got to sit down and talk to a lot of people in the community about, ‘Hey, what does it mean to you to live here?’ And, ‘Do you know that this town is nicknamed Tracktown USA?’ I was really passionate and excited about those conversations I had with people, just seeing how much it meant for them to live here in the Eugene-Springfield area. I just know that it’s got a rich sports history, not just in track and field, but in everything,” Willard said.
Willard steps into this role to build on the team’s community engagement and marketing, while leaving the on-field team-building aspects of the job to the coaches. His role focuses on engaging the community’s youth.
Engaging the younger generation of Springfield has always been a point of emphasis for the Drifters – a wood-bat league of collegiate players – but now it’s at the forefront more than ever, Willard said during an interview in late November.
After staging a handful of well-attended camps during the 2025 summer season, the Drifters have built on that, creating the Drifters Baseball Academy. This academy will offer kids a chance to learn from Drifters coaches and players to improve their skills.
While Willard’s role within the academy is still being defined, he has made his intention to support it – and the initiative to engage the youth – in any way he can.
He said he’s looking forward to supporting Drifters coaches Jeff Lyle and Dean Stiles.
“I think it’s just going to be a continuation of what’s already been done, knowing that Jeff and Dean already do an amazing job with all their training camps,” Willard said. “We’re always looking for opportunities to get the youth involved. Obviously, with (tickets) being free for 12 and under. That’s always going to be something that we’re going to be passionate about, knowing that kids and families are the backbone of this community.”
Alongside Willard in the front office are assistant GM Jasmine Williams and Knight Jarecki, the director of communications and radio play-by-play voice. With all three under 30, the Drifters are embracing their youth movement across the board.
“We’re a young staff. We’re all in our 20s, which is really exciting. You’re hard-pressed to find organizations that have such trust in a young core,” Willard said. “I’m just excited to come in, and we really wanted to hit the ground running. I think we had a lot of ideas, and there are a lot of cool things that we can do to continue to grow what’s already been set in place.”
Willard echoes a sentiment that permeated the Drifters facility in 2025: the idea of building a team in Springfield. An important theme for all the new staff in 2025 was the idea of sticking around.
Willard, the third GM in the team’s five-year history, said he wants to make continuity a top priority.
“We want to really grow this. We want to put the best product out there at Hamlin Sports Complex. We really want to anchor our home there. We want to support the Springfield community and everything we’re doing, and we also just want to have fun with what we’re doing as well,” Willard said.
“The passion that I could sense from the staff was so potent and so strong that it just aligned so much with me. I’m a very passionate person, and I definitely chase things I’m passionate about. So it was just a no-brainer to kind of join the staff that was also so passionate and driven to achieve great things with this team,” he said.
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Host families play an essential role for the Drifters. Players “become part of your family during their stay from late May to mid-August,” according to team officials. Learn more about getting involved at:
