Eric Snider - Baseball Coach - University of Louisville Athletic

Eric Snider

Title:
Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
Email:
eric@GoCards.com
Phone:
852-8145

Assistant Coach / Recruiting Coordinator - 11th season

Player Honors (Louisville tenure)

2017 National Player of the Year - Brendan McKay
23 All-Americans (13 hitters)
52 All-Conference Selections (30 hitters)
55 MLB Draft Picks (27 hitters)
13 MLB Players (7 hitters)

Eric Snider is in his 11th season as an assistant coach at the University of Louisville, where he serves as recruiting coordinator and hitting coach for the Cardinals.

Introduced as an assistant on July 15, 2014, by Louisville head coach Dan McDonnell, Snider is a highly successful recruiter with an aggressive offensive philosophy. Prior to joining the Cardinals, Snider served 16 seasons on the coaching staff at Illinois, including the previous six years as associate head coach with the Fighting Illini.

During Snider’s first 10 seasons in Louisville, the Cardinals have two College World Series appearances, five ACC Atlantic Division championships, five NCAA Super Regional berths, 23 All-American selections (including 13 hitters) and 55 players have been selected in the Major League Baseball Draft.

Recruiting Top Talent to the Ville

Since arriving in the Ville in the summer of 2014, Snider has led the charge on consistently assembling talented recruiting classes.

Of the 11 classes he has signed, six of them have ranked among the top 10 nationally, including three top-three signing classes.

Season Capsules

2024 - 32-24 (16-14 ACC)

The Louisville offensive attack had another strong showing in 2024, ranking top 20 nationally with a .311 batting average and leading the ACC with 105 stolen bases. The Cardinals also finished in the top 20 in doubles per game, slugging percentage and triples. Zion Rose was named a freshman All-American after leading the team with a .380 batting average. Gavin Kilen earned third team All-ACC honors behind a .330 average, 23 doubles and 41 RBIs. Ten Cardinals tallied 100 or more at-bats on the season, with all 10 posting averages of .290 or higher.

2023 - 31-24 (10-20 ACC)

The Cardinals hit .280 as a team in 2023, coming up one double shy of 100 and swiping 88 bases. Catcher Jack Payton led the offensive attack, hitting a team-best .374 with 10 doubles and 12 home runs. Shortstop Christian Knapczyk earned All-ACC honors following a season that saw him hit .331 with a team-high 19 stolen bases. Knapczyk (Cleveland Guardians, fifth round) and Payton (San Francisco Giants (11th round) were among the four Louisville players chosen in the 2023 MLB Draft.

2022 - 42-21-1 (18-11-1 ACC), NCAA Super Regional, ACC Atlantic Division Champions

The Cardinals had a banner season at the plate in 2022 ranking top 15 nationally in batting average (.309), hits, runs, walks, on-base percentage and doubles. Louisville posted its highest run and home run totals since 1992, and seven of UofL’s nine regular starters earned All-Conference recognition.

Catcher Dalton Rushing continued Louisville’s impressive tradition of great catchers, earning All-America honors and was selected 40th overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2022 MLB Draft. Rushing hit .310 and his 23 home runs on the season were tied for the fourth-most in a single season in program history. Third baseman Ben Metzinger tallied 19 home runs and 69 RBIs, while Cameron Masterman added 18 home runs and 61 RBIs of his own. Ben Bianco chipped in 11 home runs to give the Cardinals four players in double figures.

The Cardinals also showed offensive prowess on the basepaths, leading the ACC with 103 stolen bases. Four different players swiped at least 10 bags, led by Levi Usher's 36, which was the most in the ACC and eighth nationally, as well as the sixth highest total in program history.

Rushing was the first of five Cardinals selected in the 2022 MLB Draft, all in the top 10 rounds. Ben Metzinger (Milwaukee Brewers, seventh round) and Levi Usher (Kansas City Royals, 10th round) also heard their names called, while Cameron Masterman inked a free agent deal with the Oakland Athletics.

2021 - 28-22 (16-16 ACC)

The Louisville offense turned in another strong season in 2021, as the Cardinals ranked among the top four in the ACC in batting average, on-base percentage, runs per game, triples and stolen bases.

The Cardinals checked a major milestone off the list in 2021 as catcher Henry Davis was selected with the first overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Davis led the Cardinals with a .370 batting average while adding 15 home runs and 48 RBIs, and was a unanimous All-American. Alex Binelas paced Louisville with 19 long balls and 63 driven in.

Louisville finished fifth nationally with 113 stolen bases on the season, led by 26 from Levi Usher and 20 from Cooper Bowman. Four Louisville position players earned All-Conference honors.

Davis was one of seven Cardinals to be selected in the 2021 Draft, joining Binelas (Milwaukee Brewers, third round), Cooper Bowman (New York Yankees, fourth round), Lucas Dunn (San Diego Padres, eighth round) and Luke Brown (Pittsburgh Pirates, ninth round) among Louisville position players.

2020 - 13-4 (2-1 ACC), program's first-ever preseason No. 1 ranking

In the shortened 2020 season, the Cardinals led the country in doubles, ranked third in batting average and fifth in hits. Despite the short season, the Cardinals were once again prominently featured during the 2020 MLB Draft with Reid Detmers going 10th overall to the Los Angeles Angels and Bobby Miller following to the Los Angeles Dodgers at No. 29. Zach Britton was later selected in the fifth round by the Toronto Blue Jays, while Justin Lavey (Seattle Mariners) and Danny Oriente (Arizona Diamondbacks) each signed free agent contracts.

2019 - 51-18 (21-9 ACC), NCAA College World Series, ACC Atlantic Division Champions

Louisville's offense finished ranked in the top 20 nationally in hits, runs, doubles, walks and stolen bases while helping the program to its fifth College World Series berth.

Seven different Cardinals reached double figures in doubles, led by Danny Oriente's 17 to go along with his team-best .332 average. Alex Binelas earned Freshman All-America honors after hitting 14 home runs and driving in 59. Binelas, Logan Wyatt, Tyler Fitzgerald and Justin Lavey all earned All-ACC recognition.

Wyatt was the first Cardinal off the board in the 2019 MLB Draft, selected 51st overall in the second round by the San Francisco Giants. Fitzgerald joined him as a San Francisco selection two rounds later. Jake Snider (Pittsburgh Pirates, 20th round) and Drew Campbell (Atlanta Braves, 23rd round) were also among the eight Cardinals drafted.

2018 - 45-19 (18-12 ACC), NCAA Regional

The Louisville offense had a strong showing in 2018, leading the ACC in batting average, doubles, on-base percentage and stolen bases.

Logan Wyatt and Josh Stowers anchored the Louisville lineup, with both earned All-America honors. Wyatt hit a team-best .339 with 22 doubles and 69 RBIs, while Stowers finished with a .336 average, 14 doubles and 60 driven in. Both were first team All-ACC selections, with Devin Mann and Danny Oriente garnering All-Conference honors of their own.

Louisville finished the 2018 season with 125 stolen bases, the fifth-most nationally. Stowers swiped a team-leading 36 bags, while Jake Snider and Fitzgerald added 24 and 23, respectively.

Stowers was a second round pick of the Seattle Mariners in the 2018 MLB Draft, the first of seven Cardinals to have their name called. Mann was picked in the fifth round by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

2017 - 53-12 (23-6 ACC), NCAA College World Series, ACC Atlantic Division Champions, program-record 53 wins

During the 2017 College World Series season, the Cardinals ranked in the Top 25 nationally in eight different offensive categories -- 11th in sacrifice flies, 12th in runs scored, 17th in stolen bases, 19th in hit by pitch, 21st in doubles, 23rd in home runs, 25th in hits and 25th in scoring.

Snider worked extensively with National Player of the Year Brendan McKay and All-Americans Drew Ellis and Devin Hairston during their three-year careers, which culminated with all three players being selected in the 2017 MLB Draft. With McKay going fourth overall to the Tampa Bay Rays, Ellis going in the second round to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Hairston going in the sixth round to the Milwaukee Brewers, Colby Fitch (13th Round, Philadelphia Phillies) and Logan Taylor (16th Round, Chicago White Sox) joined that trio as MLB Draft picks for the Cardinals.

Ellis had a breakout season at the plate in 2017, launching 20 home runs with 18 doubles and 61 RBIs, all of which were team highs. McKay added 18 home runs and 57 RBIs of his own with a .341 average, while Hairston his .309 with 16 doubles and 52 batted in.

2016 - 50-14 (22-8 ACC), NCAA Super Regional, ACC Atlantic Division Champions

In Snider's second season in Louisville in 2016, he was instrumental as Devin Hairston (.361, 16 2B, 45 RBI), Brendan McKay (.333, 19 2B, 41 RBI), Corey Ray (.310, 16 2B, 15 HR, 60 RBI, 44 SB) and Nick Solak (.376, 14 2B, 29 RBI) garnered All-America accolades from multiple media organizations. Each of those four standouts were also joined by Will Smith (.382, 7 HR, 43 RBI) and Blake Tiberi (.340, 18 2B, 10 HR, 51 RBI) in earning All-ACC honors.

As a team, the Cardinals won their second straight ACC Atlantic Division title and advanced to their fourth straight NCAA Super Regional while ranking third nationally in hits, third in sacrifice flies, sixth in batting average, sixth in doubles, sixth in slugging percentage, ninth in runs scored, 12th in stolen bases, 15th in on-base percentage, 19th in home runs, 20th in scoring and 26th in triples in 2016.

The season culminated with eight players being selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, including four position players -- Ray (1st Round, 5th overall, Milwaukee Brewers), Smith (1st Round, 32nd overall, Los Angeles Dodgers), Solak (2nd Round, New York Yankees) and Tiberi (3rd Round, New York Mets).

2015 - 47-18 (25-5 ACC), NCAA Super Regional, ACC Atlantic Division Champions, ACC record 25 conference wins

During his first season with the Cardinals in 2015, Snider helped Corey Ray's rise as an All-American outfielder as well as the emergence of Brendan McKay as a two-way All-American.

Ray hit .325 with 11 home runs, 56 RBI and 34 stolen bases while earning Second Team All-America accolades from Baseball America and NCBWA and Third Team honors from D1Baseball. McKay, chosen as the National Freshman of the Year by Baseball America, D1Baseball and Perfect Game as well as ACC Freshman of the Year by the league's head coaches, hit .308 with four home runs, 34 RBI and 14 doubles for Louisville, which set an ACC record for conference wins in a single season (25-5) and advanced to its third straight NCAA Super Regional.

1999-2014 - Illinois Assistant Coach (1999-2008) / Associate Head Coach (2008-14)

Snider helped lead Illinois to NCAA Regional appearances in 2011 (advanced to final of Fullerton Regional) and 2013 (Nashville Regional) as well as the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles in 2011. As associate head coach, he was instrumental in recruiting for the Fighting Illini while also coordinating the team's offense and hitting instruction. He also worked with the Illini infielders and outfielders, directed the off-season conditioning program for the entire squad, served as the third-base coach and was responsible for placing the Illini in summer leagues across the country.

Snider led the Illini offense to batting averages of better than .300 in nine of his 16 seasons, including a .335 mark in 2008. He also has coached the Illinois defense to fielding percentages of better than .960 in 15 of his 16 years and marks over .965 in 10 campaigns, including a school-record .973 in 2011, a .972 mark in 2012 and a .971 percentage in 2013.

Under his tutelage, the Illini also led the NCAA in double plays per game in 2012 with 1.3. In addition, the Illini's 2008 offense broke school records for hits, runs, RBIs, doubles and walks in a Big Ten season, and fell just three stolen bases short of breaking that record in a conference season.

Snider was instrumental in Illinois' aggressive offensive approach, including a large number of stolen bases. The 2007 squad posted the most steals in a season in 25 years, swiping 109-of-143 bags. The Illini stole 101 bases in 2008, while the 2010 squad was even better stealing 114-of-144 bases. In 2013, the Illini finished 115-of-143 in stolen bases, marking the second-most steals in school history behind only the school-record mark of 150.

Snider began his Illini tenure by recruiting three Freshman All-Americans in four years. Recruiting paydirt came again for Snider at Illinois with Freshman All-Americans in 2008, 2009, 2012 and 2014.

Overall, 27 position players made the jump to professional baseball since Snider joined the Illinois staff.

1995-98 - Waterloo Bucks Head Coach / General Manager (Northwoods League)

Snider compiled a record of 163-90 (.644) over the four years and was twice named Northwoods League Manager of the Year. Snider was honored in 2004 for his contribution to the NWL by being named to the NWL All-Decade team.

Other Coaching Stops

1992-95 - Austin Peay Assistant Coach
1992-93 - Champaign County Colts Manager (Central Illinois Collegiate League)
1990-92 - Iowa Graduate Assistant Coach

Playing Career

A two-year letterwinner at Northern Iowa, Snider finished his playing career with a .411 career batting average and 69 stolen bases in 72 attempts on the way to being a two-time All-Missouri Valley Conference selection. Snider transferred to Northern Iowa from Kirkwood Community College where he was a junior college All-American shortstop.

Personal

Snider earned a bachelor's degree in physical education and coaching from Northern Iowa in 1987 and added a master's degree in health and physical education from Austin Peay in 1993. A native of Waterloo, Iowa, Snider and his wife Holly have two sons, Jacob and Noa, and one daughter, Jenna.