• Recruited/coached 3 of the 4 highest-drafted position players in Illinois history (Chris Robinson, Lars Davis, Kyle Hudson) Eric Snider was named Associate Head Coach on Oct. 13, 2008, in recognition of his 10 years of excellence on the Fighting Illini staff. The promotion comes on the heels of the 2008 season, during which he helped lead the Illini to one of the finest offensive seasons in school history. Snider handles hitting instruction, third-base coaching duties and works with the Illini infielders and outfielders. He also directs the off-season conditioning program for the entire squad, is instrumental in recruiting for the Fighting Illini and is in charge of placing the Illini in summer leagues across the country. Snider has led the Illini offense to batting averages of better than .300 in eight of his 10 seasons, including a .335 mark in 2008. He also has coached the Illinois defense to fielding percentages of better than .960 in nine of his 10 years and marks over .965 in six campaigns. 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 also has been instrumental in Illinois' aggressive offensive approach that includes a large number of stolen bases. The 2007 squad posted the most steals in a season in 25 years and third-most in school history, swiping 109-of-143 bags, and the Illini swiped 101 bases in 2008. The school stolen bases record has been broken or tied in consecutive seasons, with Shawn Roof breaking it in 2007 by stealing 40-of-48 and Kyle Hudson tying Roof's mark in 2008 with 40-of-49 steals. For their careers, Hudson and Roof rank 2-3 in steals in school history. Overall during his tenure, Snider has guided four Illini to base-stealing seasons that rank in the school's top-10: Hudson's 40 in 2008, Roof's 40 in 2007, Ryan Rogowski's 31 in 2005 and Roof's 25 in 2006. Four of the top six career steals totals by Illini in Big Ten action have been set under Snider, and he has overseen eight of the top 11 single-season efforts in conference play. Snider's impact on the Illinois program was immediate both in recruiting and on the field. In his first recruiting season, Snider landed Freshman All-American first baseman Andy Schutzenhofer, who started all but one game in his four years. He earned All-Big Ten honors each year and finished in the career top-10 in 11 offensive categories. Schutzenhofer, who signed a free agent deal with the St. Louis Cardinals after the draft, also received the 2003 Big Ten Medal of Honor. In 2002, Snider brought in Drew Davidson, who earned Freshman All-America honors while leading the team in average, hits, home runs, total bases and slugging after turning down an offer from the St. Louis Cardinals, who drafted him in June 2001. Davidson then led the Illini to the 2005 Big Ten Championship, winning Big Ten Player of the Year honors along the way. He finished his Illini career third on the all-time home runs list, sixth on the total bases list and seventh in career doubles. He was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 22nd round following the 2005 season. Snider found his third Freshman All-American in four recruiting classes in 2003's Eric Eymann. Eymann hit .359 with a team-leading 15 doubles and 71 hits en route to Freshman All-America and second-team All-Big Ten honors. His latest Freshman All-America recruit was Casey McMurray in 2008, after McMurray hit .331 with a team-high 12 doubles, 28 runs and 24 RBIs. Another member of the 2003 class who Snider recruited was not as heralded initially, but catcher Chris Robinson became the highest-drafted position player in Illinois history when he was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the third round in 2005. Snider struck gold once again with a catcher from north of the border when he brought in Alberta native Lars Davis to replace Robinson behind the dish. Davis exploded in the 2007 season, hitting .400, being named an All-American by three organizations and being selected as the Big Ten Player of the Year. He then followed in Robinson's footsteps, being drafted in the third round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Colorado Rockies. In total, 16 position players have made the jump to professional baseball since Snider joined the Illinois staff. That list includes Jon Anderson, Chris Basak, Dan O'Neill, Craig Marquie and D.J. Svihlik. Patrick Arlis joined that group after being drafted by the Florida Marlins in the 11th round of the 2002 draft. Three Illini position players signed as free agents in 2003, as centerfielder Brandon Cashman inked a deal with Texas, Sean Patrick signed with Baltimore and Schutzenhofer joined the Cardinals. However, 2005 was the most fruitful for Illini in the draft during Snider's tenure as five position players were either drafted or signed free agent contracts. Robinson, Davidson and shortstop Toby Gardenhire had their names called in the 2005 draft, while first baseman Dusty Bensko and leftfielder Ryan Rogowski inked free agent deals later in the summer. Robinson became the highest-drafted position player in Illinois history when he was taken by the Detroit Tigers in the third round with the 90th overall pick. In 2007, two Fighting Illini position players were drafted and one more Illini signed a professional deal. Davis and Roof were selected during the two-day draft, with Davis' selection in the third round as the 102nd overall pick making him the second-highest drafted position player in school history. Infielder Mike Rohde also signed a free agent contract. One year later, in 2008, Hudson became the fourth-highest position player drafted in Illinois history when he was taken in the fourth round by the Baltimore Orioles. Prior to joining the Illini, Snider was the head coach and general manager of the Waterloo Bucks, a summer collegiate league team that competes in the Northwoods League, from 1995-98. He 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. 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. Snider and his wife, Holly, reside in Savoy with their sons, Jacob and Noa, and daughter, Jenna.
Professional Players Snider Recruited/Coached
Austin Peay (5) |
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