July 14, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - First-year UCF baseball head coach Terry Rooney announced Monday that he has selected former George Mason assistant coach Jeff Palumbo to the same position with the Knights. Rooney also tagged Kyle Dawes for the UCF Director of Baseball Operations position.
"I am extremely excited to announce the addition of Jeff Palumbo to our coaching staff," said Rooney, who was hired as UCF's head coach on June 12. "Jeff is widely regarded as one of the top young coaches on the East Coast. He has developed a reputation as an outstanding teacher and a tireless recruiter. My goal was to bring in the best infield instructor I could find, along with a coach that has a proved track record of developing hitters and recruiting impact student-athletes. We have found that person in Jeff Palumbo."
The UCF coaching staff is now almost complete as Rooney will be searching for a volunteer assistant coach in the coming days. Along with Palumbo, former LSU assistant Cliff Godwin was hired on to the Knights' staff as an assistant coach and hitting coach June 23. Palumbo will provide his skills primarily with the UCF defense, but also will help out with the hitters and the program's recruiting efforts.
"I am excited and honored to be a part of coach Rooney's staff and the University of Central Florida," said Palumbo. "I am looking forward to the opportunity to help Terry, and the rest of the coaching staff, build a first-class program that competes year after year at the national level."
Palumbo recently completed his third season at George Mason where he was the recruiting coordinator and hitting coach, and also managed the infield defense. The Patriots went 30-25 last season and had a .311 team batting average with 63 homers and a .970 fielding percentage. He served under 2008 Colonial Athletic Association Co-Head Coach of the Year Bill Brown, and guided Scott Krieger and Justin Bour to All-CAA postseason honors. It was the third-straight year Krieger (.381, 21 HR, 60 RBI) was named to a postseason team, while Bour (.398, 15 HR, 65 RBI) earned a spot after serving as a member of the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American Team in 2007.
Krieger eventually broke Mason's career home-run record with 49 in three campaigns, and went on to be selected to the ABCA All-East Region First Team. In 2007, Palumbo helped sluggers Chris Fournier and Jason Bour get taken in the MLB Draft.
Palumbo did not travel far for his first coaching gig as he was one of George Mason's all-time leading hitters from 2001-04. He left the school holding the career records in hits (283), at-bats (865), games played (218) and games started (217). Palumbo also ranked in the top 10 in runs, stolen bases, total bases, RBI and walks. The two-time CAA Defensive Player of the Year was the league's Student-Athlete of the Year and George Mason's Male Student-Athlete of the Year during his senior season. That year, he led the nation in runs scored per game with a 1.4 average and held a .402 batting average, lifting the Patriots to an at-large spot in the NCAA Tournament. He later would be drafted in the 15th round by the San Francisco Giants.
Dawes will begin his first year in the director of baseball operations position after serving as a student manager for the team in 2006 and 2007. He then worked as a student assistant in the UCF business office for 2007-08. Set to graduate in the fall while majoring in accounting, Dawes was accepted into UCF's Sport Business Management Graduate Program and hopes to enter the program in the fall of 2009.
A native of Orlando, Fla., and graduate from Colonial High School in 2005, Dawes, among other duties, will be coordinating all of the baseball team's travel plans, assisting with players' meals for home games and serving as a liaison for UCF alumni.
For more information on the UCF baseball program, head to www.ucfathletics.com. Also check out UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.