The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Baseball
- Title:
- Assistant Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
- Phone:
- 934-5184
Perry Roth enters his second season as assistant head coach and 14th year with the program in 2020 after serving as the recruiting coordinator under Brian Shoop at Birmingham Southern. 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 a hitting coach, Roth has guided the Blazers to some impressive offensive numbers. Under the assistance of Roth, UAB made an incredible run to the 2015 Conference USA Championship game.
In 2016 and 2017 Roth coached Brewer Hicklen, a 2017 seventh round pick of the Kansas City Royals, who finished his career ranking sixth in career triples (10) and 10th in stolen bases (39). He was a 2017 Conference USA Second-Team selection and made the 2016 C-USA All-Freshman Team.
Adam Lau, a 37th round MLB Draft Selection by the Boston Red Sox, was a Roth prodigy. Lau was named to the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award watch list for his efforts at the plate and on the mound. He was also an All-Conference USA Second Team selection, while catcher and a Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week, Esteban Tresgallo, was also tabbed to the All-C-USA Second Team.
Senior outfielders Chase Davis and Jeff Schalk closed the book on their UAB careers landing spots on the Conference USA Championship All-Tournament Team after very successful careers at the plate and in the 2015 C-USA Tournament.
In 2014, the squad won 35 games, its most since the 1993 season. Outfielder Chase Davis was named All-Conference USA Second Team after leading the club in runs scored (38), doubles (11) and triples (2).
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 seasons.
The UAB offense stepped up massively in its historic run in 2012 hitting .333 as a team in the Conference USA Tournament drawing more walks (24) than strikeouts (18) during the four-game stretch in Pearl, Miss. The Blazers saw three players named to the league’s All-Tournament team in Jeff Schalk, John Frost and Keith DePew.
In 2009, under the guidance of Roth, 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 the league. The team cracked the top-10 in the school’s single-season team record book for RBI (406, second), walks (284, third), home runs (58, sixth), hits (605, ninth) and batting average (.305, 10th).
Roth wasted no time making an immediate impact when he arrived in 2007 quickly turning the bats around from a .267 average in 2006 to .296. That rise continued into 2008 as the team hit .311 with nine players hitting above .300 individually. One of those players was Al-American Ryan Keedy who hit .423 with a school record 29 doubles.
Behind the plate, Roth has worked with a pair of Blazer catchers who earned All-American honors, Danny Sawyer (2007) and Digger Towe (2009). In 2010, Jacob German threw out 32.4 percent of potential base stealers to lead all Conference USA catchers. Those numbers were among the league best from 2011-12, as the duo of German and Harry Clark threw out 46.9 percent in 2011 and 37.7 percent in 2012.
Pre UAB
Roth came to UAB from Birmingham Southern following the 2006 campaign. In his final season with the Panthers they 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 championships for home runs per game.
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 Alaskan Baseball League and a berth in the National Baseball Congress World Series.
Before arriving at Birmingham Southern the first time, Roth spent three years as an assistant at Illinois State from 2000-02 where he served as the team’s hitting and outfield coach in additional to his responsibilities as the program’s recruiting coach. 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 and currently resides in Birmingham.
