COACHING STAFF
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Terry Rooney, 
Coach Rooney enters his second season as the head baseball coach at the University of Central Florida, where he becomes only the fifth head coach in the program’s history. Known as one of the nation’s premier recruiters, Rooney has compiled 8 nationally ranked recruiting classes throughout his 12 years as a recruiting coordinator at six different Division I programs, including stints at both Notre Dame and LSU. Coach Rooney will oversee the entire program and work individually with the pitchers. In 2008, Coach Rooney led the LSU program to a 49-19-1 record and was ranked as high as #2 in the country. Rooney's pitching staff was among the best in the country. The Tigers walked just 201 batters while striking out 554, and they combined to post a team ERA of 4.11. A total of 28 of Rooney's pitchers have been selected in the MLB Amateur Draft, with 10 taken in the first 10 rounds. Four LSU pitchers were tabbed in the 2008 draft, while 12 pitchers that he mentored at Notre Dame from 2003-06 also were selected. Prior to joining the staff at LSU, Rooney was the pitching coach at Notre Dame for three years beginning in the fall of 2003. The Fighting Irish participated in the NCAA Regional’s every season with Rooney in the dugout, and the 2004 pitching staff posted a 3.43 ERA, good for ninth in the country. The 2006 Irish staff, meanwhile, allowed just 18 home runs and set or tied four school pitching records. Coach Rooney graduated in 1996 from Radford University with a B.A. in Social Science. |
Cliff Godwin, 
Coach Godwin enters his second season as the Knights Associate Head Coach. His rise in the ranks of college baseball coaches has been truly remarkable. Known for his tireless work ethic, and knowledge of the game, Coach Godwin has seen success in every program he has been a part of. His responsibilities will focus on recruiting, working with the catchers and hitters and running the offense on game days. Under Godwin, the LSU offense hit .306 in 2008 with 100 home runs and 95 stolen bases. The squad recorded at least 10 runs in a game 20 times and posted a .509 slugging percentage. LSU posted a 23-game winning streak en route to a trip to Omaha and the College World Series. Godwin and Rooney built the top ranked recruiting class in the nation in 2007 for LSU, according to Collegiate Baseball magazine. That class featured nine signees selected in that season's MLB Amateur Draft. The duo also spent one season together at Notre Dame before venturing to LSU. During that 2006 campaign, the Fighting Irish had a .313 team average en route to claiming the Big East Tournament title and a spot in the NCAA tournament. Coach Godwin graduated magna cum laude in 2000 from East Carolina University with a B.S. in Management Information Systems. In 2002, he received the Pat Draughon Postgraduate Scholarship and graduated with his MBA, also from East Carolina University. |
Jeff Palumbo, 
Coach Palumbo enters his second season on the staff at UCF. He formerly coached at his alma mater, George Mason University for the past three seasons, where he was the recruiting coordinator. He will be responsible for the infield defense and share hitting responsibilities with assistant coach Cliff Godwin. Palumbo was a standout with the Patriots from 2000-2004, graduating from Mason as the Colonial Athletic Association's two-time Defensive Player of the Year and a two-time All-CAA selection. As a senior, he was the Student-Athlete of the Year in the conference for baseball as well as George Mason's Male Student-Athlete of the Year and Willard Award winner. He was drafted in the 15th round of the MLB Amateur Draft by San Francisco and assigned to the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes. Coach Palumbo graduated in December of 2004 with a B.S. in Administration of Justice from George Mason University. |
Brandon Romans, 
After a stellar playing career at UCF, Brandon Romans joins the staff as the volunteer assistant coach for 2010. A native of Cocoa, Fla., Romans played three seasons with the Black and Gold, hitting .314 for his career with 17 home runs and 77 RBI. The following is a year-by-year breakdown of his senior season. 2009 (Senior): All-C-USA Second Team selection...Named to the Johnny Bench Award Watch List, but primarily played in the outfield...Tied for sixth in UCF single-season history with 14 homers...Went .333 at the plate, leading the team in homers, RBI (49), total bases (116), slugging (.595) and walks (25)...Drew 25 walks while striking out just 15 times...Also had 39 runs and nine doubles...Racked up 18 two-out RBI, 21 multi-hit and 15 multi-RBI games...Jacked a two-run homer in a 2-for-4 affair vs. VCU (Feb. 20), finishing with three RBI...After missing three games with an injury, returned at LSU (Feb. 28) and connected for a solo homer in a two-hit affair...Went on an eight-game hitting streak (March 6-15)...Connected for a two-run homer in a two-hit, three-RBI game vs. Monmouth (March 6)...Went 4-for-9 with seven RBI, four runs, two doubles and two homers vs. Hartford and Northern Iowa (March 14-15)...Crushed a solo homer vs. Florida (March 18)...Homered in a two-hit afternoon at East Carolina (March 21)...Drove in a pair on a home run to left at ECU (March 22)...Sent a solo homer over the left-center wall at UNF (April 7)...Homered in a two-RBI, two-run game at Memphis (April 4)...Went 2-for-3 with a double, two RBI and two runs vs. Stetson (April 21)...Drove in four including three on a home run at UAB (April 24)...Collected two hits, two runs and a RBI at UAB (April 25)...Hammered a three-run homer in the eighth that gave UCF some breathing room in a win over USF (April 28)...Entered the UCF single-season top-10 with his 13th homer vs. Marshall (May 2)...Homered in a two-hit, two-run game vs. Marshall (May 3)...Posted two hits and two RBI vs. Stetson (May 6) and vs. Tulane (May 21). Prior to UCF: Competed for Birmingham-Southern in 2005, playing in 32 games...Started in 18 contests at catcher and at DH...Posted a .216 batting average and drove in 18 runs...Had a hitting streak of five games, while belting a grand slam vs. Butler (March 14)...In high school, played for head coach Chuck Goldfarb at Cocoa Beach in hitting as a sophomore and a junior and was named the team's MVP both seasons...As a junior, hit .402 with two homers, seven doubles and 26 RBI...Named first team All-Space Coast and first team All-Cape Coast. |
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