One of the
biggest coaching moves for the 2015 season came when Tracy Smith
left Indiana for Arizona State.
After
building Miami (Ohio) into a consistent winner – 30-plus wins in
eight of his nine years, six MAC tourney final games, two
Regional appearances – Smith turned the Hoosiers into a national
power. From 2000-07, Indiana finished 10th in the Big Ten six
times – in 2009, it made a Regional appearance and in 2013, the
Hoosiers advanced to the College World Series. Indiana entered
the 2014 NCAA Tournament as the No. 4 national seed, only to
fall to Stanford in the Bloomington Regional.
Smith got
his coaching start at Miami University-Middletown before moving
to Miami (Ohio) for two years as an assistant coach. He spent
two years at Indiana as pitching coach, then returned to Miami
to lead the program.
Before the
season began, Smith took time to answer questions about leaving
Indiana, his Midwest roots and his love of music.
First
Inning – Could you have envisioned taking over a program like
Arizona State when you started coaching?
No, not
really, because even at that time, I wasn’t really sure what my
life path would be, let alone in coaching. More specifically
than that, I have never been the one to look for the next job.
There are still days when I walk in here and can’t believe we
are where we are. Not saying that we’re not capable of being
here, but it’s just not something that I set out the first day
of coaching and said I want to be at Arizona State some day.
Things just happen, and we did a good job where we were and
things took care of themselves.
Second
Inning – Thinking back to the hiring process, what were your
initial thoughts when you talked with officials?
I was with
my family, my youngest son, Jack, and my wife, Jaime, down with
Jack doing football camps in the Carolinas when the call came
in. It was basically just a call to gauge my interest, and of
course, the fact that it was Arizona State, I said absolutely I
would listen. I really didn’t know what to expect because like I
mentioned, I never really looked for the next job or sat back
and thought yes, I want to be there one day. The more I learned
about Arizona State, the more intrigued I became about it each
day. As a baseball guy, the question came down to where do you
want to be? For me, I wanted to be in Tempe.
Third
Inning – How difficult was it to leave Indiana?
That was
probably one of the most agonizing decisions I have ever had to
make in my professional career for a few reasons. I grew up
there, and both my family and my wife’s family are still there.
Indiana treated me so well through the whole process, from the
athletics director Fred Glass to President Michael McRobbie. And
then of course all the friends I’ve made and people I’ve met
there. It was a tough decision, but life is all about challenges
and taking opportunities when they present themselves, and I was
ready to take this challenge and opportunity once I learned more
about it. It was a tough decision, but a good decision at the
end of the day.
Fourth
Inning – Looking back at your time with the Hoosiers, what are
you most of proud of?
The thing
I’m most proud of is when I left Miami of Ohio after the 2005
season, I remember I called around to a lot of my friends,
colleagues, professional scouts and coaches while we had things
rolling at that time with Miami, and all save one said don’t go
to Indiana because you can’t win there. So I’m really proud of
putting Hoosier baseball, as well as our staff and our kids, on
the map, and being in the conversation on a national level at a
school that most people said it could not be done.
Fifth
Inning – Your roots are in the Midwest, how does that affect you
when recruiting for Arizona State?
We are
certainly going to pull on my roots in the Midwest because I
have been there most of my coaching career and adult life. There
are plenty of good players there so we are definitely going to
utilize those contacts. We are going to use the reputation and
caliber that Arizona State University brings on the national
scene to attract those Midwest kids who are looking for
something different and for the opportunity play at the level of
Sun Devil Baseball.
Sixth
Inning – What are some of the Sun Devils’ strengths heading into
the 2015 season?
I think we
start with our arms. Our arms are really solid, and we have some
depth in the pitching staff, so that’s first and foremost. We
have some kids that have physically gotten stronger and so I’m
excited to see how that translates on the field. I think the
experience on the mound will be the biggest thing for us when we
head into the 2015 season.
Seventh
Inning – The Pac-12 claims four of the past nine national
champions; what do you expect the Pac-12 to be like?
I did not
actually know that stat until reading the question. That’s
impressive. That’s the biggest unknown for me: not knowing what
to expect in the Pac-12. We have squared off with Oregon State
recently on multiple occasions, and we had Stanford in our
Regional last year and played them three times. We know it’s
going to be a challenge every single weekend, and I look forward
to being a year down the road, after having gone through the
conference once, to see what this league is about.
Eighth
Inning – How does ASU reach the top?
I think
it’s just focusing on each day and doing things the right way.
We will certainly continue what’s already been going on here
with recruiting top-level kids to our school, but it’s about
instilling a culture of doing things the right way, every day.
If we do that with some of our talent, we have a good chance of
reaching some of the goals that we would like.
Ninth
Inning – ASU will play home games at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
Does that change anything in the approach, and how excited are
players to play at Phoenix Muni?
We
certainly recognize the tradition and the history of what
Packard Stadium means to not just our current players, but those
who have been here in the past. We are going to try to do our
best, just from a visual standpoint, to bring some of that back
to Phoenix Municipal Stadium. But from a logistical and
functional standpoint of practicing and playing, whether it’s
lights or clubhouse, it’s a huge upgrade in terms of space and
the actual playing facility. I know our kids are excited about
being here, and I know much has been said about the move off
campus, but I think even from a fan and student standpoint, it’s
going to be a better overall experience for everybody because
this venue is made for big-time baseball, and we like to think
ASU is big-time baseball. It’s going to be a fun first year in
this stadium, and we’re proud to be a part of the transition.
Extra
Innings
What
are the three biggest challenges taking over a new program?
Establishing culture and trust with your athletes because you’re
not going to have anything moving forward until you have that
mutual respect and trust. You’re putting in a new system, so
there’s going to be give and take each day, but that’s all part
of relationship building with your players.
The second
thing is meeting new people that may be outside of your program,
but still play a role in its success. The time in which you have
available to do that is sometimes tough because there are only
so many hours in a day, but you just try to gather information
about your program as best you can in a short amount of time.
The third
one is the recruiting piece and getting up to speed. I’m a
Midwest guy, so really getting my bearings straight as to the
recruiting and the contacts out here. Over the years, you build
a relationship with a certain spot and now, although we are
certainly not starting over because we had some previous success
out here in the past, we are building new relationships. This is
something that’s challenging and time consuming, but we are
going to get it done.
Talk
about your love of music over the years and how your music
tastes being received by your new players? Who are a few of the
go-tos on your playlist?
I love my
music, that’s no secret. I like my country music, although I’ll
listen to a little of everything. My guys aren’t digging the
country music stuff like I am, but when it comes to final
decisions and things being played, my vote carries a lot of
weight around here, so they better like it.
I feel my
go-tos on my playlists are Kenny Chesney, Garth Brooks and one
of my personal best friends, Clayton Anderson, who is new to the
county scene. Clayton has his Pandora station though, so I try
to dip into that a little bit. I just like country music because
I appreciate good lyrics and good singing.
