| Perry Roth - 4 |
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Email: proth@uab.edu
Twitter: @plroth
Perry Roth is now in his sixth season as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at UAB and is no stranger to the teachings of Brian Shoop, having worked under him for three seasons at Birmingham-Southern before making the move to UAB in 2006. Roth's responsibilities include hitting instruction as well as working with the Blazers' catchers and playing a vital role in the program's recruiting efforts.
As hitting coach, Roth has guided the Blazers to some impressive offensive numbers in his five years with the program.
He made an immediate impact on the Blazer bats in 2007, helping UAB improve from a .267 team batting average the previous year to a .296 mark. That rise continued the next season as the 2008 team hit .311 and featured nine players better than .300 individually. One of those players Roth tutored was third-team All-American Ryan Keedy, who turned in one of the best statistical seasons in program history with a .423 batting average and a school-record 29 doubles.
Under Roth's guidance in 2009, the UAB offense set school records with 461 runs scored and 129 doubles as the Blazers again proved themselves as one of the top hitting teams in Conference USA. The team also cracked the top 10 in the school's single-season team record book for RBI (406, 2nd), walks (284, 3rd), home runs (58, 6th), hits (605, 9th) and batting average (.305, 10th).
Roth has coached 11 players to all-conference honors (six first-team) in his five seasons at UAB, including 2011 first-team selection Jamal Austin who hit .351 last season. Roth also coached Luke Stewart, who in 2010 was an all-league selection, connecting for 21 home runs and tied the UAB all-time record with 49 in his three-year career.
"Perry handles our hitters," said UAB head coach Brian Shoop. "I think he and I are coming from the same page. I used to handle all the hitting myself, but with all the new rules and administrative duties that a head coach has to focus on, I've really turned the hitting over to Perry, and I think he has done a great job getting our guys ready for the very good pitching we see in the spring."
Behind the plate, Roth has worked with a pair of Blazer catchers who earned all-conference honors - Danny Sawyer (2007) and Digger Towe (2009). In 2010, freshman catcher Jacob German threw out 32.4 percent of potential base stealers to lead all Conference USA catchers. Those numbers improved even more in 2011, as German and Harry Clark combined to throw out 23 of 49 base stealers (46.9 percent).
Roth came to UAB from Birmingham-Southern following the 2006 campaign. In his final season at Birmingham-Southern, the Panthers had a team batting average of .298, while hitting 52 home runs and driving in 96 more runs than their counterparts. In 2005, Birmingham-Southern's Adam Tucker led the Big South Conference in home runs (25) and was second in RBI (73) and total bases (167). Tucker won the NCAA Statistical Championship for home runs per game, and Florida's Matt LaPorta hit a home run in the College World Series championship series to edge him out in total home runs.
Before re-joining Shoop's staff at Birmingham-Southern, Roth spent one season at Bradley where he helped guide the Braves' offense to a .301 team batting average. The team improved in virtually every offensive category upon his arrival, scoring 115 more runs than the previous season, while three Braves hitters received All-Missouri Valley Conference honors, including 2004 MVC batting average leader Jon Smith.
In 2003, Roth had his first stint with Shoop at Birmingham-Southern, serving as the Panthers' first base coach. That season, the team posted a 35-16 record in its final year of provisional NCAA membership. In the summer of 2003, Roth led his Athletes in Action team to a runner-up finish in the Alaska Baseball League and a berth in the National Baseball Congress World Series.
"Off the field, Perry and I are also coming from the same page," Shoop said. "Coaching is our ministry and our chance to mentor young men and hopefully make a positive difference in their lives. Perry is doing a great job for the UAB baseball program."
Before arriving at Birmingham-Southern for the first time, Roth spent three years as an assistant coach at Illinois State from 1999-2002, where he served as the team's hitting and outfield coach in addition to his responsibilities as the program's recruiting coordinator.
From 1998-99, he served as the head coach of Springfield Calvary Academy right after being an assistant coach at his alma mater, Greenville College, from 1996-98.
As a player, Roth was a two-time letterwinner at Greenville. Both in 1990 and 1991, Roth and his Greenville teammates reached the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) championship.
Roth graduated from Greenville with a B.S. in physical education in 1997. Born August 15, 1972, the 38-year old Roth resides in Birmingham.
