Michigan expected to hire Tracy Smith as next baseball coach
Michigan has found its next baseball coach after a multiple-week search. The program is set to name former Indiana and Arizona State head coach Tracy Smith to the role, multiple sources confirmed to The Wolverine on Saturday. The Blue by Ninety podcast was the first to report.
Smith, 56, has plenty of Big Ten experience, coaching at Indiana as an assistant in 1995-96 and later holding the main job from 2006-14.
He last coached at Arizona State from 2015-21. Smith began his head coaching career at Miami and went 317-220-1 from 1997-2005, advancing to a pair of NCAA Regionals. Rogers went 287-237 in nine seasons on the job at Indiana with three NCAA Regional berths and a trip to the College World Series in 2013.
Smith’s time at Arizona State saw him go 201-155 in seven seasons in Tempe. Arizona State played in four NCAA Regionals on his watch before he was fired at the end of the 2021 campaign.
Rebuilding Michigan baseball
Smith will now be in charge of rebuilding a Michigan program that has changed drastically since the end of the season. Coming off a Big Ten Tournament win and trip to the NCAA Tournament, head coach Erik Bakich and top assistant Nick Schnabel left for Clemson. Seven players recommitted from the most recent recruiting class, while another seven entered the transfer portal.
Smith’s hiring will give Michigan an experienced voice with Midwest ties and a track record of success. Other candidates for the job included Detroit Tigers pitching coach Chris Fetter, Central Michigan head coach Jordan Bischel, San Diego Padres hitting coach Michael Brdar and more.
Bakich went 328-216 in his 10 seasons at the helm for Michigan. The Wolverines went to five NCAA Tournament Regionals. Its best season came in 2019 when the team went 50-22 and finished as the national runner-up to Vanderbilt.
