Terry Rooney - Baseball Coach - University of Houston Athletics

Terry Rooney

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
tjrooney@central.uh.edu

Terry Rooney was named assistant coach for the Cougars on June 26, 2017. He was promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2019 season. The 2022 season will be his fifth at Houston.

The former Alabama associate head coach and UCF head coach works directly with the pitching staff while also serving as the recruiting coordinator.

TERRY ROONEY
Born	Nov. 29, 1973
Hometown	Fairfax, Va.
College	Radford, 1996 Bachelor's in Social Science
Family	wife: Shaun daughter: Milly Margaret

PLAYING EXPERIENCE
Level	School (Years)
College	Radford (1994-96)
College	Davis & Elkins College (1993)

COACHING EXPERIENCE
Year	School, Position
2019-present	Houston, associate head coach
2017-19	Houston, assistant coach
2017	Alabama, associate head coach
2009-16	UCF, head coach
2007-08	LSU, assistant coach
2004-06	Notre Dame, assistant coach
2002-03	Stetson, assistant coach
2000-01	Old Dominion, assistant coach
1998-99	James Madison, assistant coach
1997	George Washington, assistant coach
CHAMPIONSHIPS WON
Year	Championship
2018	American Athletic Conference Champions
2008	Baton Rouge Super Regional Champions
2008	Baton Rouge Regional Champions
2008	SEC Tournament Champions
2006	BIG EAST Tournament Champions
2005	BIG EAST Tournament Champions
2004	BIG EAST Tournament Champions
2000	Colonial Athletic Conference Champions
NCAA POSTSEASON EXPERIENCE
Year	Experience
2018	NCAA Chapel Hill Regional
2012	NCAA Coral Gables Regional
2011	NCAA Tallahassee Regional
2008	NCAA College World Series
2008	Baton Rouge Super Regional Champions
2008	NCAA Baton Rouge Regional Champions
2006	NCAA Lexington Regional
2005	NCAA Gainesville Regional
2004	NCAA South Bend Regional
2003	NCAA Atlanta Regional
2002	NCAA Tallahassee Regional
2000	NCAA Atlanta Regional
COACHING HONORS
Year	Honor
2014	The American Coach of the Year
HEAD COACHING RECORD
Years	School	Record	Conference Record
2009-16 (8)	UCF	261-210	93-83

During his 25-year coaching career, Rooney has guided programs to 10 NCAA Tournament appearances and six conference titles. He has tutored student-athletes who went on to pitch in the Major Leagues including 14 pitchers.

Six Houston pitchers have been selected in the Major League Baseball Draft since Rooney’s arrival including three Top-15 round selections.

In 2021, Rooney tutored American Athletic Conference First-Team honoree, Robert Gasser, who finished 6-6 with a 2.53 ERA. The righty racked up 105 strikeouts and fanned 10-plus batters on five occasions.

Derrick Cherry bolstered Houston’s bullpen in 2020 and again in 2021. The closer finished fourth in The American with three saves in 2020. One season later, he posted a 2.85 ERA alongside five saves.

In 2020, starting pitcher Clay Aguilar finished 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA and went on to sign with the New York Yankees.

Rooney's 2019 pitching staff led The American Athletic Conference in ERA (3.82) and opponent batting average (.238) aiding the Cougars’ seventh straight season with at least 32 wins.

Pitcher Clay Aguilar was named to the Don Sanders Cup All-Series Team, while Nolan Bond and Devon Roedahl were named to All-Silver Glove Series Team against Rice.

Roedahl was named 2019 The American Newcomer Pitcher of the Year, as three pitchers garnered postseason honors. Aguilar was named to The American First Team, while Roedahl and junior Fred Villarreal were tabbed to the Second Team.

Three pitchers were taken in the 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Junior Sean Bretz was picked up by the Kansas City Royals in the 15th Round (Pick 439). Villarreal was tabbed by the Seattle Mariners in the 25th Round (Pick 756) and Roedahl was chosen by Boston in the 27th Round (Pick 827).

After the draft, senior Ryan Randel signed a free agent contract with the Los Angeles Angels on June 13.

Rooney helped Houston to a 2018 American Athletic Conference regular-season title and an NCAA Chapel Hill Regional berth in his first season with the Cougars.

The Cougars went 38-25 including a 16-8 mark in league play. Under his direction, Houston hurler Aaron Fletcher recorded a league-best 2.19 ERA and was 7-3 en route to being named the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year.

The Houston pitching staff compiled a 3.84 ERA, third-best in the league, while striking out 492 and holding opposing hitters to a .240 average.

The Cougars tossed five complete game shutouts, which led the American.

Trey Cumbie was tabbed a Second Team All-Conference honoree and led the Cougars with 110 strikeouts, ranking third in the conference.

Houston pitchers Trey Cumbie (13th), Aaron Fletcher (14th) and Joey Pulido (32nd) were selected in the MLB First Year Player Draft.

PRIOR TO HOUSTON
Rooney has an extensive background in college baseball, having made several stops at established programs throughout the country. Prior to spending the 2017 season at Alabama, he led one of Houston’s American foes in UCF for eight seasons (2008-16). Rooney has been an assistant at LSU (2007-08), Notre Dame (2004-06), Stetson (2002-03), Old Dominion (2000-01), James Madison (1998-99) and George Washington (1997). In all of those stops, Rooney was involved in some capacity with the pitching staff and/or recruiting.

AT ALABAMA
Rooney spent the 2017 season at Alabama as the Crimson Tide’s associate head coach, handling the pitching duties. He coached the team’s top reliever in Garrett Suchey to a 26th round draft selection. The righty finished his junior campaign as the team leader in innings pitched (73.2) and strikeouts (70) while maintaining a team-low 3.18 ERA (26 ER).

AT UCF
Rooney led UCF to new heights during his eight seasons at the helm, helping the Knights earn national recognition among the nation’s Top 30 in five seasons. UCF reached the NCAA postseason in consecutive seasons in 2011 and 2012 – marking just the second time in program history to accomplish that feat. Rooney was tabbed the American Conference Coach of the Year in 2014 and, in 2015, he guided the team to a program-best No. 6 national ranking by Baseball America.

During his time at UCF, he led a staff that put together nationally recognized recruiting classes in four seasons. His 2010 recruiting class was slotted as the fourth-best nationally by Collegiate Baseball and the 10th-best class by Baseball America.

AT LSU
Prior to earning his first head coaching job at UCF, Rooney served as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at LSU from 2007-08. He helped the 2008 Tigers to the College World Series, thanks in part to standout pitching that included a 554-201 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

AT NOTRE DAME
Rooney served as pitching coach at Notre Dame for three years, starting in the fall of 2003. He coached the team to three straight NCAA Regional appearances and helped a pitching staff to a 3.43 ERA which ranked ninth nationally.

The 2006 pitching staff set several school records, while allowing just 18 home runs on the year. Three Irish arms were chosen in the MLB Draft, highlighted by Jeff Samardzija, a fifth-round selection by the Chicago Cubs.

In 2004, two hurlers were taken in the first 10 rounds, marking the first time in program history that two Fighting Irish pitchers were chosen in the Top 10 rounds of the same draft.

AT STETSON
Rooney was the pitching coach at Stetson from 2002-03. During his time there, the Hatters made a pair of NCAA Regional appearances and posted two 40-win seasons.

Under Rooney's tutelage, four Stetson pitchers garnered All-Atlantic Sun Conference honors, and two were taken in the MLB Draft. Rooney's 2006 Stetson recruiting class was ranked 12th nationally by Baseball America, the highest in the history of the program.

AT OLD DOMINION
Rooney spent 2000-01 at Old Dominion, helping the Monarchs earn an NCAA Regional berth as the No. 2 seed in 2000. Four pitchers that Rooney coached went on to play professional baseball, including Justin Verlander, who he recruited and signed.

PRIOR STOPS
Rooney's two years at James Madison (1998-99) included a pair of nationally ranked recruiting classes, as he first assumed the role of pitching coach/recruiting coordinator in 1999. Two of his pitchers were later drafted in the first 10 rounds, and six from the 1999 class went on to sign professional contracts with three players drafted in the top five rounds.
Rooney began his coaching career in 1997 at George Washington.

PLAYING DAYS
Rooney played collegiately at Radford, where he pitched for three seasons for the Highlanders. For his career, he sported an 8-2 overall record and still ranks second all-time in school history with 79 appearances.

He began his collegiate playing days at Davis & Elkins College in West Virginia, where he went 4-2 on the mound as a freshman.

Rooney graduated from Radford in 1996 with his bachelor's degree in social science.

PERSONAL
A native of Fairfax, Va., he and his wife, Shaun, were married in December 2007. The couple has one daughter, Milly Margaret, who was born in 2014.

HEAD COACH TODD WHITTING ON ROONEY
“As I went through the process of a national search to hire a pitching coach for our program, Coach [Terry] Rooney was far and away the obvious choice to lead our pitching staff,” Whitting said. “His experience as a head coach, recruiting coordinator and pitching coach at some of the best baseball programs in the country made his hire an easy decision. His work ethic and commitment to the development of student-athletes will make him a great addition to our current coaching staff. The current and future players in our program will greatly benefit from his knowledge and experience at the highest level of college baseball.”

“Coach Rooney’s track record of developing pitchers at his previous schools and multiple nationally ranked recruiting classes he has signed heavily factored into the decision to hire him at Houston,” Whitting said. “His influence in building programs at Stetson, Notre Dame, LSU, and UCF to name a few, illustrates his ability to identify great talent and develop these student-athletes not only into prospects but players that can help build successful teams at the NCAA Regional level.”