Eric Christopher Roof (born November 15, 1986) is an American

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

coach and former

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

. He is the former head baseball coach at

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public university, public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal ...

. Roof played college baseball at St. Catharine College and at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

for coaches David Grewe and

Jake Boss Jacob Boss Jr. is an Americans, American baseball coach and former player, who is the current head baseball coach of the Michigan State Spartans baseball, Michigan State Spartans. He played college baseball at Alma College for head coach Bill K ...

from 2007 to 2009.

Amateur career

Roof attended St. Mary High School in

Paducah, Kentucky Paducah ( ) is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in the Upland South, and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. The most populous city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located in the Southeastern Unit ...

. Roof then enrolled at St. Catharine College, to play

for the Patriots baseball team. As a freshman at St. Catharine College in 2006, Roof had a .345

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, 4

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...

and a 33 RBIs. As a sophomore in 2007, Roof transferred to

to play for the

Michigan State Spartans baseball The Michigan State Spartans baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball team of Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. The team competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I (NCAA), D ...

team. He batted .247 with a .333 SLG, 1 home run, and 9 RBIs. In the 2008 season as a junior, Roof hit .308 with a .423 SLG, 3 home runs, and 33 RBIs. Roof was drafted in the 46th round of the 2008 Major League Baseball draft by the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

, but Roof opted to return to Michigan State for his senior season. Roof had his best season as a senior in 2009, hitting a career high in doubles (14), home runs (6), RBIs (41) and slugged (.525).

Professional career

Roof was drafted by the Tigers again, this time in the 18th round of the

2009 Major League Baseball draft The 2009 Major League Baseball draft was held June 9 to June 11 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. The drafting order is as follows: First-round selections Key Supplemental first-round selections From Baseball Americ ...

. Roof played 3 years in the Tigers's organization. Playing for the

Oneonta Tigers The Oneonta Tigers were a minor league baseball team located in Oneonta, New York. They were members of the New York–Penn League. The Tigers were the Short-Season A classification affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, and played their home games ...

West Michigan Whitecaps The West Michigan Whitecaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Comstock Park, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids, and play their home games at LMCU Ballpar ...

Connecticut Tigers The Norwich Sea Unicorns are a baseball team located in Norwich, Connecticut. From 2010 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They play ...

and

Lakeland Flying Tigers The Lakeland Flying Tigers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Lakeland, Florida, and play their home games at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. ...

Coaching career

Roof returned to Michigan State as a volunteer assistant in 2013 and remained with the program through 2014. In late December 2017, Van Ameyde left Eastern Michigan to become the pitching coach at Michigan State. On January 3, 2018, Roof was named the interim head coach for the Eagles. On June 4, 2018, Roof was named the full-time head coach of the Eastern Michigan program.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Eastern Michigan Eagles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roof, Eric Living people 1986 births Baseball first basemen Baseball catchers Junior college baseball players in the United States Michigan State Spartans baseball players Oneonta Tigers players West Michigan Whitecaps players Connecticut Tigers players Lakeland Flying Tigers players Michigan State Spartans baseball coaches Baseball coaches from Kentucky Baseball players from Paducah, Kentucky