ADAMS TWP — His record speaks for itself.

Departing La Roche University baseball coach Chase Rowe hopes his future speaks even louder.

Rowe, 36, a Knoch High School and Slippery Rock University graduate — a standout baseball player at both — has accepted a position as a minor league hitting instructor in the Detroit Tigers organization.

In doing so, Rowe ends a 13-year coaching career at La Roche that included eight Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference championships. a Division III College World Series appearance, seven AMCC Coach of the Year awards and a 370-195 career record, good for a .656 winning percentage.

“It's extremely difficult to leave there,” Rowe said of La Roche. “It was a great place to work. I had great bosses and huge community support.

“If a Division I college would have offered me a job, I probably still wouldn't have taken it. Going into pro ball ... This is a lifelong dream for me.”

Rowe, a Mars resident, will report to spring training with the Tigers in February in Lakeland, Fla. When the major league team breaks camp, he will remain in Florida for extended spring training.

He will then report to short-season Class A Norwich, Conn., in June, where he will serve as hitting coach for the Connecticut Tigers throughout the season.

Rowe's wife is a teacher in the South Butler School District. The couple has three small children, including a 9-year-old boy who Rowe described as “a huge baseball fan.

“My wife is letting me do this and I'm grateful for that support,” Rowe said. “Once school lets out for the summer, my family will join me in Connecticut.

“This will be a great experience for my son to see baseball like this in another part of the country. He's going to love it.”

Rowe will serve as a hitting coach for the players at the Tigers' extended spring training facility during the early months of the 2020 season .

“I'll primarily being working with younger players,” he said. “A lot of those guys at extended spring will wind up with me in Connecticut, along with players we draft in June.

“I'm used to working with players around this age. I'm excited about this opportunity.”

Rowe's contacts in baseball helped him land the job. He is close friends with fellow Mars resident Don Kelly, the Houston Astros' first base coach last year who was recently hired as bench coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Kelly, a Butler native, spent a number of years in the Tigers' organization. Former Pirate general manager Dave Littlefield, now vice president of player development for the Tigers, is a friend of Rowe's as well.

“Those guys are behind my getting this offer,” Rowe said. “They've been good friends of mine for a long time.

“Things have changed in Major League Baseball recently. You don't have to have played pro ball to get a chance to coach in pro ball anymore. They believe I can help their young hitters and I believe I can help them, too.”

Rowe said he has no timetable or vision of reaching the major leagues as a coach.

“I'll take things as they come,” he said. “My focus is doing a good job for the Tigers next season. I'm looking no farther.

“My goal was to make it into pro ball as a player. That didn't work out. This is the next best thing.”

While at La Roche, Rowe coached 95 All-AMCC players, 28 all-region choices and six All-Americans. Five of his players went on to sign professional contracts.

In a prepared statement on the La Roche web-site, La Roche athletic director Jim Tinkey said: “You can't measure what Coach Rowe has accomplished leading our baseball program with just wins and losses. Under any other circumstances, I'd be pretty disappointed about losing a member of our family here.

“But these opportunities are not all that common for Division III coaches and I support him 100 percent with this next step in his career.”