Tracy Smith (baseball)

Tracy Smith (born February 14, 1966) is an American baseball coach and former player, who is the current head baseball coach of the Michigan Wolverines. He played college baseball at Miami (OH) from 1985 to 1988 for head coach Jon Pavlisko, before pursuing a professional career from 1988 to 1990. He then served as the head coach of the Miami RedHawks (1997–2005), the Indiana Hoosiers (2006–2014) and the Arizona State Sun Devils (2015–2021).

Tracy Smith
Smith in 2015
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamMichigan
ConferenceBig Ten
Record60–56
Biographical details
Born (1966-02-14) February 14, 1966 (age 58)
Kentland, Indiana, U.S.
Alma materMiami University
Playing career
1985–1988Miami (OH)
1988Geneva Cubs
1989Peoria Chiefs
1990Winston-Salem Spirits
Position(s)SS, 3B, P
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1991–1992Miami-Middletown
1993–1994Miami (OH) (asst.)
1995–1996Indiana (asst.)
1997–2005Miami (OH)
2006–2014Indiana
2015–2021Arizona State
2023–presentMichigan
Head coaching record
Overall865–668–1
TournamentsNCAA: 12–14
MAC: 24–15
Big Ten: 21–11

Smith was the head coach of Indiana from 2006 to 2014, during which time the Hoosiers appeared in three NCAA tournaments, advancing to the College World Series once.[1] As the head coach of Miami (OH) from 1997–2005, Smith led the RedHawks to two NCAA tournaments.[2][3]

Playing career

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Smith played for South Newton High School.

Smith then played four seasons (1985–1988) of college baseball at Miami (OH). In the 1988 MLB Draft, he was selected in the 39th round by the Chicago Cubs. Smith played three seasons of minor league baseball in the Cubs system, advancing to Class A-Advanced before retiring following the 1990 season.[4][5]

Coaching career

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Early career

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Early in his career, Smith was a junior college head coach and Division I assistant. He spent two seasons (1991–1992) as the head coach of Miami–Middletown. He then served as hitting instructor at Miami from 1993 to 1994, where he had earned a master's degree in 1992. He moved to Indiana following the 1994 season and served as pitching coach from 1995 to 1996.[4]

Miami

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For the 1997 season, Smith returned to Miami to be the Redhawks' head coach. He held the position from 1997 to 2005. During Smith's tenure, Miami appeared in nine MAC Tournaments and two NCAA tournaments (2000 and 2005). In 2000, Miami went 1–2 as the #4 seed in the Tempe Regional, winning an elimination game against Creighton. In 2005, they again went 1–2 as the #3 seed in the Austin Regional, defeating Quinnipiac, 35–8, in an elimination game. Miami's 35 runs set a then-NCAA record for runs in an NCAA tournament game.[4][6]

Indiana

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After making a second NCAA tournament in 2005, Smith was hired to replace Bob Morgan as head coach of Indiana.[7] In his third season (2008), Indiana made its first Big Ten tournament appearance since 2003. In 2009, Indiana won the Big Ten tournament and appeared in the NCAA Louisville Regional, where it went 0–2.

2013 season

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In 2013, the Hoosiers won the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles. For the first time, Indiana was selected to host an NCAA Regional.[1][8][9] It won the regional, then won the Tallahassee Super Regional to advance to the program's first College World Series. Smith was named the NCBWA National Coach of the Year.[10]

Arizona State

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On June 24, 2014, Smith was named head coach of Arizona State.[11] After leading the Sun Devils to a 201–155 mark over seven years, Smith was fired after the 2021 season and replaced by Willie Bloomquist.

Michigan

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On July 3, 2022, Smith was named head coach of Michigan.[12]

Head coaching record

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Below is a table of Smith's yearly records as an NCAA head baseball coach.[3][8][9][13][14]

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Miami RedHawks (Mid-American Conference) (1997–2005)
1997 Miami (OH) 27–28 17–13 4th
1998 Miami (OH) 33–26 17–13 3rd (East)
1999 Miami (OH) 34–27 20–12 2nd (East)
2000 Miami (OH) 40–23 16–12 3rd (East) NCAA Regional
2001 Miami (OH) 35–25 16–12 4th (East)
2002 Miami (OH) 31–28 16–12 3rd (East)
2003 Miami (OH) 36–24-1 19–9 2nd (East)
2004 Miami (OH) 36–21 14–8 1st (East)
2005 Miami (OH) 45–18 17–4 1st (East) NCAA Regional
Miami (OH): 317–220–1 152–95
Indiana Hoosiers (Big Ten Conference) (2006–2014)
2006 Indiana 22–34 11–21 10th
2007 Indiana 19–35 8–23 10th
2008 Indiana 31–30 15–17 6th
2009 Indiana 32–27 16–7 3rd NCAA Regional
2010 Indiana 28–27 12–12 T-5th
2011 Indiana 30–25 11–13 7th
2012 Indiana 32–28 16–8 2nd
2013 Indiana 49–16 17–7 1st College World Series
2014 Indiana 44–15 21–3 1st NCAA Regional
Indiana: 287–237 127–111
Arizona State Sun Devils (Pac-12 Conference) (2015–2021)
2015 Arizona State 35–23 18–12 T-3rd NCAA Regional
2016 Arizona State 36–23 16–14 T-3rd NCAA Regional
2017 Arizona State 23–32 8–22 T-10th
2018 Arizona State 23–32 13–17 7th
2019 Arizona State 38–19 16–13 5th NCAA Regional
2020 Arizona State 13–4 0–0 Season canceled due to COVID-19
2021 Arizona State 33–22 16–14 T-5th NCAA Regional
Arizona State: 201–155 87–92
Michigan Wolverines (Big Ten Conference) (2023–present)
2023 Michigan 28–28 13–11 6th Big Ten tournament
2024 Michigan 32–28 14–10 T-4th Big Ten tournament
Michigan: 60–56 27–21
Total: 865–668–1

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Nesbitt, Stephen J. (May 27, 2013). "Indiana Baseball Snares a No. 1 Seed as NCAA Regional Host". IndyStar.com. Indianapolis Star. Archived from the original on May 26, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  2. ^ Sorenson, Eric (February 23, 2010). "Q&A with Indiana's Tracy Smith". CollegeBaseballToday.com. Archived from the original on March 18, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Mid-American Conference All-Time Baseball Standings" (PDF). MAC-Sports.com. Mid-America Conference. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 12, 2013. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c "#13 Tracy Smith". IUHoosiers.com. Indiana Sports Information. Archived from the original on March 28, 2013. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  5. ^ "Tracy Smith". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  6. ^ "Miami (Ohio) Sets NCAA Baseball Record with 35 Runs". Associated Press. June 5, 2005. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  7. ^ "Miami (Ohio) Baseball Coach Tracy Smith Was Hired as the New Indiana Baseball Coach". Chicago Tribune. June 23, 2005. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  8. ^ a b "2013 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Record Book" (PDF). NCAA. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 10, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  9. ^ a b "2013 Big Ten Conference Baseball Record Book" (PDF). Big Ten Conference. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 28, 2013. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  10. ^ "Indiana's Smith is 2013 National Coach of the Year". SportsWriters.net. National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. June 15, 2013. Archived from the original on July 16, 2014. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
  11. ^ Metcalfe, Jeff (24 June 2014). "ASU hires Indiana's Tracy Smith as baseball coach". Arizona Republic. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  12. ^ Svoboda, Kurt (July 3, 2022). "Tracy Smith Announced as Michigan Baseball Coach". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  13. ^ "Annual Conference Standings". BoydsWorld.com. Archived from the original on February 20, 2013. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  14. ^ "MAC Coaching History" (PDF). MAC-Sports.com. Mid-American Conference. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 12, 2013. Retrieved May 28, 2013.