Will Smith pauses press conference to praise JD Arteaga: ‘One of the greatest coaches I’ve ever freaking played for’

The Miami Hurricanes won a close and emotional game over Southern Miss on Monday to win the Hattiesburg Regional and move on to the Super Regional. After the game, head coach JD Arteaga and several key players from the game met with the media. There, pitcher Will Smith paused the press conference to praise his head coach.

The press conference was winding down, and while looking for another question, Smith cut in to share that Arteaga is one of the greatest coaches he’s played for. It came from what was clearly an emotional moment for the Hurricanes team.

“I’d like to make a comment,” Smith said. “He’s being really humble right now. This is one of the greatest coaches I’ve ever freaking played for, and he’s going to be coaching for a long time, man.”

The pair finished by patting one another on the shoulder. Derek Williams, who was sitting on the other side of Arteaga, also patted his coach on the shoulder. Smiling, the move effectively ended the press conference.

Smith came to Miami as a transfer from Coastal Carolina, where he pitched from 2020 through the 2024 season. This season with the Hurricanes, Smith has made 24 relief appearances and thrown 26.2 innings. In that time, he has a 4.39 ERA and 41 strikeouts.

In the finale of the Hattiesburg Regional, Smith would come out of the bullpen and throw three innings. He only allowed one run and struck out four batters. That would also be good enough to earn a win.

For Arteaga, this is going to be his first Super Regional as a head coach. This comes after a career that has been dedicated to Miami baseball. He was a pitcher for the Hurricanes himself from 1994-1997. After a brief minor league career, he joined Miami as an assistant coach in 2003 and would stay with the team for two decades. That was under Jim Morris and later Gino DiMare.

In 2024, Arteaga was promoted to head coach. Now, a year later, the Hurricanes have their first Super Regional appearance since 2016. It’s an accomplishment Arteaga is incredibly proud of now.

“I’ve said all along that this is a special group. I told the team that this game rewards teams that do things the right way and plays hard with confidence and courage. Can’t help but think there’s some divine intervention with some of the plays. Plays that aren’t the normal way you draw it up in baseball, seemed like everything went our way,” Arteaga said.

“I’m happy for my group of guys, man. I get to spend another week with this group and I want to extend it as far and long as possible. What makes it so special is that I get to enjoy it with these guys. I’m thankful for that and I thank God every day for where I’m at, where I’m coaching and the guys I’m coaching with. From my staff to coaches to players to everybody, up and down. I’m just thankful. I thank God every morning.”

Now, Miami and Arteaga are going to turn their attention to the Louisville Cardinals. The Hurricanes will take on their ACC rival for the Super Regional starting on Friday, June 6th.