University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Mike Gore's "40-for-40": Eric Filipek
02.18.2026 | Baseball
UNC Asheville baseball alum Eric Filipek was recently honored when he was named the top high school baseball coach in the country for the 2024-25 academic year.
Eric earned the award from the National Federation of State High School Associations after leading T.C. Roberson HS to its third consecutive state championship last spring.Â
He has been the head coach for the Rams for 15 years and led the school to four state championships during his tenure.Â
Eric played baseball for the Bulldogs in the mid-90's (1993-96) and graduated from Asheville in 1997. He was a four-year starter as both a catcher and designated hitter. Eric earned first team All-Big South honors in both 1994 and 1995. The New Jersey native hit above .300 every season he played for the Bulldogs. Eric was named to the Big South All-Decade team for the 1990's.
Eric went straight into coaching after finishing his playing days and was an assistant coach for Bill Hillier for three season (1997-99). He helped lead the Bulldogs to their highest finish ever in league play in 1998 when they finished in a tie for second place in the conference standings and qualified for the Big South Conference Tournament for the first time in six seasons. Asheville won a then-school-record 27 games in 1998 and finished above .500 in league play with a 10-8 worksheet for the first time in eight years.Â
He left Asheville following the 1999 season to become the Associate Head Coach at Duke. Eric has also coached collegiately at Coastal Carolina and Western Carolina.
Former major league manager Mike Shildt, who was an assistant coach at UNC Asheville during Eric's playing days, is full of praise for Filipek. Shildt spoke from the Baltimore Orioles Spring Training site in Sarasota, Florida about Eric's success as a coach.
"Eric Filipek has been a winner his entire life. It was a privilege to have coached him at UNC Asheville. Eric was a fierce competitor and extremely hard worker," stated Shildt. "He always studied the game and was always curious to learn more.
"It is no surprise that he turned into an elite coach. Eric has a passion for teaching the game and loves his players," added Shildt. "His dedication to high standards has elevated T.C. Roberson to a nationally recognized program. Eric's recognition as National High School Coach of the Year is more than well-deserved and comes as no surprise."
Â
