Former Rutgers Baseball Star Named Volunteer Assistant Coach

(Via ScarletKnights.com)

The Rutgers baseball team named Rutgers Alumnus Lou Clemente, Volunteer Assistant Coach.

The former outfielder and offensive power house for the Scarlet Knights takes on the newest chapter of his life, coaching his former team.

Clemente, who graduated from Rutgers in 2014, began his collegiate baseball career at Brookdale Community College before transferring to Rutgers for the 2013 and 2014 seasons.  Last spring, Clemente drove in 21 runs off of 33 hits and two home runs.  To top off his senior year, he also was named to the New Jersey Collegiate Baseball Association All-State first team.

“I am lucky to have gotten the opportunity to coach,” said Clemente.  “I have a good relationship with the players and coaches, we all get along,” he continued.

Clemente, who always wanted to coach never thought that he would be coaching at such a high level right away.

He originally planned on becoming either a History or Special Education teacher and then coach, but when the opportunity to coach not only his former team, but for the State University of New Jersey, Clemente took on the opportunity.

Clemente now works primarily with the outfielders, a position he formerly played.

Having Clemente as a coach, gives the Rutgers coaching staff more of an inside look at the team since he was just in their shoes last season.

Sometimes there are just certain things that only recent collegiate athletes will understand.  Especially in a sport like baseball that according to the great Yogi Berra; “is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical.”

“I am able to see some things that the other coaches may not be able to,” said Clemente when discussing coaching his former team.  “There are something’s that I went thought and I can explain to the team based on my experiences,” he continued.

“I know who each player is and what they need to work on,” said Clemente.  This gives Clemente and the entire baseball team a unique advantage moving forward in their inaugural Big Ten season.

For some Rutgers baseball players this is the third conference that they played in.  The Scarlet Knights were part of the Big East up until the 2012-2013 season where they joined the American Athletic Conference.

This year, the Scarlet Knights entered a much bigger conference- literally.  The Big Ten is a brand new conference for this baseball program, one that is talked about by all the analysts.

So far, the Scarlet Knights have been impressive in their inaugural Big Ten season.  The football team not only finished 8-6, but defeated UNC in their bowl game this December.  While the men’s basketball team earned the biggest win in school history defeating number four Wisconsin at home.

Now it is the baseball team’s chance to show the Big Ten what they have to offer.

“We are the newcomers in this conference.  Hopefully we can make some noise in this new conference,” said Clemente.

Last season, the Scarlet Knights finished 30-25 overall and 14-9 in the AAC.   Winter practices have already begun and the Scarlet Knights will kick off their season next Friday with a four game series against number 9 Miami.