WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Greg Goff has completed his Purdue baseball staff with the addition of former UCF head coach Terry Rooney as the program's recruiting coordinator, adding a veteran coach with more than 25 years of experience in the college game.
Rooney coached in the College World Series with LSU and has helped lead teams to 10 NCAA Regional bids. He was the 2014 American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year at UCF and most recently served as the associate head coach at Houston, where he had been on staff since the summer of 2017.
Goff and Rooney also worked together at Alabama during the 2016-17 school year when Rooney served as Goff's associate head coach and pitching coach.
"Terry is a great hire for our program, a true asset," Goff said. "He's been part of so many high-level winners, building Regional teams as both a head coach and an assistant. I am so thrilled he will join us at Purdue and lead the way in our recruiting efforts as we continue building for sustained success. I'm excited about the impact Coach Rooney can have on the program going forward and it feels good to team up with him again."
"Our family is extremely excited and thankful to be joining Purdue University," Rooney said. "I am looking forward to recruiting and coaching a special group of players in our quest for a Big Ten championship."
Highlighted by a 45-win campaign and NCAA Regional bid in 2012, Rooney led UCF to 261 victories over eight seasons as head coach from 2009 to 2016. After the Knights moved to the AAC for the 2013-14 school year, he earned Coach of the Year honors when his 36-win team went 17-7 in league play. UCF qualified for consecutive Regionals in 2011 and 2012, marking just the second time in program history the Knights had accomplished the feat. UCF's No. 6 national ranking in 2015 was its highest in program history. His 2010 recruiting class was ranked as high as fourth nationally by Collegiate Baseball, another program best.
As the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Houston, the Cougars produced the 2018 AAC Pitcher of the Year (Aaron Fletcher) and 2019 AAC Newcomer Pitcher of the Year (Devon Roedahl). They also won the AAC title in 2018. The following year, UH led the league in ERA (3.82) and opponent batting average (.238). Rooney also helped assemble the No. 1-ranked class of junior college recruits. The Boilermakers squared off against UH twice at the 2018 NCAA Chapel Hill Regional, with Fletcher pitching a four-hit complete game in the Friday night affair.
Rooney's teams also matched up against Purdue while he was the pitching coach at Notre Dame from 2004 to 2006. He helped the Fighting Irish win five Big East Conference titles, including three straight tournament crowns. When Paul Mainieri was hired away from UND by LSU in the summer of 2006, Mainieri brought Rooney with him to Baton Rouge. In year 2 with the Tigers, LSU posted a 20-win improvement, won a pair of Southeastern Conference titles and went to the College World Series. He was promoted to associate head coach the following season and helped assemble to No. 1-ranked recruiting class in the nation, headlined by future MLB all-star and batting champion DJ LaMahieu. After Rooney left to become the head coach at UCF, LSU emerged as the champion at the 2009 College World Series.
Over the course of Rooney's career, he has mentored 14 pitchers that went on to reach the big leagues. He's also coached 20 pitchers that were selected in the first 10 rounds of the MLB Draft, most recently Houston's Robert Gasser – a second-round pick this year. As an assistant at Old Dominion during the 2000 and 2001 seasons, he recruited and signed future American League MVP and Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander.
Rooney has also served as an assistant coach at Stetson (2002-03), James Madison (1998-99) and George Washington (1997). He helped both Stetson and Old Dominion qualify for NCAA Regionals during a stretch in which his teams qualified for seven Regionals in nine seasons from 2000 to 2008. In every stop in his career, he been involved in some capacity with the pitching staff and/or recruiting.
Rooney pitched collegiately at Radford, appearing in 79 games over three seasons, a total that still ranks top five in RU history. He earned his bachelor's degree in social science in 1996. Rooney and his wife, Shaun, are the parents of a daughter, Milly Margaret.
COACH ROONEY NOTABLES
• Assembled the No. 1-ranked recruiting classes at both LSU (full class) and Houston (JUCO only)
• MLB All-Stars Recruited/Signed: Justin Verlander, DJ LeMahieu, AJ Pollock
• Coached 6 different schools to NCAA Regional appearances (10 total bids): 2000 (Old Dominion), 2002-2003 (Stetson), 2004-2006 (Notre Dame), 2008 (LSU), 2011-2012 (UCF), 2018 (Houston)
• Part of the coaching staff with six 40-win teams, including standout squads at Stetson, Notre Dame, LSU and UCF
• As the head coach, helped rebuild UCF; the program enjoyed an 11-win improvement in year 2 and 23-win improvement from year 1 to year 4
• Pitching Development: 72 former pitchers signed pro contracts, including 20 selected in the top 10 rounds of the MLB Draft and 14 pitchers reaching the big leagues
Rooney coached in the College World Series with LSU and has helped lead teams to 10 NCAA Regional bids. He was the 2014 American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year at UCF and most recently served as the associate head coach at Houston, where he had been on staff since the summer of 2017.
Goff and Rooney also worked together at Alabama during the 2016-17 school year when Rooney served as Goff's associate head coach and pitching coach.
"Terry is a great hire for our program, a true asset," Goff said. "He's been part of so many high-level winners, building Regional teams as both a head coach and an assistant. I am so thrilled he will join us at Purdue and lead the way in our recruiting efforts as we continue building for sustained success. I'm excited about the impact Coach Rooney can have on the program going forward and it feels good to team up with him again."
"Our family is extremely excited and thankful to be joining Purdue University," Rooney said. "I am looking forward to recruiting and coaching a special group of players in our quest for a Big Ten championship."
Highlighted by a 45-win campaign and NCAA Regional bid in 2012, Rooney led UCF to 261 victories over eight seasons as head coach from 2009 to 2016. After the Knights moved to the AAC for the 2013-14 school year, he earned Coach of the Year honors when his 36-win team went 17-7 in league play. UCF qualified for consecutive Regionals in 2011 and 2012, marking just the second time in program history the Knights had accomplished the feat. UCF's No. 6 national ranking in 2015 was its highest in program history. His 2010 recruiting class was ranked as high as fourth nationally by Collegiate Baseball, another program best.
As the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Houston, the Cougars produced the 2018 AAC Pitcher of the Year (Aaron Fletcher) and 2019 AAC Newcomer Pitcher of the Year (Devon Roedahl). They also won the AAC title in 2018. The following year, UH led the league in ERA (3.82) and opponent batting average (.238). Rooney also helped assemble the No. 1-ranked class of junior college recruits. The Boilermakers squared off against UH twice at the 2018 NCAA Chapel Hill Regional, with Fletcher pitching a four-hit complete game in the Friday night affair.
Rooney's teams also matched up against Purdue while he was the pitching coach at Notre Dame from 2004 to 2006. He helped the Fighting Irish win five Big East Conference titles, including three straight tournament crowns. When Paul Mainieri was hired away from UND by LSU in the summer of 2006, Mainieri brought Rooney with him to Baton Rouge. In year 2 with the Tigers, LSU posted a 20-win improvement, won a pair of Southeastern Conference titles and went to the College World Series. He was promoted to associate head coach the following season and helped assemble to No. 1-ranked recruiting class in the nation, headlined by future MLB all-star and batting champion DJ LaMahieu. After Rooney left to become the head coach at UCF, LSU emerged as the champion at the 2009 College World Series.
Over the course of Rooney's career, he has mentored 14 pitchers that went on to reach the big leagues. He's also coached 20 pitchers that were selected in the first 10 rounds of the MLB Draft, most recently Houston's Robert Gasser – a second-round pick this year. As an assistant at Old Dominion during the 2000 and 2001 seasons, he recruited and signed future American League MVP and Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander.
Rooney has also served as an assistant coach at Stetson (2002-03), James Madison (1998-99) and George Washington (1997). He helped both Stetson and Old Dominion qualify for NCAA Regionals during a stretch in which his teams qualified for seven Regionals in nine seasons from 2000 to 2008. In every stop in his career, he been involved in some capacity with the pitching staff and/or recruiting.
Rooney pitched collegiately at Radford, appearing in 79 games over three seasons, a total that still ranks top five in RU history. He earned his bachelor's degree in social science in 1996. Rooney and his wife, Shaun, are the parents of a daughter, Milly Margaret.
COACH ROONEY NOTABLES
• Assembled the No. 1-ranked recruiting classes at both LSU (full class) and Houston (JUCO only)
• MLB All-Stars Recruited/Signed: Justin Verlander, DJ LeMahieu, AJ Pollock
• Coached 6 different schools to NCAA Regional appearances (10 total bids): 2000 (Old Dominion), 2002-2003 (Stetson), 2004-2006 (Notre Dame), 2008 (LSU), 2011-2012 (UCF), 2018 (Houston)
• Part of the coaching staff with six 40-win teams, including standout squads at Stetson, Notre Dame, LSU and UCF
• As the head coach, helped rebuild UCF; the program enjoyed an 11-win improvement in year 2 and 23-win improvement from year 1 to year 4
• Pitching Development: 72 former pitchers signed pro contracts, including 20 selected in the top 10 rounds of the MLB Draft and 14 pitchers reaching the big leagues