Sea Dogs Manager Chad Epperson points to the Sea Dogs dugout while standing next to Kristian Campbell during a game last season. The Red Sox announced that Epperson will return for his fourth season as Sea Dogs manager. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

There will be a few changes at Delta Dental Park at Hadlock Field this summer, including the ballpark’s new branded name. One thing not changing, though, is the person guiding the Portland Sea Dogs. Chad Epperson will return to manage the Sea Dogs in 2025, the Boston Red Sox announced Thursday.

“The atmosphere (at Hadlock Field) is always great. Geoff (Iacuessa, the team’s general manager) runs a first-class organization,” Epperson said in a phone interview Thursday.

The upcoming season will be Epperson’s fourth at the helm of the Sea Dogs, Boston’s longtime Double-A affiliate. He joins Arnie Beyeler, who managed the Sea Dogs from 2007-10, as the only four-year managers of the team. Carlos Tosca, the team’s original manager when it began life as the Double-A farm team of the Florida Marlins in 1994, spent three seasons in Portland. Kevin Boles also managed the Sea Dogs for three season, from 2011-13.

In his three season, Epperson has a record of 226-186. The Sea Dogs had a winning record in each of Epperson’s first three seasons, reaching the Eastern League playoffs in 2022. Last season, with Boston’s top prospects playing in Portland well into the summer, the Sea Dogs finished with a 78-60 record, the best mark in the Northeast Division. While the Sea Dogs had the best overall record in the division for the season, the Eastern League awards playoff spots to the teams that win each half of the season, and Portland did not qualify.

Boston’s Class A teams are in Salem, Virginia, and Greenville, South Carolina. Epperson said he enjoys watching the players first experience playing in the heart of Red Sox Nation in front of diehard fans who have anxiously awaited their promotion to Double-A.

“For a lot of these kids, this is the first taste they get of what Boston sports is all about,” he said.

Along with Epperson, a number of coaches will return to Portland this season, including pitching coach Sean Isaac, hitting coach Chris Hess, defensive coach Kyle Sasala and athletic trainer Bobby Stachura. Newcomers to Epperson’s staff include Juan Rivera, who will work with pitchers along with Isaac; assistant hitting coach Johnny Reina; and strength and conditioning coach Jonah Mondloch.

Epperson said he’s excited to work with coaches he’s grown familiar with the last few seasons. Adding a second pitching coach and second hitting coach will only help in player development, Epperson said.

“It just goes to show you the organization is using all its resources to help these guys reach their goals and dreams,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to seeing how this all works.”

Epperson said he reports to the Red Sox spring training facility in Fort Myers, Florida, on Feb. 16. Portland opens the season on April 4 on the road against the Reading Fightin Phils. The home opener is April 8 against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.