Championship pedigree returns to Winston‑Salem
Wake Forest University announced this week that Terry Rooney will take the helm of its baseball recruiting efforts, bringing a proven track record of championship‑level talent acquisition to the Demon Deacons program.
Rooney’s résumé reads like a who’s who of modern college baseball success; he was a key architect of LSU’s national championship runs in 2009 and 2025, helping the Tigers dominate the postseason.
After two seasons as Pitching Coach and Recruiting Coordinator at the University of South Carolina, where he helped shape a staff that produced 14 big‑league pitchers, Rooney is eager to translate that experience into the ACC.
A career built on development and discovery
His recruiting acumen has already yielded marquee names, including the signing of future MLB star Justin Verlander at Old Dominion, and a pipeline that delivered 20 first‑round draft picks.
Rooney’s coaching journey has taken him from head coach at the University of Central Florida, where he amassed 261 victories and earned American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2014, to stints at Alabama, Houston and even a reunion with Purdue’s Greg Goff.
Beyond the dugout, Rooney holds a bachelor’s degree in social science from 1996 and shares his life in North Carolina with his wife Shaun and their daughter Milly Margaret.