(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
I sat down with the man at the helm of the Sun Devil Baseball team about what it’s like to run one of the most storied college baseball programs.
Smith, who’s from Kentland, Indiana, began his head coaching career at Miami of Ohio, going 317-220-1 from 1997-2005 including back-to-back regular season conference championships to end Smith’s tenure with the Redhawks.
Smith left Miami after taking the team to its second NCAA Regional appearance in his nine seasons, Smith assumed the head coaching job at Indiana University.
In Bloomington, Smith was twice named Big Ten Coach of the Year, as he led the Hoosiers to three NCAA tournament regional appearances, including a College World Series appearance in 2013.
The ASU head coach has established a reputation of developing talent, as more than 50 student-athletes since 2000 were selected in the Major League Baseball Draft under Smith’s tutelage, including four who became first-round draft picks after previously going undrafted out of high school.
Kyle Schwarber, the fourth overall pick in the 2014 MLB Draft, was coached by Smith along with three first-round selections in the 2009 MLB June Draft (Eric Arnett, Josh Phegley, Matt Bashore).
Since Smith has been the head coach of the Sun Devil Baseball program, 14 players have been selected in the MLB Draft, with five players being drafted in 2016.
With the ability to show he can mentor talent, Smith, along with Recruiting Coordinator and Assistant Coach Ben Greenspan, produced one of the top recruiting classes in the country in 2017.
It hasn’t been an easy going for the Sun Devils this season, but Smith has goals larger than this year that he hopes to achieve with one of college baseball’s most storied programs.
