Staff Directory
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
Roger Williams, an All-ACC pitcher for the Tar Heels in 1984 and `85, is in his 11th year as Carolina's pitching coach.
Since Williams joined the Carolina coaching staff in October 1994, 15 UNC pitchers have been selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, five more have signed free agent contracts and 11 overall are still active in professional baseball. Most recently, Daniel Moore was a second-round pick of the Padres following the 2003 season, and Garry Bakker, Michael Gross and Kevin Brower were taken in the 2004 draft.
Current Major Leaguers Mike Bynum (San Diego Padres) and Kyle Snyder (Kansas City Royals) were both first-round selections in 1999 and honed their games at Carolina under Williams.
Since this tandem was drafted in `99, Williams has shown a knack for improving the draft status of his standout hurlers. After being chosen in the 27th and 32nd rounds, respectively, out of high school, Snyder and Bynum both made the jump to the first round after three years' work with Williams. A 21st-round pick out of the prep ranks, Moore was a second-round selection in 2003, while Ryan Earey made the jump from the 30th round out of high school to the sixth round in 2000.
Additionally, Scott Autrey went from being undrafted out of high school to a seventh-round selection by Tampa Bay in 2002.
In addition to improved draft status, Williams' pitchers enjoy success on the collegiate level. Last season, freshmen Daniel Bard and Andrew Miller were two of the nation's most dominant young pitchers. The 2004 ACC Freshman of the Year, Bard (8-4, 3.88 ERA) also earned first-team All-ACC and freshman All-America honors. Miller (6-2, 2.93 ERA) was a second-team all-conference pick and second-team all-freshman choice by Baseball America. The staff had a 3.62 combined ERA, which led the ACC and ranked 14th nationally. In 2003, Adam Kalkhof also earned Freshman All-America honors.
The 2002 staff, led by Autrey, averaged eight strikeouts per game, and freshman Garry Bakker was named ACC Player of the Week after striking out a UNC season-high 13 batters in a complete-game shutout at Virginia on March 30. Bakker was the first UNC freshman to throw a complete game shutout since Doug Torborg did so in 1984.
In 2000, MLB draftees Chris Elmore, Eric Henderson, Ryan Snare and DePriest helped Carolina to 46 wins, its second most in school history, and seven shutouts, its most in a single season since 1978. Snare, who was 10-1 with 3.14 ERA as a junior, finished his career with 269 strikeouts, fifth all-time at UNC. Elmore was 19-3 for an .864 winning percentage in his four-year career, the second-best winning percentage in school history.
Anchored by starters Bynum and Snyder, Carolina's 1999 staff posted a 3.73 ERA, which ranked eighth nationally. Derrick DePriest who finished his career with 124 appearances, led the nation with a 1.71 ERA.
Prior to returning to Carolina, Williams spent three years as the pitching coach at East Carolina University.
A native of Greenville, N.C., Williams was a standout pitcher for the Tar Heels from 1983 to 1985. He was a fourth-round draft pick of the Chicago Cubs in 1985 and spent two years playing at Triple-A Des Moines. In 1990, his final year of professional baseball, Williams was with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.
Williams tied an ACC record when he tallied 19 strikeouts against Duke in 1985. He is tied for fourth in Carolina history with 24 career victories and his .800 winning percentage (24-6 record) is among the all-time best at UNC. His 254 career strikeouts rank in the top 10 in school history. Williams' single-season marks of 113 strikeouts in 1985 and a 1.19 earned run average in 1983 are among Carolina's all-time top-five in their respective categories. His career totals in wins and strikeouts also rank among the best in ACC history.
Williams finished his studies at East Carolina with a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1992 and earned his master's degree in 1993. His father, George, was the head baseball coach at East Carolina from 1974-1976.
Williams married the former Stephanie Hensley in December 2000.
