PRESCOTT — Billy Brookshaw spent years managing the Prescott Pirates to winning seasons, but when it came time to move on, he wanted to leave the team in good hands. Brady Block had been playing with the Pirates since 2022, and it was always his dream to be the manager.

He got his wish when Brookshaw asked Block to take over.

“The first couple years he saw how much I loved it and how committed I was. His last year he brought me to all the meetings,” Block said. “It’s what I’ve always wanted to do.”

Prescott had a sizable group of the veteran players step away at the same time, so Block took over a team full of his peers and players coming fresh out of high school.

Block is a Prescott graduate and part of the UWRF football National Championship winning team. He was one of the heroes of the story, snatching a rare defensive lineman interception against Johns Hopkins to seal the win that sent them to the title game.

He is not working alone, though. Lucky for him, Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Hall of Famer Steve Block, who has experience coaching Prescott, Ellsworth and UWRF, also happens to be his grandfather. He is also in both the Prescott Hall of Fame and the Ellsworth Baseball Hall of Fame.

“I’ve had him coach with me forever. He’s always been that guy in the stands where it’s like if I need something or I’m not hitting great, I immediately call or go find him and he’s the one to go fix it all,” Brady said. “My first year managing, we had struggles, we’re super young, we didn’t have that figure there yet. He came in and asked, ‘Hey, care if I coach with?’”

“I said gosh Brady, you’ve got a few guys older than you. I can kind of help out, I can be the general manager. You can blame everything on me,” Steve joked. “Last year was the growing pain. We were 2-12 last year… I enjoyed doing it last year because it keeps me thinking young even though I’m not.”

This year, in the boys’ second year managing, the Pirates finished the regular season fourth in the St. Croix Valley League with a 9-5 record.

Block, the 75-year-old coaching legend, coached high school baseball for 26 years, winning a State title with Prescott in 1994. Block also led Prescott to a State runner-up finish in 1988 and Ellsworth to a runner-up finish in 2012. He accumulated 455 wins as a high school baseball coach.

“That’s been super special. Being able to coach with your grandpa and not have him coach you,” Brady said. “He’s in the Hall of Fame for a reason in the State of Wisconsin. Everything he says, you should listen to him because he knows exactly what he’s talking about. You have a real life legend in your dugout.”

Steve said one of the most difficult parts of managing is the feel for the game. Decisions like when to pull a pitcher if they are starting to lose their stuff take time to fully comprehend, especially when you are also out on the field playing.

“One of the things that Prescott didn’t used to do is, like the high school rule, we have a re-entry rule, so I really wanted him to use that,” Steve said. “If you’ve got 16 guys there, you want to at least get guys an at-bat or get them a few innings out in the field.”

He said he has slowly taken steps back to hand more and more of the reins over to Brady as he gets comfortable. Steve said they have built up enough chemistry where they can just look at each other and know what they want to do.

“There’s a difference between having played it and then having to make decisions while you’re playing,” Steve said. “I’m so excited to do it with him… It’s a really big deal for me.”

Brady has taken hitting lessons at his grandfather’s house for his whole life, which he could only describe as a “blessing.” Not only was Steve there to coach him up as he grew up, but now the two are coaching alongside each other.

Steve said eight of the nine players who played in Sunday’s game are from Prescott, and just one played baseball collegiately. Those numbers differ greatly from many of their league opponents, yet they are in the upper tier of the league standings.

Another interesting dynamic Brady has experienced this year is being the manager of a group of his friends that are all around the same age as he is.

“Don’t take it for granted. You get to come out here every single weekend and every week and play with your best friends. It’s hard to coach a team with your friends, but sometimes I don’t even think about it like that, I think, ‘Oh, I get to go play baseball with my friends,’” Brady said. “There’s nothing better than having a good team and winning with your friends.”

The UWRF culture has shaped the way Brady wants to lead the Pirates. That is why he convinced his roommates from the football team, wide receiver Ben Wesolowski and defensive back Nick Wasko, to join the team.

“They kind of know that culture we have, and that’s what I want to bring here,” Brady said. “When you are playing with your brothers and everyone’s got your back, it’s just a whole different experience.”

There is so much that goes into running a town ball squad, including fundraising, getting new uniforms, scheduling and making sure you have a full lineup night in and night out that people do not always see. Together, the Block duo have the Pirates eyeing a postseason push.