BATON ROUGE, La. (WGNO) — Terry Rooney, who helped build the foundation for LSU’s 2009 College World Series title, has been hired as the Tigers’ Associate Director of Program Development and Recruiting, coach Jay Johnson announced Wednesday.
Rooney returns to LSU, where he worked as pitching coach/recruiting coordinator under coach Paul Mainieri for two seasons (2007-08). Rooney helped lead the Tigers to a berth in the 2008 College World Series, and he assembled the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class that contributed significantly to LSU’s 2009 National Championship team.
Rooney most recently worked as the pitching coach/recruiting coordinator at Purdue for the past two seasons. His hiring is effective upon the completion of LSU’s background check process and approval by the university’s Board of Supervisors.
“I am really excited to add Terry Rooney to our LSU Baseball staff,” Johnson said. “Terry has a unique skill set, along with experience that will benefit our program for years to come.
“Terry’s work ethic, attention to detail, and previous experience here at LSU will be a huge asset to us as we move into the next phase of building our program on the heels of the 2023 National Championship. We couldn’t be happier to welcome Terry and his family back to LSU Baseball.”
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 in 2021.
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 worked under Mainieri as Notre Dame’s pitching coach from 2004-06, and he joined Mainieri’s staff at LSU in the summer of 2006. Rooney helped lead the Tigers in 2008 to the College World Series in a season that included a school-record 23-game win streak.
Rooney’s first recruiting class at LSU – that was signed in the fall of 2007 and included future All-Americans like infielder DJ LeMahieu, catcher Micah Gibbs and pitcher Anthony Ranaudo – was rated No. 1 in the nation and played a huge role in the Tigers’ drive to the 2009 CWS title.
Rooney left LSU after the 2008 season to become the head coach at UCF, where he was the 2014 American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.
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’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.
Rooney worked as the associate head coach/pitching coach at Alabama in 2016, before coaching at the University of Houston from 2017-21. With Rooney 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). Rooney also helped assemble the No. 1-ranked class of junior college recruits.
Rooney reunited with Purdue coach Greg Goff – with whom Rooney worked at Alabama – in 2021 as the Boilermakers’ recruiting coordinator, and he also worked as Purdue’s pitching coach in 2023.
Prior to joining Mainieri at Notre Dame in 2003, Rooney had served as an assistant coach at Stetson (2002-03), James Madison (1998-99) and George Washington (1997). 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.
*Courtesy of LSU Sports Information
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