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Charlotte head baseball coach Loren Hibbs has named former 49ers catcher Kris Rochelle to his coaching staff for the 2010 season. He will take over as hitting instructor and work with the catchers and infielders.
Rochelle had his pro playing career cut short, playing parts of three seasons of minor league baseball following his 2007 graduation and drafting by Detroit. He joins the Niners after two seasons with the Washington Wild Things and a season with the Oneonta Tigers.
"We are excited to have Kris back in our program," said Hibbs.
"He improved each and every year as a player and we expect him to do the same as an assistant coach. He has tremendous energy, a desire to teach and a great passion for UNC Charlotte and our baseball program. He fits with our other coaches and understands the high level of expectation associated with Charlotte 49er Baseball. Our players will benefit from his knowledge and enthusiasm."
Rochelle holds the distinction of the highest batting average for a single season at Charlotte since 1998. He became the seventh player to hit over .400 for a season after leading the Atlantic 10 with the .404 average in his 2007 season. Also in his senior season, Rochelle led the conference in on-base percentage (.502), while second in hits (92), walks (44) and runs scored (64). He was seventh in total bases (132) and 12th in RBI (50).
PLAYER BIO
Drafted in 22nd Round by Detroit Tigers
Sixth 49er in team history to hit over .400 in a season
At Charlotte - 2007: Tied for eighth all-time for career games played and tied for seventh in career doubles at Charlotte... Led team with a career-high and conference-leading .404 average en route to the team's first Atlantic 10 Championship and third NCAA Regional berth... Caught all but four of Charlotte's 549.1 innings for the season while collecting 92 hits... Drew a team and career-best 44 walks for an on-base percentage of .502... Threw out 19 of 49 attempted stolen bases...
2006: Had 12 multi-hit games, including a trio of three-hit games... Has seen a decline in strikeouts in each of his three previous seasons... Threw out 20 of 28 baserunners attempting to steal, fourth-best in the A-10... Picked off 10 more baserunners... Batted .349 (15-for-43) when leading off an inning...
2005: Improved across the board with career highs in every statistic while lowering his strikeout total ... Named Conference USA Hitter of the Week on March 7, after hitting .500 and slugging .857 with four extra base hits and 7 RBI in a 4-0 week ... Second on team with 44 RBI and 23 extra-base hits ... Tied for team lead with six home runs ... Two-run home run in the 11th inning gave Charlotte a 6-4 win over Duquesne on March 11 ... Team was 6-0 when he homered ... Four of his homers came with two outs ... Batted .358 with 15 extra-base hits and 27 RBI in 22 non-conference games ... Hit .339 at home ... 15 multiple-hit and 13 multiple-RBI games ... Hit primarily in the cleanup spot (41 games) ... Made 26 starts behind the plate, and played first base 17 times ... Dean's List and Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll (Fall, 2005) ...
2004: Opened his career hitting safely in five straight games ... would go on to have a team-leading 13-game hitting streak (March 14 to April 3) ... collected 17 hits (.309) and 11 RBI in that stretch ... had at least one hit in 38 of 51 games overall, including 36 of his first 41 games ... started all 51 games played, including 23 at catcher and 27 as the designated hitter ... two home runs at cross-town rival Davidson, helping Charlotte to a 10-3 win ... homered in four other games, including three against C-USA foes (Tulane, Saint Louis and Houston) ... third-most at-bats on the team.
At Mills Godwin - Drafted in the 50th round of the 2003 draft by the Chicago Cubs. Earned all-state honors as a catcher his senior year. Named first-team all-region as a senior. Named all-district three times. As a junior he was runner-up for district player of the year. Member of a team that won back-to-back district and region championships as a junior and a senior. Played on a two-time American Legion state championship team.
Personal - Parents are Robin and Tina Rochelle. Majored in Earth science. Birthdate is September 22, 1984.
