Nate Sopena, who played and coached for the Crystal Lake Cardinals has been hired by the St. Louis Cardinals as a coach for the Peoria Chiefs, Class A affiliate.

Sopena is the only member of the staff new to the Cardinals organization as he serves as Peoria's fourth coach. A native of Lake in the Hills, Illinois, Sopena played in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization in 2014 for Bristol in the Rookie-Level Appalachian League and for Jamestown in the Short Season-A New York Penn League. Sopena played college baseball at  Eastern Illinois University in the Ohio Valley Conference. Prior to EIU, Nate helped Heartland Community College qualify for the NJCAA Division II National Tournament in 2011. In 2015 Sopena was also a volunteer assistant coach at EIU.